Escape the Heat: Heartburn be gone!

There it is again, that post meal burning in your throat and chest. What is going on? Most of us have experienced heartburn at one time or another but persistent heartburn is important to get to the bottom of. How do you know if you have heartburn?

Symptoms of Heart Burn:

Burning sensation in the upper chest and abdomen
Can be worse when lying down or bending over
May cause a sour taste in your mouth
If severe enough, food can regurgitate up into your throat/mouth
Nausea
Excessive burping
Sore throat
Hiccups
Difficulty swallowing (chronic irritation of the throat)
Relieved by over-the-counter medications such as antacids

Chronic heartburn can lead to issues such as:

Gastritis: inflammation of the lining of the stomach
Esophageal strictures: The esophagus is essentially a tube that connects your mouth to your stomach and it is lined with delicate tissue. If continuously bombarded by stomach acid, this tissue can narrow and form scar tissue. Choking hazard!
Pre-cancer or Cancer: Changes in the cells of the esophagus can also begin to change due to chronic irritation and can lead to pre-cancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus or an fully develop into esophageal cancer.

Common medications prescribed called PPI’s – proton pump inhibitors – are often prescribed for management of heartburn. However, long term use of PPI’s have been linked to the development of major health issues -including: chronic kidney disease, bone fractures, dementia, pneumonia, B12 deficiency, and C-diff associated diarrhea.

Root causes of heartburn outside of the obvious could be:

Stress
Food sensitivities/allergies
Gut microbiome issues
Hormonal imbalances

Digestive Bitters can be very helpful as a gentle option for heartburn management. Added bonus: they help with bloat, nausea and gas as well.

Sometimes we need a little MORE digestive support and GI-Zyme provides digestive enzymes that support our ability to break down our food as well as absorb nutrients, helpful in low or high stomach acid environments.