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What Causes Acid Reflux? By Dave Lavinsky, Thu Dec 8th
Though the root causes are often unclear, perhaps the mostprevalent cause is a poor diet. occursduring digestion, when the stomach churns up acid or refluxes itinto the esophagus, causing a burning sensation in the chest orthroat. So if you eat too many highly acidic foods like tomatosauces and/or fatty, fried foods, the stomach has to process anoverabundance of acid. Too much acid can push back through avalve between the stomach and the esophagus called the loweresophageal sphincter (LES). culprits include but arenot limited to tomato based sauces, fried and fatty foods,chocolate, alcohol, citrus fruits, peppers, and caffeinatedbeverages. Along the same lines as diet, overeating also causes reflux.When you overeat, the stomach can’t keep up with the demand toprocess all the acids. So food gets backed up, and digestiveacids infiltrate the esophageal valve to cause that unpleasantburning feeling centered in the chest. Also diet-related, another cause is beingoverweight. There is a clear correlation between beingoverweight and a notable increase in the occurrence of acidreflux. Many believe
this is because the extra weight puts morepressure on the stomach and esophagus. This pressure has beenknown to open the lower esophageal sphincter (esophagus valve),when the valve should be closed. This allows acid to escape intothe esophagus.
Other factors that create a predisposition for acid refluxinclude smoking, use of alcohol, food allergies, certainmedications, and lying down after meals. As you can tell, mostof these factors can be overcome by practicing some behavioralmodifications. In fact, in many cases of recurrent acid reflux,lifestyle changes are all that is necessary in preventingheartburn from becoming a chronic disease. Remember to consult aphysician before embarking on any treatment strategy. About the author:Acid Reflux Infoprovides comprehensive information on the cause, symptoms,treatment, and diet associated with normal and infant acidreflux. Info is the sister site of Pain Relief Web. |
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