Suche
Mein Konto
Heartburn - Is Glutamine a Cure?
According to Tamas Bartfai, director of the Harold L. Dorris Neurological Research Center, the relief and treatment of heartburn, acid reflux and GERD is a massive $1 billion a year market. Bartfai has decades of experience as a consultant and executive in the pharmaceutical industry and has consulted with companies developing costly treatments for this common disease. When so much money is spent on medications to relieve heartburn and its companions, you would think that at least one medication would be a cure. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case. Heartburn medications seem to do nothing more than relieve the symptoms...
Heartburn - Is Glutamine a Cure?
According to Tamas Bartfai, director of the Harold L. Dorris Neurological Research Center, the relief and treatment of heartburn, acid reflux and GERD is a massive $1 billion a year market. Bartfai has decades of experience as a consultant and executive in the pharmaceutical industry and has consulted with companies developing costly treatments for this common disease.
When so much money is spent on medications to relieve heartburn and its companions, you would think that at least one medication would be a cure. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case. Heartburn medications seem to do nothing more than relieve symptoms. Some try to neutralize stomach acids. Others “turn off the pumps” that produce stomach acids.
The pharmaceutical community doesn't seem to offer anything that will cure heartburn.
Glutamine for heartburn
Glutamine for heartburn could be the answer. Especially L-glutamine for heartburn. L-Glutamine for heartburn may not only be a cure, but it may also be far more cost-effective than other medications.
For example, in the USA, L-glutamine can be purchased for around 5 cents per capsule. The prescription drug that knocks out the pumps costs about $5.44 per capsule — at discounted prices.
Why might glutamine be good for heartburn?
Cause of heartburn
Heartburn appears to be a muscle problem.
Despite the pharmaceutical community's focus on acids, the true cause of heartburn is weakness of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).
A sphincter is a circular band of muscle like a ring around a body passage or opening. When teaching children about a sphincter, you can place a ring around a finger to illustrate it.
The job of each sphincter is to relax or tighten as needed to open or close a natural body opening or passage. If you were making your illustrative ring out of rubber band, you would tighten and relax the rubber band to show a sphincter action.
1. A cow's teat has a sphincter at the bottom. It relaxes to allow milk to flow and contracts to stop the flow.
2. The human bladder has an involuntary sphincter at the neck. It relaxes to allow urine to flow and contracts to stop the flow. A voluntary sphincter at the end of the urethra does the same.
3. An anal sphincter contracts to retain waste and relaxes to pass waste.
4. The lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxes to allow food to enter the stomach and contracts to prevent food and acid from flowing back into the esophagus. It should prevent heartburn.
Weak sphincter problems
If the sphincter becomes weak in any of the above areas, problems may arise.
1. A milking machine can keep a cow's sphincter relaxed for two hours. This allows bacteria to enter the teat and can lead to mastitis.
2. Weakness in the bladder sphincter can cause urine to leak against your will.
3. When the anal sphincter becomes weaker, fecal incontinence may occur.
4. A weakness in the LES allows stomach acid to back up and flow backwards into the esophagus. This causes heartburn.
When sphincters other than the LES become weak and cause problems, attention is given to strengthening the weak sphincter. The cow's sphincter is often exposed to cold after milking to tighten the muscle band. Exercise can tighten both weak bladder sphincters and weak anal sphincters. Biofeedback, electrical stimulation, and certain medications can also be used to tighten these two sphincters.
Interestingly, none of these approaches appear to be used for LES. Heartburn treatments treat the symptoms but neglect the weakened sphincter muscle that is the real problem.
Can glutamine help against heartburn?
Glutamine for heartburn can be a solution.
Glutamine is an amino acid. Just as other amino acids are important components of proteins, glutamine is also important. Glutamine occurs naturally in protein-rich foods: beans, dairy products, fish and red meat.
Glutamine supplementation is used by weightlifters, bodybuilders and other athletes who want strong muscles. Glutamine as a supplement is also used to relieve muscle spasms and pain, especially in the elderly. By replenishing amino acids in the body, muscles are strengthened and pain is relieved.
Glutamine has been shown to increase the body's ability to dispose of damaged cells and produce new cells. Glutamine is also a powerful antioxidant. As such, it helps protect body cells from free radicals. Glutamine heals mucous membranes, including the lining of the esophagus, which is damaged by heartburn.
Some believe that glutamine for heartburn may strengthen the LES and improve its ability to tone properly. This could completely prevent heartburn, acid reflux, and even GERD.
Glutamine for heartburn could potentially be a partial, if not complete, cure.
Until heartburn, acid reflux and GERD are understood and treated as the muscle problems they appear to be, doctors will continue to prescribe relief and treatments that only treat the symptoms.
Disclaimer:The author does not sell glutamine in any form, nor will she profit from the sale of glutamine for heartburn. The author is not a medical professional and provides this information for educational purposes only.
Inspired by Anna Hart