Feeling
a Fire In Your Chest or Belly?
Dr. Bruce Sadilek as interviewed
for Health & Fitness Magazine by Dr. Donna Schwontkowski,
Editor
Burping
after meals. Regurgitating after meals. The feeling that there’s
hot damaging acid in the back of your throat. These are symptoms
of GERD, which stands for gastro-esophageal reflux disease,
and it’s not pleasant.
Some GERD sufferers are up all night long
with a burning sensation in their chest. To them, it feels
like there’s a fire inside. Others are constantly clearing
their throat and have hoarseness in the morning. And others
have a burning or a strange sensation or taste in their mouth,
accompanied by dry cough and bad breath.
“Many of my patients with GERD ask,
‘Why can’t I eat the foods I like?’ We program
ourselves to eat foods for comfort and consequently become
frustrated when we cannot take part in the enjoyment of eating
them,” Dr. Bruce Sadilek, Medical Director of Integrative
Medical Associates in Tucson, AZ said.
Dr. Sadilek blends traditional medicine with
natural methods/alternative healing to create the health that
his patients seek.
“In GERD, acids from the stomach move
backwards into the esophagus. Think of the esophagus as the
food pipe that carries food from the mouth to the stomach,”
he said.
This results in the feeling that there’s
a fire in their chest, or belly.
The exact causes of GERD are unknown, but
some say stress is involved or possibly it’s of bacterial
origin. Other researchers and physicians report that the use
of alcohol and eating certain foods such as garlic, onions,
excessive mint and spicy foods is what triggers it.
It’s possible that obesity, pregnancy,
and smoking or a hiatal hernia may also be related to the
etiology of GERD.
“The problem is that if GERD isn’t
healed, it can lead to esophageal damage and cause esophageal
cancers,” Dr. Sadilek said.
Now, specific behaviors such as eating small
frequent meals or avoiding known food allergens that can increase
the likelihood of gastric irritation can help alleviate GERD,
according to Dr. Sadilek.
Even simply elevating the head of your bed
6-8 inches to decrease excessive pressure on the diaphragm
and avoiding eating prior to going to bed have helped prevent
regurgitation problems at night for thousands of GERD sufferers.
“But the big key is a thorough medical
investigation into what could be causing the GERD. Once this
has been completed, healing is on the near horizon because
a customized program utilizing traditional medicine and natural
methods can make a big difference,” Dr. Sadilek said.
To reduce the fire in one’s belly
can only be good.
Integrative Medical Center, located in Tucson,
Arizona, offers a complete range of services that can benefit
many, such as thyroid management, hormone balancing, metabolic
weight loss, effective hair restoration, skin care, nutritional
services, and primary care medical services. See www.DrSadilek.com
for more info about his consultations or call him at 520-297-9664
today.
Dr. Donna Schwontkowski is editor of
Health & Fitness Magazine in Sacramento, CA and also author
of Million Dollar Memory for Names & Faces. For more info,
see www.MillionDollarMemory.net
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