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Gastric Reflux (Heartburn) and Stomach Ulcers
Introduction
There are many conditions in Western industrialised societies today that were unheard of, or at least very rare, just a century ago. The same conditions are still unheard of in primitive peoples who do not have the 'benefits' of our knowledge. There is a very good reason for this: They eat what Nature intended; we don't. The diseases caused by our incorrect and unnatural diets are those featured on these pages.
Dietary causes of Gastric reflux (heartburn) and Stomach ulcers:
Gastric reflux:
High-carb diet — sugars and starches.Stomach ulcers:
High-carb diet — sugars and starches.Gastric reflux (Heartburn )
Heartburn is often the first symptom to disappear when carbohydrates are reduced in the diet. However severe, and even if made worse by factors like the backflow of gastric juice into the oesophagus in hiatus hernia, the chances of success are good. If patients come back with the complaint that the diet is no longer effective and their heartburn has returned, a closer look usually reveals that some carbohydrates have again crept into the diet.
This is because heartburn risk in much higher among people who are overweight or obese.[1] They also suffer more from diarrhoea. Professor Nicholas Talley, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA and his team investigated over 700 volunteers from Sydney, Australia. Their data suggested 'that there is a positive independent relationship between increasing BMI and heartburn as well as diarrhoea in the community. . . that obesity per se is a risk factor for gastroesophageal reflux disease.' And obesity, as we know, is caused by a carbohydrate-rich diet.
Similar results confirming those of Talley's team were found in another study the following year conducted by the prestigious Karolinska Institutet, in Stockholm, Sweden.[2]
Stomach Ulcers
Many ulcers are caused by irritation of the lining of the stomach by high levels of hydrochloric acid and protein-splitting enzymes. Gastrin, a hormone responsible for gastric secretions, is formed when food enters the stomach. This leads to secretion of hydrochloric acid and the enzymes necessary for digestion in the stomach. When the stomach contents are sufficiently acidified, the pyloric sphincter opens and allows the acid contents to leave the stomach and continue their journey into the small intestine. Here other substances are produced which stimulate activity by the pancreas and also neutralise the acid from the stomach. This also stops production of stomach acid, thus the stomach has a form of self-regulation.
It is important to note that in cases of hyperacidity, too much gastrin is produced. Carbohydrates especially elicit production of gastrin. Both stomach ulcers caused by high acid levels and duodenal ulcers usually heal if carbohydrates are restricted.[3]
References
[1]. Talley NJ, et al. Association of upper and lower gastrointestinal tract symptoms with body mass index in an Australian cohort. Neurogastroenterol Motil 2004; 16: 413-419.
[2]. Aro P, et al. Body mass index and chronic unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms: an adult endoscopic population-based study. Gut 2005: 54: 377-83.
[3]. Lutz W. Dismantling a Myth. Selecta-Verlag Dr. Ildar Idris GmbH & Co, KG Planegg Vor München, 1986: 125-180.
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