Sick of heartburn?

Sick of heartburn?

I was too.

So I went to my primary care doctor, then my gastroenterologist, and then a naturalist for help. I was unhappy. At 54 and fairly healthy, I had done everything I could and still no relief.

It all started when I had a traumatic stomach event while radically changing my diet to lose weight. Not a good idea

I had every test imaginable. A CT scan, a capsule endoscopy (yes, you are actually swallowing a small camera!), an MRI, stool tests, blood tests, a colonoscopy and an endoscopy.

I was constantly told to “eat more fiber,” stop eating fried foods, stop drinking coffee, stop drinking alcohol. I did all of these things and it actually got WORSE.

I was prescribed so-called proton pump inhibitors. Like Nexium or Omeprazole. I have friends who take these too and they take a 20mg pill and get relief. Me? I had 40 mg tablets up to twice a day. Still no relief.

Then I went to a naturopath and bought licorice supplements, slippery elm and various teas. Lots of money out, but no luck.

Then I had it. None of it made any sense. I thought the only way to fix this would be to solve it myself.

Here I tried every natural supplement and took 80 mg of Omeprazole to stop all my acid production. Remember that you should only take these medications temporarily.

I'm not a doctor, but I know enough to understand that stomach acid is there for a reason. It helps digest food! So if I shut everything down, it must affect my ability to digest, right?

If you're at your wits end with heartburn, you need to get to the bottom of the problem. It's counterintuitive, but I learned that GERD and acid reflux are actually caused by too little acid, not too much acid!

Therefore, all these supplements you read about only help mask the underlying problem. They can give you temporary relief (they didn't work for me, but they can for you), but the problem doesn't go away.

What helped me was a very deliberate series of steps that gave me great relief over a two-month period.

Here is the first one.

Stop eating carbohydrates immediately! That means no bread, no pizza, no pasta, no bagels and no potatoes. No, that doesn't mean you have to do this forever, but you have to do it for at least a few months.

Why? Because undigested carbohydrates produce gas, which contributes to heartburn. Take away the fuel and you're on your way to a healthier gut.

Inspired by David Wilson