Acid reflux disease (gastroesophageal reflux disease) symptoms

1. You may take steps to heal the problem naturally at the root cause (digestive malfunction and the overproduction of stomach acid) and in turn receive an array of health benefits stemming from proper digestion, assimilation and the essential fueling of every cell, tissue and organ in your body....

or..

2. You may follow the guilded path laid by the pharmaceutical industry and traditional medicine who would have you believe that these disorders are mysterious “diseases” in themselves which you must live with and deal with (take drugs to hide the problem) for the rest of your life. (lifetime clients)

Interesting Fact:
Are you aware that the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has published a report admitting, in no uncertain terms, that the safety of prescription drugs are inevitably tested on the public. The study concludes with this warning:

“Serious Adverse Drug Reactions commonly emerge after Food and Drug Administration approval. The "safety" of new perscription drugs cannot be known with certainty until a drug has been on the market for many years.”

They tell you to: “Know YOUR Acid Reflux Disease.”

They would have you believe that your only course of action against “your disease” is the consumption of pharmaceutical drugs in an effort to mask the symptoms. (close the valve, the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), and/or suppress the stomach acid production) These very same drugs, which do not address the root cause of these disorders, can cause and/or allow serious gastrointestinal problems to exist in addition to numerous negative side effects.

Question: Why does the pharmaceutical industry and traditional medicine label these disorders as “diseases in themselves” instead of explaining the truth to the public, which is that the overproduction of stomach acid and the navigation of this excess acid up into the esophagus (the throat) is a symptom of a digestive disorder which must be corrected at the source.

The answer is clear yet difficult for some to swallow. (no pun intended)

It would appear that the public is purposely lead to believe that various symptoms of diseases are separate diseases in themselves. This in turn creates long-term or lifetime consumers of pharmaceuticals.

How and Why are they doing this?

In the case of Heart Burn, Acid Reflux Disease or GERD, the patient is told: ..you have this “disease” “but quite fortunately, there are drugs available to fight it, and if you stay on the drugs, we may be able to keep it under control.” (The fact that these drugs do not address the root cause of these disorders can cause and/or allow serious gastrointestinal problems to exist is usually omitted or minimized.)

The doctor is not trained to explain to the patient that the Heart Burn, Acid Reflux Disease or GERD is a symptom of a digestive disease in which the digestive tract is struggling to digest food matter, and over producing acids in a desperate attempt to do so. No, certainly not. The doctor is trained to diagnose the existence of Heart Burn, Acid Reflux or GERD, swivel in his chair, reach for his prescription pad, and write a prescription for a drug such as Nexium, Prevacid, or Prilosec.

The doctors, well intentioned as most are, have become the misguided puppets of drug promotion. The master puppeteers (the pharmaceutical industry) have cleverly diverted the attention away from the cause (digestive disorder) of the symptom (Acid Reflux) and labeled the symptom as “the disease.” This execution of their apparent premeditated campaign has created an enormous new marketplace and life time consumers for their erroneous concoctions. By keeping the real problem (the underlying digestive malfunction) in tact and off the discussion table, they insure that the market (the need for the drug) will flourish.

Their ongoing endeavor to mislead the public in the pursuit of billions seems to stop at nothing. I have clipped the following paragraph from a pharmaceutical company’s explanation page under the heading of “Understand what causes acid reflux disease (GERD) and how it affects your digestive system.”

It reads as follows:

“The acids in your stomach are harsh, but your stomach has a built-in lining that protects it from being damaged by the acids. Everything is fine as long as those acids stay in the stomach where they belong. The acid backing up from the stomach into the esophagus can, in some people, erode or eat away the lining of the esophagus.”

The first sentence is a half truth: Your stomach does have a built-in lining that protects it from acids, but this lining will not protect the stomach from excess acid long term.

The second sentence is an outrageous falsehood: Everything is Not fine as long as those acids stay in the stomach. Long term, excess stomach acids can ravage not only the stomach but the entire digestive system culminating in diseases and premature death.

The pharmaceutical industry is well aware of this fact, and their disclosures which the government still (for now) forces them to post, prove that they are well aware:

Nexium: Symptom relief does not rule out serious stomach conditions. The most common side effects of this drug are headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Body as a Whole: abdomen enlarged, allergic reaction, asthenia, back pain, chest pain, chest pain substernal, facial edema, peripheral edema, hot flushes, fatigue, fever, flu-like disorder, generalized edema, leg edema, malaise, pain, rigors; Cardiovascular: flushing, hypertension, tachycardia; Endocrine: goiter; Gastrointestinal bowel irregularity, constipation aggravated, dyspepsia, dysphagia, dysplasia GI, epigastric pain, eructation, esophageal disorder, frequent stools, gastroenteritis, GI hemorrhage, GI symptoms not otherwise specified, hiccup, melena, mouth disorder, pharynx disorder, rectal disorder, serum gastrin increased, tongue disorder, tongue edema, ulcerative stomatitis, vomiting; Hearing: earache, tinnitus; Hematologic: anemia, anemia hypochromic, cervical lymphoadenopathy, epistaxis, leukocytosis, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia; Hepatic: bilirubinemia, hepatic function abnormal, SGOT increased, SGPT increased; Metabolic/Nutritional: glycosuria, hyperuricemia, hyponatremia, increased alkaline phosphatase, thirst, vitamin B12 deficiency, weight increase, weight decrease; Musculoskeletal: arthralgia, arthritis aggravated, arthropathy, cramps, fibromyalgia syndrome, hernia, polymyalgia rheumatica; Nervous System/Psychiatric: anorexia, apathy, appetite increased, confusion, depression aggravated, dizziness, hypertonia, nervousness, hypoesthesia, impotence, insomnia, migraine, migraine aggravated, paresthesia, sleep disorder, somnolence, tremor, vertigo, visual field defect; Reproductive: dysmenorrhea, menstrual disorder, vaginitis; Respiratory: asthma aggravated, coughing, dyspnea, larynx edema, pharyngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis; Skin and Appendages: acne, angioedema, dermatitis, pruritus, pruritus ani, rash, rash erythematous, rash maculo-papular, skin inflammation, sweating increased, urticaria; Special Senses: otitis media, parosmia, taste loss, taste perversion; Urogenital: abnormal urine, albuminuria, cystitis, dysuria, fungal infection, hematuria, micturition frequency, moniliasis, genital moniliasis, polyuria; Visual: conjunctivitis, vision abnormal. Endoscopic findings that were reported as adverse events include: duodenitis, esophagitis, esophageal stricture, esophageal ulceration, esophageal varices, gastric ulcer, gastritis, hernia, benign polyps or nodules, Barrett’s esophagus, and mucosal discoloration.

The next time you view a , beautifully flowing pharmaceutical commercial (a production) with masses of actors holding hands, climbing rock piles and starring at the sky, think of those scores of actors, the production set, production specialists, the musicians, and the top sociologists who have been hired to create the grand illusion that the drug is good for you. THINK. Your health and life depend upon it. The Government and your medical doctor are not looking out for you as one would like to believe. They are entangled in a trillion dollar bureaucracy with it’s foundation based in profits. The pharmaceutical industry has more registered lobbyists in Washington DC than the number of senators and congressmen combined.

My advice to the Heart Burn, Acid Reflux or GERD sufferer:

Don’t by into the big business propaganda.

Address the root of the problem - the digestive malfunction or disorder causing the overproduction of acids. Get your digestive tract as a whole, back on track, and avoid an entire array of potential health problems in the future. Read more about Healing & Prevention.

How digestion works.

Food is digested via the acids and enzymes produced by the stomach, a wide array of enzymes produced by the pancreas and walls of the small intestine, bile from the gallbladder, and the delicate ecosystem of the digestive tract. Without proper support from the immune system and nutrient fueling, this delicate system will deteriorate to varying degrees of dysfunction.

Undigested food partials will then reach the colon producing irritation, causing the body to send a signal to the stomach demanding the production of more stomach acids in a desperate attempt to break down the food material. But stomach acids alone cannot properly digest and extract the nutrient from the food for the bloodstream.

By restoring the delicate ecosystem of the digestive tract through targeted support of proper immune system function, the overproduction of stomach acid and subsequent reflux of that excess acid can be eliminated at the root cause. In turn, you will receive an array of health benefits stemming from proper digestion, assimilation and the essential fueling of every cell, tissue and organ in your body.

They Key or “giveaway” that the pharmaceutical industry is well aware that the root cause of GERD is digestive dysfunction, lies within their own terminology and mandatory disclaimers. They state that when taking the drugs for Heartburn or GERD “serious gastrointestinal problems may STILL exist”. The key word being “STILL”. The pharmaceutical industry is well aware that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the root cause of the GERD is digestive dysfunction , and that a drug designed to close the LES valve and/or stem the production of stomach acid is not designed to address or heal the core disease (digestive dysfunction) and that disease will remain, and in all likelihood become more severe.

I would like the reader to know that I feel that there are a small but growing number of innovative health care professionals, including Md.’s, who are committed to the pursuit of the safest and best possible solution for the patient, regardless of pressures from the traditional medical and pharmaceutical establishments. I hold the highest respect for these individuals, for these individuals are the true definition of a Health Care Professional.

Dr. Ronald Drucker, (BS, MTASCP), D.C.