There are many over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs available for heartburn relief. The question is, are you willing to take something that can make the condition even worse or find a safe and natural cure? Did you even know that the drugs you are taking to get rid of heartburn are actually making it worse along with many side effects?
To start with let's cover how your digestive system works and how medications affect the natural process.
HCL, which is hydrochloric acid, is pumped out by cells in the lining of the stomach. You need this stomach acid in order for digestion to occur and it also acts as a barrier to infection. Also an enzyme, called pepsin, needs an acidic environment in the stomach in order to be effective at digesting proteins. So, as you can see, stomach acid plays an essential role and serves several constructive purposes.
Even though stomach acid is important, millions of people spend billions of dollars to reduce or eliminate it by taking drugs. Antacids are used to neutralize or suppress its production to reduce the symptoms of heartburn. Proton pump inhibitors or PPIs block the action of the proton pump, which is the HCL producing and secreting mechanism inside some cells of the stomach. Histamine H2-blockers prevent acid secretion by blocking the action of histamine, which signals acid producing cells to secrete HCL.
People take these medications in order to get rid of heartburn not realizing there is an underlying reason as to the cause of the problem. In other words, by taking a drug you are not fixing whatever is causing you to have the problem and you might even make the problem worse.
Let's take a closer look at what can cause heartburn and how medications can make it worse.
Heartburn occurs when gastric juices back up or reflux into the esophagus thus creating a burning sensation. This burning sensation occurs because the lining in the esophagus is not able to withstand the caustic effects of stomach acid. Typically, the gastric juices reflux into the esophagus because the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) malfunctions and doesn't close immediately.
When you take a drug to stop or prevent the burning sensation all you are doing is either neutralizing stomach acid or preventing its production. This can lead to other problems such as your food not being properly digested or sterilized before it enters the intestinal tract. Uncontrolled growth of microbes can occur resulting in many other complications. Also, if you forget to take your medication it can have a rebound effect of extra heavy stomach acid secretion thus causing a bad case of heartburn (the very condition it's supposed to treat).
As you can see, even though medications are given to get rid of heartburn they can also cause it, among other side effects. The best thing you can do is talk to your doctor and see if together you can find a way to prevent or get rid of heartburn by finding the cause and then treating that instead of becoming reliant on acid suppressing drugs.
To learn more about how to get rid of heartburn and how you can find a safe and natural cure, visit my website at http://www.cureacidrefluxnaturally.com. While there you can find more information about acid reflux / heartburn and have the chance to sign up for a free Cure Acid Reflux mini-course
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