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WHEN I WAS in my late twenties I started to have some problems with my stomach, and more specifically with gastric reflux.
It is a miserable ailment where acid from the stomach is leaking up in to the oesophagus causing a heartburn-like sensation. The symptoms were severe at times – I clearly recall having to stop the car and pull over because I thought I was having a heart attack.
Looking back on it, I am pretty sure it was caused by a combination of a stressful job (in IT sales) and the utterly unconscious relationship I had with food at that time.
My GP prescribed me with a drug called a Proton Pump Inhibitor or PPI (brand names include Nexium and Prilosec) that acts to reduce acid production in the stomach.
Relief from the symptoms of reflux were almost instantaneous and I was pleased to report to anyone that would listen that thanks to the little pink pill I was able to eat (and
drink) pretty much anything I liked. I took a PPI tablet daily for nearly 7 years.
PPIs rank only behind statins as the world’s best selling drug with annual sales over $11 billion dollars in the US alone. It’s no understatement to say that the drug has ended sheer misery for millions of people around the world. But, as with many wonder-drugs, there are concerns about side-effects and over-subscription.
According to a study published in the US National Library of Medicine (Heidelbaugh, Kim, Chang and Walker, 2012) PPIs have been linked to “increased risk of enteric infections, community-acquired pneumonia, bone fracture, nutritional deficiencies, and interference with metabolism of anti-platelet agents”.
In my case, I would say that the drug didn’t come without its problems, though of course it’s hard to establish a cause-effect relationship. A few years after being prescribed PPIs, I noticed some issues with my health – joint pain, fatigue and a general ‘fuzziness’ in my head. Overall my body just didn’t feel right. A nutritionist that I went to at the time believed the PPIs were causing this and explained it thus: if your stomach is producing a fraction of the acid it used to produce thanks to the pills, then it simply can’t digest food as effectively.
Seems obvious when you think about it. Larger, undigested morsels of food then travel down in to your gut causing damage to the gut wall. Over time these lesions in the gut become big enough to allow little bits of food to enter your blood stream where your body views them as foreign invaders and responds by attacking them. The result? Your body is permanently on a war footing.
PPIs, though miraculous, mask the fact that many (but not all) reflux sufferers could solve their problems through diet change. This is problematic of course, because it’s much easier to take a pill then to do a root-and-branch reform of our diets. I was feeling unwell enough to give it a try and I resented how frantically reliant I had become on the PPIs.
With careful attention to what I was putting in to my body, I was finally able to stop taking the tablets and stay reflux free at the same time. I cut back on meat, wheat and dairy and greatly increased the amount of vegetables (most of them home-grown) in my diet. I will talk next week about improving general gut health and the role that fermented foods such as kimchi and kefir can play.
In general terms though, what you might describe as markers for inflammation in my body have disappeared, and I would say my overall health feels significantly improved.
Do not leave beds bare for the winter – sow a green manure, or cover with a thick layer of
manure/compost and then black plastic or straw. This will return nutrients to the soil, keep the worst of the weather off it, suppress weeds and prevent leaching of nutrients.
‘Earth up’ or tie up vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Divide up your rhubarb if you want to propagate, and cover it with a thick mulch of manure. Prune apple trees. Mulch fruit bushes. Take cuttings of currant bushes from current season’s wood.
Sow broad beans outside now for an early crop next spring. To avoid rotting before germination, make small newspaper cups and germinate them indoors first.
Next summer’s garlic does best if it’s planted before Christmas – plant outdoors in well prepared soil in a sunny spot. Though I have to admit I never bother with them, some varieties of onion can over-winter and will be ready to harvest in early summer.
Continue to harvest perpetual spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes, swede, parsnips, apples, pears. Start harvesting leeks, winter cabbage, kale, artichokes, Brussels sprouts. Time to lift carrots and turnips or at least cover them with a good layer of straw to protect them from frost damage.
I like growing red cabbage because it seems relatively impervious to some of the beasties that make growing other cabbages a complete nightmare. I must say however that we often find it difficult to do it justice in the kitchen and don’t find it as versatile as green or white cabbages.
This coleslaw is great though and I like to think the abundance of raw veg in it can offset the use of lots of mayonaise. I have tried to do a more virtuous mayo-free version with mustard and vinegar but it didn’t work so well in my view. This will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine all the vegetables and the parsley in a bowl and mix well. Season really well with sea salt and black pepper. Stir in the mayonnaise and sprinkle some more parsley on top. Serve immediately.
This week I lifted the last of my maincrop potatoes from the ground to store them for the winter. Though main crop potatoes can remain in the ground to be used as required, in my garden they tend to get eaten by slugs and wireworm.
So around this time each year, I lift them for storage in a box in the garage. They don’t need to be stored in sand like beetroot or carrots, but a blanket to cover the box is a good plan to protect them from heavier frosts.
Before storing I got the kids to check through them all and divide them in to two piles (they enjoyed the muckiness of this job). In to one pile they put the ones that already have wireworm damage or split skin to be used quickly – these I will keep in the house. In the other they put the more perfect specimens which will store for longer in the garage.
I am delighted with the variety Cara which I have grown for the first time this year – we have had a huge crop of massive spuds which are particularly great for chipping and baked. We’ve been eating them for about a month now, and I harvested about 150 of them this week which I reckon should last us about 12-15 weeks (to the end of January or so).
Michael Kelly is a freelance journalist, author and founder of GIY.
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If food is sticking or you have acid reflux more than two weeks get it checked. I have survived esophageal cancer (was diagnosed when I was 32) and it is no laughing matter.
@ Aoife. I had reflux for years. I thought nothing serious about it until one day I heard a man on the radio describing some symptoms he had that caught my attention. Sounded like me. I waited eagerly for him to mention what was wrong and then he said “esophageal cancer “. It was a shock.never heard of it before. I had been going to my GP with some symptoms but stopped because he made me feel like a hypochondriac! Soon after hearing that interview I had a real scary experience after eating dinner and my husband insisted I went back again. The lovely doctor listened and then told me my symptoms were a sign of Psychosis. What????… I heard about http://www.lollipopday.ie/ and their campaing to raise awareness for oesophageal cancer and asked them to send that clinic infromation packs because that doctor obvioulsy didn’t have a clue. I didn’t have it TG but the acid did damage my Oesophagus and voice box. I’m very glad you have survived it.
100% no word of a lie, going off tap water cured my reflux and my mams, after reading a study linking fluoride to reflux. Within 3 weeks a chronic condition both of us had completely disappeared. Drink lidl water now and the mother has an osmosis filter to take the fluoride out. Britta filters dont take fluoride out.
Did you try homeopathy too? lol
I find tap water helps, so long as it isn’t too cold. I honestly don’t think there’s any connection between fluoride and reflux. I’ve friends from a place with high levels of naturally occurring fluoride – none of them has reflux.
@Freebetcitydcom
100% believe you, I find that when I have it that tap water only makes my acid reflex a lot worse. Went onto bottled water and bingo! – my incidences of getting acid reflux have significantly reduced. May well consider getting reversed osmosis buts its expensive, why should I have fluoride in my water without my consent anyway??… and to heap insult onto injury – our government along with IW wants us to pay for this poison!
That’s unsubstantiated conspiracy silliness.
The plastic your Lidl water is in is far more toxic than the negligible amount of fluoride in the water system which is far below the international standard recommended amount. Where did you read the study re: fluoride and reflux, Marie Claire magazine? The only homeopathic remedy that is proven to work is the one that cures thirst.
Same here, made a huge difference once stopped using tap water
Kafir kicks ass big time
There is Fluoride in bottled water too.
I find anything with white floor such as white baguettes, pizza, pasta can give it to me. However I’m surprised no one mentioned smoking which as far as I know is a major cause.
http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/features/heartburn-tobacco-connection
Kangen water – it’s yer only man!
Just going to write this for anyone who comes across the comments above. Like most people in this country I grew up drinking tap water and never had any issues. Later as an adult I lived abroad for a while and got into the habit of drinking bottled water, when I returned home I continued this habit because I now got a taste off the tap water and found the bottled stuff nicer. It wasn’t long though when I started to develop terrible reflux, I blamed everything and anything for years and could never seem to get relief, that is until I stopped drinking bottled water and went back on the tap. The problem started to subside almost immediately. Don’t listen to the comments above, bottled water is one of the worst things you can drink it’s nothing but a complete con. Generations of Irish people got by without any problems drinking fluoridated water, 20 years ago people would have laughed at the idea of buying bottles of water.
Acid reflux is a potentially serious condition and if you have long term issues with it needs to be investigated by a GP/ Gastroenterologist.
Good advice, I have similar problems. But I would take issue with eve made-up explanations from the nutritionist about partially digested food morsels and other such ‘seems obvious’ stuff. Unless someone has done a bit of research then that kind of stuff is just opinion.
Again though – good advice thanks, I’m totally behind trying to control reflux with weight management, diet and exercise. Controlling reflux will also reduce the risk for oesophageal cancer down the line according to medical studies. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/mobileart.asp?articlekey=359
That is what I am a 9 year survivor of, I had acid reflux for years :( If you have acid reflux for more than a few weeks get it checked out.
Thanks, Aoife. I had the scope, treatment for ulcer etc. Diet and the odd Nexium make all the difference.
I had really bad acid reflux for years.. I always had to have a packed of rennie somewhere in the house and car.. I also suffered from pimples and spots on my back.. Had both issues from my teens to my thirties and anything my GP prescribed didn’t help at all.. Then about three years ago decided to give up dairy altogether and both issues went away nearly over night… Since giving up dairy I don’t get reflux at all..
Martin you’re correct. The stuff about food going undigested, damaging the gut and then more food leaking into the bloodstream is absolute nonsense.
Food is digested through a combination of enzymatic activity and mechanical digestion. While some digestive enzymes require an acidic pH for activation, proton pump inhibitors do not eliminate gastric acid completely, so you still have an acidic pH in your stomach, hence the digestive enzymes still work. In any case, the role of enzymes/acid is primarily breakdown of proteins into their constituent amino acids, not breaking big bits of food down into smaller bits. I would be very interested to know what qualifications the so called “nutritionist” has, as he/she clearly has very little understanding of how the digestive process works.
By the way, I too suffered from reflux in my 20s, but no longer do. I totally agree that it can be controlled by lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, weight loss), but I suspect booze is a big factor.
We are tubes. You could claim, with some accuracy, that food never enters our bodies. Food and water goes in the tube, we squirt acid and enzymes on it, mush it and absorb chemicals from the slop.
Help your tube with fibre, hydration and by avoiding inflammation triggers. The fluoride thing is unsubstantiated nonsense. Anyone pushing that quackery deserves a kick in their tube ending.
I think there are certain foods or drinks which act as the catalyst to acid reflux. I stopped drinking orange juice and Lucozade and my acid reflux almost completely disappeared. Comes back with a vengeance when I have even the smallest amount of either. There are my causes but probably different for everybody
As a suffer I liked this article.
However, one thing jumped out.
“A nutritionist that I went to at the time believed the PPIs were causing this and explained it thus: if your stomach is producing a fraction of the acid it used to produce thanks to the pills, then it simply can’t digest food as effectively”
I thought that stomach acid plays no part in the digestion of food. It’s enzymes that break down food, not acid? The acid only kills bacteria.
The reason I mention it was because I was once in the presence of a gastroenterologist and made a comment about acid breaking down food only to be sharply corrected on it, and lectured on how its the enzymes. Stomach acid plays no part in the actual digestion of food [or so I was told]
Actually stomach acid activates the enzyme pepsinogen to pepsin so that it can break down proteins, so while acid doesn’t directly digest food it is important in facilitating the appropriate conditions for digestion in the stomach.
Good to know! Thanks Karen :D
No bother :)
James you’re essentially correct. The stuff about food going undigested, damaging the gut and then more food leaking into the bloodstream is absolute nonsense. I posted a longer reply on this above.
I tend to get insanely bad reflux when I’m at my parents and for ages couldn’t figure it what was triggering it. Narrowed it down to the tap water used to make tea, its pretty “hard” water with a lot of limescale which is the only difference from my own place.
This should be in reply to the comment from Mike about tap water above.
Suffered with it for years , finally went for a colonoscopy along with other tests . The results showed a virus I had most likely picked up while travelling causing inflammation in my stomach which was allowing acid travel back up from my stomach. As soon as it was identified I was give specific antibiotics for two weeks . Problem solved , never suffered since . Might not be the same for everyone but worth investigating.
Antibiotics don’t treat viruses at all.
The virus was caused by a bacteria, apologies for not writing 4 paragraphs from a medical journal to clarify it for you .
Think you are rewriting biology text books right there…
I think you’ll find I’m right .
As a biologist who regularly deals with bacteria and other microorganisms I’m very interested in hearing about how a virus can cause bacteria, although I think you may have gotten something mixed up
Other way round
They probably treated you for the helicobacter pylori bacteria. They usually do when acid reflux is bad. Most everybody has it but only causes some , problems.
Sorry I wrote that the wrong way around but a bacteria cannot cause a virus either
Actually that’s totally inaccurate. There are varied estimates on how many people actually harbour Helicobacter pylori in the stomach and it apparently varies across different populations. My understanding is that everyone who is found to have helicobacter is treated as it can be a precursor for stomach cancers of untreated. Helicobacter pylori is often found in people who complain of stomach ulcers
If untreated. That comment was for missyb
Karen. i love the way you say “Actually that’s totally inaccurate” What am I “totally inaccurate” about? I know this is just wikipedia but it says “More than 50% of the world’s population harbor H. pylori in their upper gastrointestinal tract” . That’s most!!!! Ok! so it’s stretching it a bit to say ‘most’ but it’s definitely not “totally inaccurate” lol. Come down off your high horse! Nothing I said was totally inaccurate!
As in…i use tap water for washing only.
Mike, you do know that the nasty Fluoride chemical Sinn Fein hate (being dumped on us by manufacturers of nuclear power and Monsanto) and Chlorine (used to gas soldiers) in tap water can give you skin Cancer? Also water contains DiHydro Oxides which kill thousands by contact with the skin every year. You didn’t?? Read more of the internet.
Be very careful of dihydrogen monoxide. It’s in our water you know.
Alkalise and energise. Wheat grass is amazing.
Have you tried Crystal healing? Nuclear Quantum something or other?
If you align your energies over lay-lines your system will balance itself and boost your immune system.
Martin byrne u seem to have a vested interest here. Who said anything about conspiracy? We are talking about our health and uts no consp that we pay 5m a year for fluoride
Oh I have a vested interest – I’m fighting ignorance, as I think that benefits us all.
And promoting food woo isn’t going to help anyone’s health. Real knowledge and understanding might though
I was on PPI meds since I was 18 due to a small hernia I had terrible reflux( was told weight and diet would fix it, which was a load of bull), constantly felt ill, prone to terrible bowel problems due to the meds, irritable due to lack of sleep I had to sleep up on pillows. I had to fight tooth and nail with my GP to get scopes etc then the hospital said sure I’m grand keep taking the meds lose weight etc lost weight no improvement! Changed GP referred to St James had to start all over again scopes monitors etc I had a massive hernia at this stage and threatened if they did not operate I would sue(sent letter to consultant telling him it was affecting my life). I now feel so much better I can exercise properly eat properly live properly without looking for PPI meds I fear that they done more damage than good
I was 13 years on meds for the reflux btw
A person can suffer these symptoms of acid reflux from having too much Iron in their blood as a result of Hereditary Haemochromotosis (Celtic Disease). Very common in West of Ireland populations. One should have a blood saturation test done, then genetic test. It can run in families, mostly men from mid forties on begin complained. Once treated by venesection and managed, symptoms will improve. Overload of iron is stored in the vital organs including the stomach and causes reflux.
I was put on PPIs after developing acid reflux a few years ago, which presented as a sensation of a lump in the throat. However, the PPI’s didn’t agree with me, they gave me heart palpitations and a feeling of somthing clutching at my throat. Not very pleasant and a bit scary actually.
So the doctor put me on Gavascon instead, which was a help but I was knocking it back several times a day. Nothing really improved until I picked up a book on acid reflux called “Drop the Acid” or something similar that gave dietary recommendations similar to the above article, plus an elimination diet.
I eventually discovered that the main trigger for me was Chinese green tea I been ordering off the internet fro the past year! I never would have suspected it if I hadn’t done the elimination diet. The other main key is as the article says to increase the amount of vegetables one eats and reduce junk food.
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