Antacids are the 3rd highest over the counter medicines sold in the US today. Gut issues anyone? Yes, more and more people are struggling with gut issues, and as such they reach for what they think is helping them.
But it’s not….it is masking the pain in the short term, but not fixing the problem, and in the long run it is making their gut problems worse. Why?
Because we need our stomach to be producing acids to help breakdown our food. Foods needs to be at a ph level between 2 – 3, before it can leave our stomach and continue through our digestive process. Wheat / Gluten products are a ph of 7 – 8, so it takes quite a lot of stomach acid to break it down and reduce the ph level to a 2 – 3. Ideally, we want this to take place in about 1 – 2 hours, as any longer means the food can start putrefying in our stomach. If our body isn’t producing enough stomach acid because we have been loading up on “antacids”, thinking they are the problem, then our digestive process is not going to function properly.
Moving forward, instead of masking the pain with antacids, starting asking why you are struggling in the first place. Is it a food intolerance, creating discomfort. Are you eating too close to bedtime and so when you lie down in a horizontal form, the acid can flow out of your stomach and up into your esophagus. To avoid this, try to eat your last meal 3-4 hours before bed, so digestion is complete before you lie down. Try doing this every day for a week and notice how you feel and if whether your acid reflux is reduced as a result.
How healthy is your gut? Take this questionnaire to see if it’s trying to talk to you and your next best steps. To determine if you have food intolerances that are triggering your body to struggle through digestion and make more acid than necessary, you can do some testing with a Naturopath (be warned you may get a long list of items you show intolerances too, that can be overwhelming), or try a 14 day guided digestive re-set program. This allows you to learn how to eat foods that cause less stress on your digestive system, and then how to re-introduce foods and listen to your body and it’s response to those foods. For more information on this program, click here and scroll down. I offer both both group and individual digestive re-set programs to help you ease the pain in your gut and learn how to eat in a way that honours your unique micro-biome and digestive system. To book a complimentary session to discuss your healing journey, click here.
To Your Health,
Melissa