A New Explanation for the Increase of Acid Reflux Cases and A New Remedy that Goes to the Root of the Problem

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Acid Reflux/GERD.  A very serious, often painful disease.  Here’s a new option and some potential explanations.

A New Explanation for the Increase of Acid Reflux Cases and A New Remedy that Goes to the Root of the Problem

Anyone that has acid reflux or has a loved one that suffers from the disease probably knows the following— the cases of diagnosed GERD are increasing at an alarming rate. Ask any doctor that has treated gastrointestinal disorders for more than a decade and they will generously verify the obvious—there’s been a huge upturn in the number and severity of cases in the past twenty-five years.

There are many potential causes being offered by medical and research communities to account for this upturn. Many say there is a correlation with the increase in obesity. Other explanations have focused on diet. Still others have indicated a connection with smoking, infrequent or inadequate elevation of the torso while sleeping, etc., etc. ad nauseam all the way to wearing your clothes too tight. In many cases these are legitimate concerns and are likely strong variables in the acid reflux dilemma/discussion. My question is: Are we putting the horse before the cart? The chicken before the egg? Duodenal ulcer before how we grow and sustain our food?

I myself have acid reflux. I myself am now free of the symptoms because of a simple formula I discovered by accident (to get the formula see resource box below, as it requires some instruction). The formula relies on two very common supplements: Fiber and fish oil. Actually, fiber and any Essential Fatty Acids will do but fish oil containing abundant Omega 3 is the healthiest.

Both are items that have been systematically discouraged from an average person’s daily intake as we (Western countries) became more “industrial”. Today, in order to get an adequate amount of fiber and the right kinds of EFA’s one has to procure them in ways that are unheralded in terms of human food gathering over the course of our evolution. In the past it was difficult not to get both in adequate quantities even if the individual did not eat a lot of fish (see EFA and beef comments below).

What’s my assertion here? Americans, and others as the rest of the world also becomes more industrial, just don’t cultivate their food in the same way as our forebears and it has begun to show. And just within the past twenty-five years, the same period of time that diagnoses have increased substantially, the mechanism that could be causing the disease has become more expansive and common.

A prime example/starting point is the incident rate of GERD/Acid Reflux in other countries. In Japan, China and the Middle East the rate is 3-5, 3-7%. In the U.S., Canada, Britain and other Western “mechanized”countries the rate is 8-14%. Double. Obviously, they’re doing something right that we’re not. So what’s the difference between the East and the West? The one difference that seems the most notable, especially considering how well this formula works for a growing number of people with Acid Reflux, is adequate intake of Essential Fatty Acids (fish oil or in some other oil form) and fiber and all the beneficial properties inherent in both.

Let me put it all in perspective. Why are the U.S. and other Western powers not getting enough of what they need and why does the formula work so well? 

1. We just simply don’t get a good balance of EFA’s in our diet, in part because fish is not as big a part of our cultural diet. The Japanese eat three times more fish than Americans. But it’s not just fish. Other forms of EFA’s are no longer as prevalent either. In the past, we got more Omega 3 from the beef we eat as well. Now, instead of being fed grass and grain, which serve to increase Omega 3 levels, cattle are mostly fed corn, which does not aid in Omega 3 production.
2. The fish we eat is often farm raised (in pens or small ponds) and are also fed corn until harvested. Free ocean-bred fish (what many other cultures consume) eat plankton or algae or other Omega 3 boosting foods, which then of course increases the levels of Omega 3’s that are ingested by us when we eat the fish. When did the practice of farm raising fish begin in earnest? The 1980’s. And as stated earlier, that’s when GERD diagnoses began to climb.
3. The more EFA’s you get, the more good oils you’re getting as well and it’s possibly the oil in the fish oil that serve our purposes the most. It’s also worth mentioning that EFA’s are good fats that make up a large portion of the human brain. We need that kind of fat and we’re not getting enough anymore.
4. Not only do the EFA’s in the fish oil boost our brains, but the “oil” is beneficial as well all by itself. It has the “suspension” characteristics of any true oil – it’s very sticky. Simple chemistry. If you mix that suspension with an appropriate cohort you will have created a sticky barrier. Enter the fiber component. Mixed together in the right way you get a barrier composed of very healthy elements that line the inside of the esophagus and shield it against acid eruptions from the esophageal sphincter, which is the main cause of, you guessed it . . . Acid Reflux.
5. It’s possible that the added Omega 3 balances out the 3,6,9 ratio in our bodies, allowing for the excess to accomplish the goal of protecting the esophagus.
6. The same argument concerning fiber levels in our diet can be made. We don’t get it in adequate quantities either unless we supplement with other sources. The process requires both ingredients in ample quantities.
7. There could also be a connection between fiber/fish oil and some as yet undetermined relationship between constipation and acid reflux. Large proportions of GERD sufferers endure chronic constipation. When their GERD symptoms disappear their constipation often does as well.

So, in an attempt to maximize the efficiency and cost of growing our food, we may have inadvertently diminished necessary amounts of Essential Fatty Acids and Fiber from our diets and in the process increased our population’s susceptibility to somewhat common acid eruptions in our gastrointestinal system. Maybe people have always had acid reflux in varying amounts. Now, without knowing it, we’re no longer protecting ourselves. As they say, the proof is in the pudding. Or in this case, maybe the proof is in this new formula and how well it works.

Joe Washington is the creator of www.freeheartburnrelief.com. On the site he provides his patent pending formula that eliminates heartburn and acid reflux symptoms free of charge. Joe also penned Three Lives, a fiction novel released in 2009. You can learn about the novel and contact him at www.MidMerc.com.