
No doubt most middle aged adults, along with pregnant women, have experienced the discomfort of heartburn at some point in their life; that burning, sometimes stabbing pain we feel in our chest and/or upper diaphragm area. Heartburn, otherwise known as GERD, (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), or just acid indigestion, can be so painful that many people end up in the emergency room, mistaking it for heart related issues. Instead, they find out it is a gastrointestinal issue, likely due to that big dinner they had that night.
In the normal course of digestion, food enters the stomach and after about 30 minutes arrives at it’s next destination, the small intestines. It is here that the gall bladder,(or liver if one is without their gall bladder), injects bile to assist with fat digestion and the pancreas injects digestive enzymes to aid in carbohydrate, protein and also fat digestion. Food will then slowly churn down the small intestines to be sorted into liquid and solid waste. When people experience heartburn, food is not flowing easily from either the esophagus to the stomach and/or from the stomach to the small intestine. In Chinese medicine, this is called “rebellious Qi”, as the food is going “up” instead of “down”.
Rebellious stomach Qi is generally caused by one of two issues. In my practice, liver and/or gall bladder congestion is usually the primary cause of heartburn. A congested liver, which is sometimes referred to as a “fatty liver” by the medical community, typically is a result of a diet high in fats, sugars, fried food, junk food, soda and alcohol. Many people with heartburn concurrently suffer from gallstones as well. The remedy to this is to first, alter the diet to include more fruits and vegetables and less fatty, sugary and highly processed foods. Eat lean meats, low fat dairy and more high fiber foods such as legumes and whole grains. Eliminate the soda and reduce alcohol consumption, especially beer. And if one is suffering from a serious case, going on a vegetarian diet until the condition can get under control will help tremendously.
The second remedy to help unclog the liver/gall bladder is through the use of herbal formulas. Western herbs that help the liver include milk thistle, dandelion root, the Chinese herbs known as Chai Hu (bupleurum) and Chen Pi (Tangerine Peel). Chinese herbs known to help the gall bladder are Hai Jin Sha (Lygodium Spore) and Jin Qian Cao (Lysimachia). Artichoke leaf is a great gall bladder herb. Eating apples and drinking water with lemon or lime along with apple juice can help the liver/gall bladder.
Often times people with a history of heartburn also experience the stomach acids rising up the esophagus and even to the throat. Visiting a doctor will often result in one walking away with a script for some kind of acid blocking medication such as Nexium, Previcid or Prilosec. This may provide temporary relief, but will at the same time reduce digestive functioning and protection from bacteria that the stomach acid can inhibit. There may be inflammation and possibly damage in the intestinal lining. Adding in restorative herbs such as licorice, marshmallow root and aloe along with the building block of the intestinal lining, l-glutamine, can remedy the “burn” on the tissues.
Patients applying good dietary choices with the help of the aforementioned herbs can say goodbye to heartburn for good, and in weeks not years. Heartburn sufferers can thus avoid the prolonged use of prescription medications which do not solve the inherent issue, inhibit full digestive functioning and possibly cause other sides effects.