The medical industry says heartburn comes from too much acid. But when Senator Ron Johnson cured his heartburn, he discovered the real problem was something entirely different.
While this may speed digestion, what I discovered, not from my doctor but from a sleep therapist, is that I had serious sleep apnea which initiated a gag response that caused my stomach to contract based on the perception of choking when the back of the tongue blocks the airway. Each time this happens the stomach pushes fluid into the esophagus (reflux) causing burning and damage. For the sleep therapist, this was common knowledge. For my doctor – he told me he had never heard of this! I tried a CPAP machine and it immediately stopped the reflux. I chose instead however to get accustomed to sleeping on my stomach and within less than two weeks the reflux disappeared and my esophagus began to heal!
For me, this was a Godsend revelation and I was concerned that I would end up with esophageal cancer as my father had and ultimately died from.
Jesus: “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life!” John 8:12
Over 25 years ago, I bought a book called “4 Blood Types, 4 Diets, Eat Right 4 Your Type,” by Peter D’Adamo. It changed my life. The author and his father were naturopathic physicians with a fascinating history of time spent in European spas, watching some people thrive on the food and others crumble. It’s an amazing story of discovery, but the point I want to make here is that each blood type has certain food types that don’t process well for them. I’m a type O+ and I learned (in short) that wheat is a huge enemy for me because of the processing, but that most meats are restorative for my body. He tackles every food group. I stopped eating bread, cakes, cookies, etc. and all my acid reflux completely stopped. I was able to stop the Prilosec altogether. Now I can have the occasional cookie, or bread, but if I overdo it, I have to take a Prilosec tablet.
I wonder if research has investigated the correlation between blood types and acid reflux or whatever you want to call it. Because it may be as simple as taking certain foods out of your diet like the D’Adamos discovered decades ago.
Yes, I just don’t understand that this article says it’s not enough acid that causes the problem when I can literally feel and taste acid in my mouth with the reflux.
If the valve doesn’t close properly, of course you’ll get stomach acid, though at low levels, migrating upwards. Re-read the part about sufficient acid triggers that valve closing.
If I eat wheat that’s processed, I get acid reflux. If I eat wheat with all the components like Ezekiel bread has, I don’t get acid reflux. The question is what impact does wheat have on my body in varying forms of processing. I’m just saying there can be other things you can do to stop the reflux. Type O blood people have more acid in their stomachs than other blood types because their best energy comes from meat and the juices digest meat better. One of the blood types should not be eating much, if any, meat. Check out the book. It’s a lot more complex than what I wrote here. It also includes medical things that have been scientifically proved such as Type O people were 16-20% less likely to get COVID. That’s because our blood type fights viruses better than other types. Not so much for bacterial infections though. I’ve never had the flu, for example, but can’t count the number of bacterial infections I’ve had.
If I take a digestive enzyme containing hydrochloric acid it goes away. So how does that work if you already have too much acid? If you want the correct answer take what the Med Ind Complex tells you & do the opposite.
Hmm. Do some acids neutralize each other? Chemistry is my nemesis. All I know is “burning” acid comes into my esophagus when I eat certain foods. Interestingly, in sudden high stress situations it has happened too. I just don’t eat processed wheat and all is good. I suppose processed foods are generally not good for us anyway because they strip so much good stuff away.
Ingesting more acid, when you already have an over production of it, tells the brain to signal the body that there is enough acid already & to shut down the production mechanism causing the reflux. This is how it works. 👍🏻
Since i've been trying to eat right by controlling portion size and sticking to more protein/fewer carbs the last couple of years, the only times i have had acid indigestion is when i've over-eaten. Spicy food hasn't triggered it, only eating too much. And when i do get indigestion, a little bit of baking soda in water knocks it out immediately every single time.
I’ve been taking Betaine HCL and digestive enzymes for nearly 10
years now. The best advice my naturopath ever gave me. My sister is hooked on Prilosec. Refuses to even entertain trying a better way of managing her GERD and heartburn problem. Better health through chemistry!
Next time I talk to her I’ll ask her. Right now she’s not speaking to me because I told her I thought she took too many prescription meds. Meloxicam, Gabapentin, Prednisone, Synthroid. She hung up on me. I was just trying to tell her I was concerned about all those meds and she just didn’t want to hear it. I’m her only blood relative so I worry about her. She’s 72 and if her doctor told her to cut off her left tit to prevent having heartburn she’d do it. She thinks doctors are God.
Ok, check out 3/12/24 article, 3 Alternatives to Statins…; 3/1/24 Do Statins Really improve Health; 12/1/22 Strange side effects from Statins; and 5/29/23 Just Say No to Statins. There are more. I happened to save these and more. It’s frustrating that we can’t print them, and digital titles differ from printed articles with same data. I think the ‘No Statins’ train is gaining speed though. Only Big Pharma benefits from keeping it on the market.
BTW, I got the printed version too for two years. 🤗. Maybe you could get your sister to stop the statins for two weeks to see if things improve. And if they don’t you’ll never mention it again. Those articles will arm you with data (that she will likely ignore, right?).
Well, Synthroid doesn’t count. Either your thyroid works or it doesn’t. Not taking the meds means your whole system grinds to a halt, literally. I’ve been on it for 60 years, since I was 18. Without it you literally have to sleep all the time. Is Meloxicam for acid reflux? (I’m too lazy to check right now. 🤗). Gabapentin is a sleep aid. (Haha I just gave my cat some for a vet visit in 2 hrs so she doesn’t scratch out the doctor’s eyes.). And Prednisone is likely keeping an infection or some swelling at bay. It’s usually temporary. My take on her meds is “only 4, at 72?” Maybe you could buy the book and send it to her with an “I’m sorry” note, along with a copy of my comment above that started this conversation. For the record, it’s a great resource book. What’s your blood type. You’re probably the same if you’re full blooded sibs. If you don’t know yours, you can buy a kit on Amazon for $10 or so. It’s important to know in a crisis.
I know several people who have either been on it or tried it got off it lately, but Gabapentin is actually a very old epilepsy drug. After they came up with newer treatments I think they wanted to use it for something, so now they're giving it to people for chronic nerve pain. It does minimal to nothing for pain except add to the side effects of the other pharmaceuticals they're on.
I had no idea they gave it to cats for sleep, nor have never heard of it being used for people to sleep. One of my friends is on quite a high dose and she's awake half the night.
Strange! I checked the spelling on the bottle again. Gabapentin 100 mg. Who knew? I just assumed it was used for human sleep because that’s what it’s for in cats. (And maybe dogs??)
Cats metabolize things differently than other animals and people, and are very sensitive to most pharmaceuticals. Things like aspirin that people and dogs can take will actually kill a cat. It looks like they discovered that gabapentin is safe for them and that it puts them to sleep. Pretty sure it doesn't work that way on most people though, as I said I know lots of folks who take or took it.
She was on Armour for years and doing well. Not sure why she switched to synthroid. Also, she’s been on HRT for 17 years and a statin. She’s taking the gabapentin, prednisone and Meloxicam for a sore quadricep. Perhaps she could have tried RICE first? She just runs to the doctors constantly. I think she likes the attention. She’s got two new knees, some weird device implanted in her bladder, and I think she’s itching to get a new hip. I’m O+. She probably doesn’t know her blood type, but I’ll ask her. But she doesn’t believe that diet has anything to do with health. We’ve been down that road before. LOLOL. Thanks for the info.
I just noticed she’s taking a statin. Research has shown it really doesn’t help and it has many side effects. Search in Substack and/or Epoch News. I actually convinced a doctor friend of mine to go do the research and he got off his statins too (20 years he was on them). A friend stopped hers and her legs stopped aching within two days.
Oh yes, statins are useless at best and dangerous at worst. Maybe her legs hurt because she’s been taking statins for years. But she won’t listen or do
any research because she says her doctor knows better than she does. She told me today that they put her in Hydrocortisone because her cortisol level was low. So now add that to her list of pharmaceuticals.
Prednisone
Hydrocortisone
Statin
Gabapentin
Synthroid
Meloxicam
HRT
Studies now show there is a correlation between statins and dementia. I would never, under any circumstance, take a statin.
But she was tickled when I called to tell me about her new medication. I give up.
I remember hearing some years ago that doctors switched to prescribing Synthroid instead of Armour and that lots of people were very upset by that because it doesn't work the same. Sorry I don't know any other details though, if they let people switch back again or took it off the market.
A Tbs of Apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, or lemon juice works for me. Once a day or a couple times a week is all it takes.. No more Gerd issues at all, and when they do come back I just take a little ACV or lemon juice and I'm good to go.
An even simpler solution is apple cider vinegar. Take 1 tsp. straight, if possible. Lightly diluted if need be. Wait a minute & you are all better! The acid in the ACV turns off the mechanism that is causing the reflux and heartburn. It tells the brain to signal the body to turn off the excess acid production. Works fairly quickly too! Cheap and easy. Give it a try!
Oooh, I can't wait for some Pharmaceutical exec to figure out that a wonderfully effective, non-patentable, cheap, super-safe dietary supplement extracted from nontoxic plants, that controls GERD, promotes healing of esophagus and stomach lining, makes H. Pylori uncomfortable, and helps nutrient assimilation, gallbladder function and all the downstream digestive processes without adverse effects, could be fused with toxic fluorine molecules and patented as a lucrative long-acting drug to cure GERD. And then the idiots in those government committees that make our lives hell in every way by trying to get rid of DSHEA can convince the FDA that betaine hydrochloride supplements must be withdrawn from the market and made unavailable to the public for safety reasons.
A very informative article. I knew some of that, but some was a real eye opener so thanks for sharing it.
...as a side note... I sure wish writers would go back to using proper paragraphs though, these one sentence breaks are kind of jarring and hard to read so I often don't even bother unless it's something compelling like this.
Midwestern doctor does a great job of covering every aspect of this complicated problem. He even mentions a heliobacter pylori "infection" as a stomach acidity regulator. According to Martin Blaser, h pylori is an ancient commensal bacterium found in 40 to 50%+ of the global population. It is believed to protect against allergies asthma and gastroesophageal reflux disease. If h pylori was viewed as an integral component of a biodiverse gut microbiome instead of a pathogen, we might move a step closer to evolutionary medicine, a far better approach to western medicine, instead of more drugs which never will establishe homeostasis, or resolve the problem
Definitely buy the book for her. For the record, I now have two new knees and a partial hip replacement (slip on the ice), plus a lot of other stuff. In some parts of the country they’re using stem cells to rebuild the knee cartilage—much less painful. Not sure why the thyroid med change but I’m guessing it is a decision out of her control. My insurance says Synthroid. Is she doing ok on it? If so, it’s a moot point.
Stomach acid production decreases with age. Over 60, it tends to become so low that eating small meals might work best.
As for most, mostly invented modern illnesses (especially "allergies" and "autoimmune disorders"), the introduction of foreign and synthetic proteins (mostly in "vaccines") spells disaster:
I've been through all of this.
While this may speed digestion, what I discovered, not from my doctor but from a sleep therapist, is that I had serious sleep apnea which initiated a gag response that caused my stomach to contract based on the perception of choking when the back of the tongue blocks the airway. Each time this happens the stomach pushes fluid into the esophagus (reflux) causing burning and damage. For the sleep therapist, this was common knowledge. For my doctor – he told me he had never heard of this! I tried a CPAP machine and it immediately stopped the reflux. I chose instead however to get accustomed to sleeping on my stomach and within less than two weeks the reflux disappeared and my esophagus began to heal!
For me, this was a Godsend revelation and I was concerned that I would end up with esophageal cancer as my father had and ultimately died from.
Jesus: “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life!” John 8:12
All kinds of discoveries and solutions. Interesting.
Over 25 years ago, I bought a book called “4 Blood Types, 4 Diets, Eat Right 4 Your Type,” by Peter D’Adamo. It changed my life. The author and his father were naturopathic physicians with a fascinating history of time spent in European spas, watching some people thrive on the food and others crumble. It’s an amazing story of discovery, but the point I want to make here is that each blood type has certain food types that don’t process well for them. I’m a type O+ and I learned (in short) that wheat is a huge enemy for me because of the processing, but that most meats are restorative for my body. He tackles every food group. I stopped eating bread, cakes, cookies, etc. and all my acid reflux completely stopped. I was able to stop the Prilosec altogether. Now I can have the occasional cookie, or bread, but if I overdo it, I have to take a Prilosec tablet.
I wonder if research has investigated the correlation between blood types and acid reflux or whatever you want to call it. Because it may be as simple as taking certain foods out of your diet like the D’Adamos discovered decades ago.
This way of eating has been very helpful to me also. Great book!
Yes, I just don’t understand that this article says it’s not enough acid that causes the problem when I can literally feel and taste acid in my mouth with the reflux.
If the valve doesn’t close properly, of course you’ll get stomach acid, though at low levels, migrating upwards. Re-read the part about sufficient acid triggers that valve closing.
If I eat wheat that’s processed, I get acid reflux. If I eat wheat with all the components like Ezekiel bread has, I don’t get acid reflux. The question is what impact does wheat have on my body in varying forms of processing. I’m just saying there can be other things you can do to stop the reflux. Type O blood people have more acid in their stomachs than other blood types because their best energy comes from meat and the juices digest meat better. One of the blood types should not be eating much, if any, meat. Check out the book. It’s a lot more complex than what I wrote here. It also includes medical things that have been scientifically proved such as Type O people were 16-20% less likely to get COVID. That’s because our blood type fights viruses better than other types. Not so much for bacterial infections though. I’ve never had the flu, for example, but can’t count the number of bacterial infections I’ve had.
You could be reacting to Glyphosate.
Did you not read the Entire article because it clearly explains why acid comes back up.
If I take a digestive enzyme containing hydrochloric acid it goes away. So how does that work if you already have too much acid? If you want the correct answer take what the Med Ind Complex tells you & do the opposite.
Hmm. Do some acids neutralize each other? Chemistry is my nemesis. All I know is “burning” acid comes into my esophagus when I eat certain foods. Interestingly, in sudden high stress situations it has happened too. I just don’t eat processed wheat and all is good. I suppose processed foods are generally not good for us anyway because they strip so much good stuff away.
Ingesting more acid, when you already have an over production of it, tells the brain to signal the body that there is enough acid already & to shut down the production mechanism causing the reflux. This is how it works. 👍🏻
Thanks for the recommendation, I just ordered it!
Since i've been trying to eat right by controlling portion size and sticking to more protein/fewer carbs the last couple of years, the only times i have had acid indigestion is when i've over-eaten. Spicy food hasn't triggered it, only eating too much. And when i do get indigestion, a little bit of baking soda in water knocks it out immediately every single time.
I’ve been taking Betaine HCL and digestive enzymes for nearly 10
years now. The best advice my naturopath ever gave me. My sister is hooked on Prilosec. Refuses to even entertain trying a better way of managing her GERD and heartburn problem. Better health through chemistry!
Is she blood type O? If she is I can almost guarantee wheat consumption (except breads like Ezekiel bread) is one of her problems.
Next time I talk to her I’ll ask her. Right now she’s not speaking to me because I told her I thought she took too many prescription meds. Meloxicam, Gabapentin, Prednisone, Synthroid. She hung up on me. I was just trying to tell her I was concerned about all those meds and she just didn’t want to hear it. I’m her only blood relative so I worry about her. She’s 72 and if her doctor told her to cut off her left tit to prevent having heartburn she’d do it. She thinks doctors are God.
Ok, check out 3/12/24 article, 3 Alternatives to Statins…; 3/1/24 Do Statins Really improve Health; 12/1/22 Strange side effects from Statins; and 5/29/23 Just Say No to Statins. There are more. I happened to save these and more. It’s frustrating that we can’t print them, and digital titles differ from printed articles with same data. I think the ‘No Statins’ train is gaining speed though. Only Big Pharma benefits from keeping it on the market.
BTW, I got the printed version too for two years. 🤗. Maybe you could get your sister to stop the statins for two weeks to see if things improve. And if they don’t you’ll never mention it again. Those articles will arm you with data (that she will likely ignore, right?).
Well, Synthroid doesn’t count. Either your thyroid works or it doesn’t. Not taking the meds means your whole system grinds to a halt, literally. I’ve been on it for 60 years, since I was 18. Without it you literally have to sleep all the time. Is Meloxicam for acid reflux? (I’m too lazy to check right now. 🤗). Gabapentin is a sleep aid. (Haha I just gave my cat some for a vet visit in 2 hrs so she doesn’t scratch out the doctor’s eyes.). And Prednisone is likely keeping an infection or some swelling at bay. It’s usually temporary. My take on her meds is “only 4, at 72?” Maybe you could buy the book and send it to her with an “I’m sorry” note, along with a copy of my comment above that started this conversation. For the record, it’s a great resource book. What’s your blood type. You’re probably the same if you’re full blooded sibs. If you don’t know yours, you can buy a kit on Amazon for $10 or so. It’s important to know in a crisis.
I know several people who have either been on it or tried it got off it lately, but Gabapentin is actually a very old epilepsy drug. After they came up with newer treatments I think they wanted to use it for something, so now they're giving it to people for chronic nerve pain. It does minimal to nothing for pain except add to the side effects of the other pharmaceuticals they're on.
I had no idea they gave it to cats for sleep, nor have never heard of it being used for people to sleep. One of my friends is on quite a high dose and she's awake half the night.
Strange! I checked the spelling on the bottle again. Gabapentin 100 mg. Who knew? I just assumed it was used for human sleep because that’s what it’s for in cats. (And maybe dogs??)
Cats metabolize things differently than other animals and people, and are very sensitive to most pharmaceuticals. Things like aspirin that people and dogs can take will actually kill a cat. It looks like they discovered that gabapentin is safe for them and that it puts them to sleep. Pretty sure it doesn't work that way on most people though, as I said I know lots of folks who take or took it.
She was on Armour for years and doing well. Not sure why she switched to synthroid. Also, she’s been on HRT for 17 years and a statin. She’s taking the gabapentin, prednisone and Meloxicam for a sore quadricep. Perhaps she could have tried RICE first? She just runs to the doctors constantly. I think she likes the attention. She’s got two new knees, some weird device implanted in her bladder, and I think she’s itching to get a new hip. I’m O+. She probably doesn’t know her blood type, but I’ll ask her. But she doesn’t believe that diet has anything to do with health. We’ve been down that road before. LOLOL. Thanks for the info.
I just noticed she’s taking a statin. Research has shown it really doesn’t help and it has many side effects. Search in Substack and/or Epoch News. I actually convinced a doctor friend of mine to go do the research and he got off his statins too (20 years he was on them). A friend stopped hers and her legs stopped aching within two days.
Oh yes, statins are useless at best and dangerous at worst. Maybe her legs hurt because she’s been taking statins for years. But she won’t listen or do
any research because she says her doctor knows better than she does. She told me today that they put her in Hydrocortisone because her cortisol level was low. So now add that to her list of pharmaceuticals.
Prednisone
Hydrocortisone
Statin
Gabapentin
Synthroid
Meloxicam
HRT
Studies now show there is a correlation between statins and dementia. I would never, under any circumstance, take a statin.
But she was tickled when I called to tell me about her new medication. I give up.
I remember hearing some years ago that doctors switched to prescribing Synthroid instead of Armour and that lots of people were very upset by that because it doesn't work the same. Sorry I don't know any other details though, if they let people switch back again or took it off the market.
A Tbs of Apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, or lemon juice works for me. Once a day or a couple times a week is all it takes.. No more Gerd issues at all, and when they do come back I just take a little ACV or lemon juice and I'm good to go.
Isn’t it amazing that so many medications the medical profession suggest we take, do more harm than good or do nothing at all !!!
An even simpler solution is apple cider vinegar. Take 1 tsp. straight, if possible. Lightly diluted if need be. Wait a minute & you are all better! The acid in the ACV turns off the mechanism that is causing the reflux and heartburn. It tells the brain to signal the body to turn off the excess acid production. Works fairly quickly too! Cheap and easy. Give it a try!
Not if your ulcers are caused by stress.
Oooh, I can't wait for some Pharmaceutical exec to figure out that a wonderfully effective, non-patentable, cheap, super-safe dietary supplement extracted from nontoxic plants, that controls GERD, promotes healing of esophagus and stomach lining, makes H. Pylori uncomfortable, and helps nutrient assimilation, gallbladder function and all the downstream digestive processes without adverse effects, could be fused with toxic fluorine molecules and patented as a lucrative long-acting drug to cure GERD. And then the idiots in those government committees that make our lives hell in every way by trying to get rid of DSHEA can convince the FDA that betaine hydrochloride supplements must be withdrawn from the market and made unavailable to the public for safety reasons.
A very informative article. I knew some of that, but some was a real eye opener so thanks for sharing it.
...as a side note... I sure wish writers would go back to using proper paragraphs though, these one sentence breaks are kind of jarring and hard to read so I often don't even bother unless it's something compelling like this.
Midwestern doctor does a great job of covering every aspect of this complicated problem. He even mentions a heliobacter pylori "infection" as a stomach acidity regulator. According to Martin Blaser, h pylori is an ancient commensal bacterium found in 40 to 50%+ of the global population. It is believed to protect against allergies asthma and gastroesophageal reflux disease. If h pylori was viewed as an integral component of a biodiverse gut microbiome instead of a pathogen, we might move a step closer to evolutionary medicine, a far better approach to western medicine, instead of more drugs which never will establishe homeostasis, or resolve the problem
🙏❤🙏❤bless you and thank you I have lost a loved one to this and it was torture 😢 💔 😔
Definitely buy the book for her. For the record, I now have two new knees and a partial hip replacement (slip on the ice), plus a lot of other stuff. In some parts of the country they’re using stem cells to rebuild the knee cartilage—much less painful. Not sure why the thyroid med change but I’m guessing it is a decision out of her control. My insurance says Synthroid. Is she doing ok on it? If so, it’s a moot point.
Stomach acid production decreases with age. Over 60, it tends to become so low that eating small meals might work best.
As for most, mostly invented modern illnesses (especially "allergies" and "autoimmune disorders"), the introduction of foreign and synthetic proteins (mostly in "vaccines") spells disaster:
https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/the-symbiotic-human-body
In recent years, peptic ulcers have also become common for the same reasons.
https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/a-breakthrough-in-how-proteins-are
On this advice, I tried it and it caused worse bloating and heartburn.