It was interesting to see that the much respected Dr Mercola recently commented on the fact that acid reflux is caused by too little stomach acid rather than too much.
Readers of my writings on this site may recall that I suggested the same thing quite a few years back…(before hundreds of pages of my thoughts on reflux on my initial site were lost in a cyber black hole!)

Some of Dr Mercolas comments are below and reinforce my thinking from years ago.

It’s important to understand that acid reflux is NOT a disease of too much acid being produced, but rather it’s a condition related more commonly to hiatal hernia – a condition in which the acid is coming out of your stomach, where it’s supposed to remain.

After food passes through your esophagus into your stomach, a muscular valve called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) closes, preventing food or acid to move back up. Gastroesophageal reflux occurs when the LES relaxes inappropriately, allowing acid from your stomach to flow (reflux) backward into your esophagus.

Heartburn is the primary symptom of acid reflux; a burning sensation that radiates up from your stomach to your chest and throat. It’s typically most bothersome at night, and tends to occur in connection with certain activities, such as:

*
After eating a heavy meal
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Bending over
*
Lifting
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Lying down, especially when laying on your back

Other symptoms include:

* Hoarseness
* A feeling that food is stuck in your throat
* Tightness in your throat
* Wheezing
* Asthma
* Dental problems
* Bad breath

If you have reflux, you know how it feels when food returns to haunt you. Dr John Briffa suggests several strategies for taming heartburn at night
While a good evening meal can send us to bed in a contented state, our last supper may also make its presence felt later in the form of acid indigestion and heartburn. A recent study in the American medical journal Chest has revealed that imbibing carbonated drinks in the evening appears to increase the risk of the acid reflux at night. It has been suggested that the acidic nature of these drinks adds to the stomach’s own acidity, thereby increasing the risk of heartburn.

My experience is that many other nutritionally oriented approaches can neutralise this problem. A top tactic is to ensure that food is well digested before retiring – food can overstay its welcome in the stomach, increasing the risk that it will leak through the valve between the stomach and the gullet (the gastro-oesophageal sphincter, or GOS). Lying down ups the risk of the stomach content escaping into the oesophagus.

One approach for overcoming reflux at night is to avoid overwhelming the stomach with food in the evening. A modest-sized supper is a good ploy – this is more easily achieved if, after a half-decent lunch, you have a snack of, say, fruit and/or nuts in the late afternoon. An earlier dinner may help, too. Although recent evidence suggests that fizzy drinks should be given a miss in the evening, my advice is to keep intake of all fluids to a minimum around the time of the evening meal. Drinking dilutes stomach acid, impairing digestion.

Additional fluid also adds volume to the stomach contents, which tends to increase reflux risk. Alcoholic beverages seem to be a particular problem, as they promote laxity in the GOS. For those prone to reflux at night, it seems that a night-cap of whisky and soda is something well worth avoiding. One often-effective strategy for refluxers is to avoid mixing protein-based foods (such as meat, fish and eggs) with starch-based foods (bread, potatoes, rice and pasta) at the evening meal.
This means basing meals on either protein or starch, along with cooked vegetables (other than the potato) or salad. Some believe that this makes digestion easier, and my experience is that it is often very effective in the treatment of heartburn. Further digestive aid can be had from thorough chewing, which breaks up food and allows the digestive juices greater opportunity to do their job

This post compliments of Ben Rubin NORTH ADAMS —
Millions of Americans reach for Tums or other antacids every day for relief from heartburn. But that common ailment could be a sign of the more serious acid reflux disease, which affects some 10 million Americans.

Acid reflux symptoms include a sour or acidic feeling in the mouth, difficulty swallowing, chest pain, coughing and, most commonly, a burning sensation in the front of the chest. Acid reflux can cause teeth erosion and difficulty sleeping, and asthma in children,
Dr. Chi Zhang, a gastroenterologist at North Adams Regional Hospital since 2004, said 14 percent of Americans claim to suffer from reflux once a week. 7% twice a week, and 4% report a daily problem.

Apple Cider Vinegar

I know it sounds wrong, but Vinegar can actually help heartburn, as heartburn is sometimes caused by a LACK of stomach acid. Here’s a quote taken from another website:” Often, especially as we age, we have to deal with indigestion or heartburn. Sometimes the treatment is worse the the symptom: Antacids are not always the best remedy. Our stomachs produce less acid over time – and that causes the same symptoms as too much acid. When we medicate with a substance that allows our stomachs to produce even less acid, we’re just making the situation worse.Vinegar to the rescue!

The acid in vinegar will help digest your food, and over a period of time, alleviate heartburn if yours is caused by a lack of stomach acid.”I tried it out and it seemed to work in about 10 min.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a term used to describe the variety of symptoms and forms of tissue damage resulting from chronic reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus.

Over 15 million Americans suffer from daily heartburn, the most common symptom of GERD. In addition to heartburn, other symptoms associated with GERD include regurgitation, chest pain, hoarseness, wheezing, and chronic cough.
GERD is a major healthcare problem with many sufferers reporting worse emotional well-being than patients with diabetes or high blood pressure. Normally, a muscular valve at the end of the esophagus called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) keeps stomach contents from refluxing into the esophagus. However, in GERD, the LES is weak or relaxes too frequently, allowing stomach contents to flow freely into the esophagus. Left untreated, GERD can lead to a variety of esophageal complications including inflammation, ulceration, bleeding, and strictures. In addition, GERD patients are at risk to develop a pre-cancerous condition known as Barretts esophagus.

The Full-Thickness Plicator Procedure is a non-surgical, endoscopic GERD treatment based on the proven principles of anti-reflux surgery. The procedure allows the physician to create a full-thickness plication at the gastroesophageal junction under direct endoscopic visualization; enhancing the competency of the gastric cardia and restoring the normal anti-reflux barrier. Patients are treated on an outpatient basis and usually are able to return to normal activities the following day.

A mainstream pharmaceutical company is blitzing the airwaves promoting yet another solution to one the side effects of their popularly prescribed pain medications. Targeting seniors (the biggest consumers of pain meds), the manufacturer of the acid-reducing drug promises their product will protect users from the most dangerous potential side effects of painkillers, stomach ulcers and bleeding.

Absent from their ads is any information about a serious risk associated with this secondary treatment. In an apparent trend, pharmaceutical fortunes are now being enlarged by creating antidotes for the side effects of other popular medications they manufacture. A built-in, self-perpetuating stream of sales seems guaranteed for the pharmaceutical industry while seniors scramble to pay and take ever greater risks with their health. The average senior uses six prescription medications a day and some take as many as 20, putting their complete faith in the latest (and costliest) drugs on the market.

Consumers should be aware, however, that there are potentially serious side effects from this seemingly benign class of acid-reducing medications. In addition, the prolonged use of acid-reducers will have a broader impact than pain killers, appealing as they do to all segments of the adult population. That danger is Vitamin B-12 Deficiency and it is very real

Drinking carbonated soft drinks and being overweight may be the two most prevalent causes of nighttime heartburn, according to a new study.

Heartburn at night, or nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux, is quite common. An estimated 44 percent of Americans suffer from it at least once a month. In the new study, researchers at the University of Arizona, Boston University, Johns Hopkins and the University of Minnesota surveyed more than 15,000 patients to try to determine the reasons for the pain. Their results were published in the May issue of the journal Chest. Nighttime heartburn can be more serious than the daytime type. It tends to be longer lasting, causes more damage to the esophagus and has a greater risk of leading to esophageal cancer. “At night it can be happening without your realizing it,” said Dr. Stuart F. Quan, a co-author of the paper and professor of medicine at the University of Arizona.

“The acid reflux doesn’t necessarily wake you up. So there is that much more exposure time.” In addition to high body mass index, a common indicator of obesity, and consumption of one or more carbonated drinks a day, the study found other good predictors of nighttime heartburn: snoring, hypertension, asthma and the use of some sleeping pills