Mailbag! COOL Heartburn Without Meds?
By
Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Posted May 11, 2021
I suffer from GERD, and I feel like I’m always clearing my throat. I’m wondering what you would recommend to get rid of this miserable disease?
–John from Omaha, Nebraska
Hi John,
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a disorder where the contents of your stomach move upwards, causing a burning sensation in your chest. Most people know this as “heartburn.”
But mainstream docs widely misunderstood this common disorder.
Search any medical website and they will tell you that GERD is caused by the failure of your muscle – called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) – that keeps stomach acid in your stomach.
When this muscle fails to stay closed, it causes stomach acid to pour into your esophagus, causing a burning sensation.
But that’s NOT the entire story.
The mainstream handles GERD with acid-blocking drugs. And those drugs are on my list of drugs you should NEVER TAKE.
Why?
Because your whole digestive process relies on stomach acid. Without stomach acid, you won’t properly digest your food, and that means your body will be starved of nutrients it needs.
Acid-blocking drugs have a list of side-effects you don’t want. These drugs can destroy your microbiome, increase the risk of heart disease and dementia, and accelerate the aging of blood vessels.
The first step to fixing your GERD without these drugs is understanding what causes it.
The main culprits are sugars and foods that act like sugars.
When you eat sugary foods, they provide an easy food source for the bacteria that live in your gut. Two things happen when we provide this easy food source:
- Bacteria grow closer to our stomachs (normally, most of the bacteria in your gut are very low in your digestive tract – mostly in your colon).
- Those bacteria eat the sugars and produce gas as a byproduct.
When you have a ton of gas being produced in your gut, it has to escape somehow. The gas moves out of your stomach and rises through your esophagus. And with the gas comes stomach acid and the burn in your chest.
If you want to get rid of GERD, you have to stop the bacteria in your gut from making so much gas.
How do you do that?
Let me show you.
Dr. Scott’s Foolproof Plan to Avoid Heartburn:
- Stay away from soda. Sugary drinks are famous for producing gas (at both ends) and when gas moves up from your stomach, it often carries stomach acid (causing heart burn).
- Do your best to avoid too much sugar. Foods that contain sugar can act exactly like soda and cause gas. These foods are mostly grains and starchy veggies. If you pay attention, you will discover the foods that give you a lot of gas – stay away from them.
- Take a probiotic. A healthy gut microbiome (gut bacteria) can help reduce heartburn.
- Try a digestive enzyme. If you can digest the sugars before they get to the bacteria, then they will have nothing to eat.
- Pass the salt – yes, the salt. Salt helps keep bad bacteria in check as well as produces strong stomach acid (which reduces heartburn).
P.S. Have a health concern that’s worrying you? Click here to submit your questions and get featured in the weekly mailbag!
Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.
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