by Art Solbrig February 01, 2021
GERD, or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, happens when the sphincter at the esophagus base that connects the mouth to the stomach no longer closes tightly and allows stomach acid and food to backflow into the esophagus, creating a host of uncomfortable symptoms. The esophagus becomes inflamed and irritated because it is not meant to be exposed to stomach acid.
GERD is a common issue in the general population. I regularly post on a Parkinson's Disease forum and, interestingly, GERD is 4.1 times more likely to occur in people with Parkinson's Disease! (1)
Age is another common factor in people with GERD, but there are many more causes, which I will discuss below.
One popular school of thought is that GERD may be caused by too much stomach acid. Another popular counter-theory is that it is caused by too little stomach acid.
In any case, what happens is that stomach acid back-flows into the esophagus, the tube that connects the stomach to the mouth. Stomach acid is not supposed to get into the esophagus, but the esophagus becomes inflamed and irritated when it does. If left unchecked at the extreme, GERD can result in esophageal cancer.
The main symptoms typically seen in patients with GERD are:
In severe cases, symptoms include:
For the school of thought that GERD can be caused by excess stomach acid, antacids are often recommended.
They include proton pump inhibitors (PPI) like Prilosec, Nexium & Prevacid, antacids such as baking soda or Tums, and histamine antagonists such as Cimetidine/Tagamet and Zantac, which work as histamine receptor antagonists.
For those that feel that GERD is caused by too little stomach acid, treatment may consist of supplementing with Betaine HCI, which also contains Pepsin.
Pepsin acts to break down proteins, assist in the digestion process, and naturally occurs in the stomach lining.
Betaine HCI is one of the body's first lines of defense to kill pathogens in food and help break down food proteins and improve absorption. Having enough hydrochloric acid is very important for overall health.
I tried this supplement years ago with great success. More recently, GERD has returned and so I have again started on a Betaine HCI regimen with Pepsin. I will update this post as my experiment progresses.
Here is a link describing how increasing stomach acid may tighten the sphincter.
https://theacidrefluxsolution.com/a-weak-les-is-one-of-the-main-causes-of-gerd/
The following article link below may offer several reasons why GERD occurs, including: diet, stress, medications, age, bacterial infection, zinc deficiency, and stomach surgery.
As we age, hydrochloric acid production for the stomach declines (Hypochlorhydria), and there is further increased risk once we turn 65. (2)
Here are two links showing some of the most popular and researched natural remedies for GERD:
https://www.healthline.com/health/gerd/home-remedies
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4991651/
This study shows how Betaine HCl is used for Gastroesophageal Reflux.
Here is a link to a well-rated, inexpensive betaine hcl product on Amazon.
NOW Supplements, Betaine HCl 648 mg, Vegetarian Formula, Digestive Support*, 120 Veg Capsules
Since my current experiment taking Betaine HCl with Pepsin is still in progress, I will report back as soon as I find out if the supplement is as effective as the last time I used it years ago effectively to relieve GERD and related symptoms.
Although hydrochloric acid is produced naturally for the stomach, some people do not do well with the addition of Betaine HCI and in those cases, there are other remedies such as Homeopathy, which is generally very well tolerated.
Homeopathic preparations for GERD include: Natrum Phosphorica, Iris Versicolor, Robinia, Nux Vomica, Phosphorus, Lycopodium, and Carbo Veg.
