How Biotherapy Alternative Medicine Clinic can help with GERD and bile/pancreatic reflux
Almost 40-50% of all adults in the U.S. report having some symptoms of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition, in which a backflow of stomach content travels into the esophagus. Reflux means, “Wrong way traffic” and results in food, beverages, pancreatic enzymes, bile, and stomach acid backing up into the lining of the esophagus. Esophageal tissue is delicate; it is not able to handle the harsh, corrosive digestive components from the stomach. The result of the reflux experienced can range from mild to severe burning sensations or pain, irritation commonly referred to as heartburn.
Surgeons have seen the bile content in the stomach of people with stomach ulcers for 100 years. Bile is a common finding in the stomach and duodenum during gastroscopy now. There are many articles and books discussing possible damage of the stomach and esophagus that could be caused by bile due to Bile/Pancreatic Reflux or, medically speaking, duodeno-gastro- oesophageal reflux.
Important causes of heartburn are the low function of the pancreas and acidic “aggressive” bile. A corroded mixture of activated pancreatic enzymes and acidic “aggressive” bile due to a bile/pancreatic/gastric reflux, travels into the stomach, irritates the duodenum and stomach mucosa and causes inflammation and ulcers. Mixed with the gastric content, this caustic mixture, (alkaline reflux) is thrown into the esophagus, leading to inflammation and severe esophageal and LES injuries.
In healthy, slightly alkaline, condition, mix of bile and pancreatic juice goes down to the beginning of the small intestine – duodenum. Alkaline environment in the duodenum is an decisive factor of the good digestion and proper movement of the digested food down to the lower area of the small intestine. Acidifying makes bile particularly “aggressive”. It irritates valves, ducts, duodenum wall causing jerk moving, “wrong way traffic”, bile and pancreatic juice mix back flow – bile/pancreatic reflux into the stomach or even esophagus. (See pictures below).
Reflux of “aggressive” acidic bile and activated pancreatic digestive enzymes into the duodenum, stomach, and esophagus corrodes, irritates, and injures the walls, ducts, valves causing inflammation, ulcers, and possible cancers in these areas.
You can find a great deal of additional information about GERD in the EBook Healthy Pancreas, Healthy You. Part 3 written by Peter Melamed PhD and Felix Melamed, LAc, MSTCM, CHt
Biotherapy Alternative Medicine Clinic of the San Francisco Bay Area offers the following comprehensive, healing program for people suffering from Bile/Pancreatic Reflux. The goal of this program is to reduce the stubborn heartburn, pain, bloating, food sensitivities, and other gastro-intestinal symptoms.*
We use a safe, effective, non-drug, and holistic approach. It has been widely used in other countries for many years. Some of them are
1. Whole Body Cleansing
2. Herbal Medicine
3. Nutritional Supplementation
4. Healing Foods Consultations
5. Karlovy Vary Healing Mineral Water
6. Acupuncture
Healing Food Consultation is also extremely beneficial in healing Bile/Pancreatic Reflux. Using the “healing power of food”, we can give you a customized diet plan that was developed in European naturopathic clinics. There is no effective healing approach for Bile/Pancreatic Reflux without a special diet and proper food combining.
More than 250 years, Karlovy Vary Healing Mineral Water (KVHMW) has been the most popular in Europe natural approaches to the bile, pancreas, and digestive disorders.*
The water is a natural bile secretion stimulant and alkalizer. Drinking the water promotes
alkaline condition in the duodenum that is the key for alleviation of the Bile/Pancreatic Reflux.
You will be surprise that acupuncture can lessen the pain and spasms, promote proper function of the valves.
Whole Body Cleansing with restoration of friendly intestinal flora, anti-Candida program helps normalize the function of the entire gastro-intestinal tract by changing the quality and elimination of bile and improve the digestion.
Herbs, acupuncture and some nutritional supplements, hypnosis can help alleviate the worst symptoms of Bile/Pancreatic Reflux, such as heartburn, pain, heaviness in the stomach area, gas, bloating, nausea, indigestion, and other physical discomforts.
For effective healing and heartburn and pain-relief in Bile/Pancreatic Reflux, please contact the Biotherapy Clinic through one of the following options:
- Telephone consultation (415) 409-3939 after completing Biotherapy questioner
- Office consultation at one of our conveniently located offices, San Francisco and Redwood City
Pelase read more about Bile/Pancreatic Reflux below.
If you were told that you have bile reflux, or you could see that antacids don’t help, you needed to educate your-self. First, it is necessary to understand what is duodeno-gastro- oesophageal reflux or, simple, bile/pancreatic reflux.
What keeps the stomach contents in the stomach? Look at the healthy gymnasts in the circus, which move on the trapeze with their head down. Nothing comes out of their stomach because of a special valve known as the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). The LES is so strong that even if healthy, practiced yoga people stand on their head, the sphincter holds back the stomach contents and protects the esophagus.
The LES naturally relaxes only to enable passage of food. However, in unhealthy situations, the valve weakens or relaxes at inappropriate times, causing reflux of the stomach contents into the esophagus.
What can cause reflux?
Low amounts of stomach acid increases the chances for the reflux.
Foods (especially proteins) are digested inside the stomach within 4-6 hours by the release of large amounts of the stomach acid and stomach digestive enzymes. Mother Nature wants to keep the digestion of the proteins inside the stomach, so gastric hydrochloric acid normally stimulates spasms or locks the LES. Low gastric acidity opens the valve and allows stomach food content to go to the esophagus.
There are mechanical problems that keep the Lower Esophageal Sphincter open. A Hiatal Hernia occurs when part of the stomach slides through the opening in the diaphragm.
Inflammation and irritation of the gentle esophageal mucosa prevent the tight closure of the valve between the stomach and esophagus. Candida-yeast overgrowth inside the esophagus may be blamed. Eating hot, spicy, irritated foods, consuming alcohol, smoking cigarettes, using drugs, and some medications irritate the opening, as well. The more irritation, the weaker the LES becomes, and vice versa.
All these factors can also make the smooth muscles surrounding this valve responsible for weak and flabby valve contraction. Deficiencies of some minerals and vitamins also lead to failure of the valve muscle between the stomach and esophagus to close properly.
The LES relaxes at inappropriate times if the pressure inside the stomach is high. The valve cannot withstand the increased pressure in the stomach and unlocks. Large dinners or lying down after large meals and wearing tight clothing can increase the pressure inside the stomach. Improper food combinations of proteins, starches, and sugars may cause a lot of gas. This gas in the stomach is looking for a way to come out. Drinking cold, sugary, and sparkling sodas also lead to fermentation that usually causes heartburn.
Candida-yeast overgrowth leads to cravings for sugars and sweets and causes intensive fermentation in the stomach and inflammation in the esophagus. Candida-yeast produces many toxic and acidifying substances that disorganize the correct valve’s contractions and proper digestion. Normally, the stomach acid is a barrier for bacteria and yeasts to multiply and prevents them from going into the small intestine. Low stomach acid eventually has the opposite effect.
To summarize, it may be understandable that people with gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) have many interrelated causes for this condition; therefore, they require many different ways to heal GERD.
Thanks to technology, doctors started to detect bile in the esophagus in 70% stubborn cases of heartburn and Barrett’s Esophagus. About 10%-15% of people with chronic symptoms of GERD get Barrett’s esophagus that is a serious precancerous complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Bile is a slightly alkaline solution with an extremely complicated and gentle balance of water, electrolytes, bicarbonates, cholesterol, lecithin, and bile acids. Most bile acids are in a conjugated, soluble, neutral form (bile salts). The importance of conjugated forms is well established. Acidic changing in the bile leads to deconjugation and precipitation of bile acids. Insoluble bile acids are hugely “aggressive” chemical substances that make acidic bile so irritable. Acidic bile irritates the surrounding tissues, mucus membranes and sphincters, and additionally, causes bile reflux by the backflow of stomach contents. Acidic bile may lead to bile-pancreatic reflux, spasms of the sphincter of Oddi, duodenal ulcers and duodenitis, irritation of the pyloric sphincter, stomach ulcers, duodenogastro-oesophageal reflux (DGOR) or bile/trypsin reflux into the stomach and esophagus.
So, in normally situation, in the alkaline bile amount of aggressive bile acids is very small. Whole body acidity leads to acidic changes in the bile with precipitation of the bile acids, which irritate the duodenum’s walls causing jerky contractions and spasms. This throws the contents of the small intestine with aggressive mix of the bile acids and pancreatic enzymes into the stomach.
From our experience, normalizing the body’s acid-alkaline balance is the key to various gastrointestinal disorders including bile-pancreatic reflux. Normally it can be achieved by three ways.
- Alkaline diet
- Drinking Karlovy Vary healing mineral water
- Nutritional supplementation by Cellular Magnesium-Potassium
The main way to relieve the symptoms of GERD is by a healing diet.
Please schedule a FREE office or phone consultation by calling (415) 409-3939.
Please read our EBook: Healthy Pancreas, Healthy You written by Peter Melamed PhD and Felix Melamed, LAc, MSTCM, CHt for additional information about GERD
