Indigestion - Heartburn

INDIGESTION HEARTBURN
What is it?

This is a condition that mostly is not serious, unless you start to take antacids regularly, in which case you'll get a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Indigestion heartburn in essence is a disturbance of the normal function of the stomach. It could be pathological, like an ulcer or cancer, but usually isn't. It could be anatomical, like a defective valve that should prevent the contents of the stomach refluxing back up the oesophagus. It could be emotional, like anger or bearing a grudge.

The contents of the stomach is extremely acid to enable the enzymes to effectively digest protein in the stomach, which must occur before proteins enters the next part of the gut, the duodenum. High acid content is also essential for absorption of vitamin B12, extremely important for your nervous system. This is quite normal and it should not be concluded that too much acid is the cause of your Indigestion Heartburn. Quite the contrary, too little acid, leaving poorly digested proteins, may be the cause of your heartburn.

The other effect of taking antacids is to allow those partly digested proteins through into the small intestine. If these long chains of proteins are absorbed into the blood stream, they will cause obscure allergic reactions (like hayfever and autoimmune diseases) in the body when your immune system thinks they are foreign matter.

HIATUS HERNIA

The lungs and heart of the chest cavity are separated from the stomach and intestines by a large muscle called the diaphragm, through which the oesophagus must pass on the way to the stomach.

In some people, the hiatus or hole in the diaphragm weakens and enlarges. It's not known why this occurs. It may be hereditary, or it may be caused by obesity, exercises such as weightlifting, or straining at stool. Whatever the cause, a portion of the stomach herniates, or moves up, into the chest cavity through this enlarged hole. Hiatus hernias are very common, occurring in up to 60 percent in the elderly.

The stomach is lined with a thick mucus to prevent the acid from attacking the stomach wall. However the oesophagus is not so protected.

Should the valve that seals off the stomach be defective, then strong acid refluxes back into the oesophagus where it may attack the lining which has no protection, causing indigestion heartburn. Even so, antacids are not the solution to the problem - dealing with the muscle called the diaphragm which forms the valve.

The contents of the stomach is the critical subject. This is mediated by many different processes such as the amount of fluid in the stomach, the mixtures of different foods in the stomach, the nerve supply to the both the muscles and the glands that produce both acid, and enzymes and other substances.

VITAMIN B12 - taking Antacids regularly?

Vitamin B12 is vital for the nervous system. 

"Inadequate stomach acid. A much more common cause of deficiency of B12, especially in older people, is a lack of stomach acid, because stomach acid is required to liberate vitamin B12 from food. An estimated 10 to 30 percent of adults over the age of 50 have difficulty absorbing vitamin B12 from food. (1) People who regularly take medications that suppress stomach acid—such as proton-pump inhibitors, H2 blockers, or other antacids—may also have difficulty absorbing vitamin B12 from food. Even people who lack adequate stomach acid can typically absorb vitamin B12 from fortified foods or supplements, however, providing yet another reason to take a multivitamin."

HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH.

And avoid Antacids.

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