Is Reflux Simply Caused By A Pulled Diaphragm?

Last week I gave you some tips on how to get a better idea of the root cause for your digestive problems. This week I am going to cover a simple test that will let you know if your over acid condition has a structural component to it. Generally these structurally caused over acidic conditions are completely overlooked for something far more serious and then medicated as such. This is actually quite a dangerous scenario as then you are medicating for a condition that doesnt exist and not treating the condition that does exist.

Some of the signs of a structurally over acid condition, or hiatal hernia, are- dizzyness, trouble concentrating, trembling and weakness, heart palpitations, and reflux. If this sounds like you then I suggest that you perform this easy partner test (which most physicians dont even know about- hence the reason why they mistake the problem for something far more serious) to narrow down your possible causes.

When I am talking about hiatal hernia, I am talking about a strain in your diaphragm. Remember the diaphragm is the strongest and most central core muscle in your body and when it isnt functioning well, you may feel like you are going to die. It can be pretty profound. This is the muscle that allows you to breathe..or not.

These signs can show up to varying degrees and up to 50% of the population over age 60 is estimated to have some form of diaphragmatic strain that traps some portion of the stomach above the diaphragm, both inhibiting the action of the stomach as well as the diaphragm but also stimulating the nerve that signals the stomach to produce acid (hence the over acid condition that drugs only temporarily treat).

The key here is to first find if this applies to you and then if it does, to correct the structural component with the same action as the test, but done often and on a regular basis. For sudden onset, often a single test will resolve the issue but for chronic situations, ongoing treatment from a professional trained in this technique is the best pathway for success.

Stay tuned for next week when I will address the absurd advice that I found masquerading as an authoritative article in the NY Times on how to best “preserve” your joints and keep from having to have joint replacement.

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Simple Solutions For Indigestion, Heartburn, Reflux, etc.

Last week I explained the logic behind the use of acid/enzymes in addressing chronic indigestion, gas, bloating, and heartburn and how the various pharmaceutical remedies often make the situation worse over time. This week, I am going to give you a few actionable self test methods to better help you pinpoint the root causes of the digestive issue(s) that you may be experiencing.

First off, I will be separating the test methods into those for folks who are currently NOT taking any prescription medication for the problem and then, for those who are. It is an important distinction to make because, generally, prescription meds have many more actions on the body than simply the intended action and so, keeping that in mind, we approach the system a bit more circumspectly than for those who are not taking meds.

With that in mind, bloating and gas are almost always the result of an over alkaline (non acidic) gastro intestinal tract and are generally resolved immediately with the addition of hydrochloric acid (stomach acid). But we must first make sure that the stomach lining has not been damaged by the chronic organic acidic conditions brought on by putrefaction of undigested food from lack of stomach acid excretions. That is we do a test called The HCL (hydrochloric acid) Sensitivity Test to essentially test for the presence of ulcers. Click HERE to get a copy of the test protocol.

If the HCL test results in any burning sensation- do NOT use a HCL supplement. You will cause further damage at this point. Use instead, a full spectrum food derived digestive enzyme with the meal. The protocol for healing the stomach lining of ulcers requires an empty stomach and a simple complex of both absorbent as well as healing phytonutrients (contact me if this applies to you for complete details).

If the HCL test results in no burning sensation then supplement with a food derived HCL and pepsin (protein digesting enzyme active in highly acidic environments that your stomach should be excreting) and pancreatin (pancreatic enzymes).

Now for those who are already on pharma drugs, start with a full spectrum whole food derived digestive enzyme (with the meal) for best results. Note if your digestion improves with the use of the enzyme. If so, then continue to use the enzyme and talk with your doctor about slowly weaning you off of the drug. If you have been on meds for a while do not go off of them cold turkey as there is some dependence developed over time. (contact me for more details on when adding acid supplementation is appropriate).

The rare case of true hyper acidosis (too much stomach acid) is often mis diagnosed and treated with drugs while the cause is generally, in fact, structural. It is always good to check whether the structural component is causing the situation because, drugs and other treatments will only provide temporary relief of the symptoms while failing to address the root cause. Thus, if you are medicated over a long period you will induce nutrient deficiencies as I described in the previous article.
Stay tuned for next week where I will reveal the often missed structural cause for having too much stomach acid AND a simple test that you can do to check if your acid challenge is structural in origin.

As always, comments and questions are appreciated and retweets are welcomed.

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Indigestion, Gas, Bloating, Reflux, or Heartburn?

Most people with indigestion, gas, bloating, heartburn, and reflux suffer from too little stomach acid, not too much. The burning in your esophagus is from acid- organic acids from the putrification of undigested food that has not moved from your stomach. The lack of stomach acid and enzymes in the presence of food means that you are unable to digest your food and instead it sits in your stomach, emitting gaseous organic acids-the byproduct of putrification. Of course, you burp to relieve the excess pressure and viola! You have heart burn.
Now the medical advice on this one has been to take antacids or better yet, expensive pharmaceuticals like Histamine-2 blockers (Zantac, Pepcid, Tagamet and Axid) or Proton Pump inhibitors (Nexium, Aciphex, Prevacid, Prilosec, Protonix) to either neutralize the acid or as in the case of the pharma drugs, stop the acid production altogether. Because for most the issue is not making enough acid, using the above remedies will cause a more major problem of malnutrition over the long term without addressing the root cause.
Think about it this way- if you take away your body’s ability to properly break down food then how are you going to absorb the nutrients properly? Not only that but you will now be sending food downstream for processing steps that it has not been prepared for. This is not rocket science. If you have a part of your body that has a specialized task that it performs, the task is performed best when the material that it processes arrives in the expected condition. If not, it cant be properly processed. This has a cascade effect in the digestive system which is made up of roughly 7 highly specialized regions each requiring food to be in a particular state prior to processing and absorbing.
The best way to address the issue of heartburn, etc. then, is to look at the root cause of heartburn, reflux, bloating, and gas which generally falls into one or more of three general categories:

1) Poor diet, poor food combining, overeating, and a high refined carbohydrate-sugar intake.
2) Poor or inadequate digestive enzyme function in the stomach, pancreas, and small intestine.
3) Perscription drugs that contribute to reflux problems.

For numbers one and two dietary changes and acid/enzyme supplementation usually do the trick. Number three can be readily solved by working with your MD to get off the offending medication. In most cases, it really comes down to whether or not you are ready to make minor lifestyle changes to avoid serious long term problems.
Stay tuned for next weeks article where I will discuss more specifically, what you can do to address this issue.

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*NEW* Morning Movement Video Series!

Wake up morning sequence to get the pain and stiffness out of your legs, hips, back, and neck.

Hi y’all, due to ongoing requests from clients and others, I have posted a very simple set of videos to my youtube (yoga) channel for those of you who want a simple and easy 5-10 minute morning regimen to get your body moving well and feeling great for the whole day. So far, I have posted both the 3 part Morning Movement Series as well as one additional pose for freeing up the upper back, shoulders, and neck.

Caveat Emptor: my FLIP cam broke recently and so I have switched to my old hand held 1CCV video cam (non HD). Forgive the resolution until I have a new HD cam in my hands.

All of these poses are shown in the classical way with no modifications. Some of you may require modification of the pose to be able to get the desired activation of the body. If this is the case and I have not already given you a modification, contact me. The key to getting the full benefit of the poses is to do them properly for your body. This doesn’t mean that random variations that feel good to you are giving you the benefit. Rather, the idea is to find the part of the body that is challenged by attempting the classical pose and then to work from there.

There is immense benefit to be had from working through the issues that your body presents with out taking a short cut. Think of short cut as a diversion that makes you feel good in the moment but adds a challenge over the long term. This is especially true with yoga as the body structure will change with your patterns of use. Anyhow, for those of you who find the videos useful, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel, friend me, and set up a RSS feed to your blog, website, etc. Be sure to post my contact info if you do this though.

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