From the Desk of Carolyn Dean MD ND
We talked about heartburn and the esophageal sphincter last week, and we continue our gut-wrenching journey initiated by this season of food indulgence. Now, we’re in your stomach!
Your stomach is the mechanical food-processing plant of the digestive system, connecting the esophageal sphincter to the small intestine. And at this time of year, it has a lot of work to do, so it’s important to gain some understanding about what’s happening in your body when you step away from the dinner table.
You’ll be surprised to know that the adult stomach is, on average, a foot long and six inches wide and has the capacity to hold about a quart of solid and liquid food. To put this in perspective one Grande coffee takes up half your stomach! Keep this in mind when you’re loading your plate at dinner! Also keep in mind that a meal should fit into your two hands.
The stomach collects and holds the food you eat so that stomach acid and enzymes can begin to break it down before pushing partially digested food into the small intestine for more processing.
FYI: Yes, there are digestive enzymes in the stomach. Enzymes from the salivary glands in your mouth follow food down the esophageal pipeline. And the stomach lining also releases gastric enzymes.
Indigestion
Indigestion seems to be a catch-all word to describe symptoms like upset stomach, heartburn, stomach pain, bloating and other abdominal discomforts. If you’ve eaten a large meal, you know what it’s like to feel full and if that full feeling lasts, that’s a sign of indigestion, as is burning, discomfort and bloating.
What Dr. Google or an MD might say about indigestion:
Indigestion, AKA dyspepsia or simply “upset stomach” describes all manner of stomach discomfort and it’s a very common problem that can affect anyone at any age. While it’s not life threatening, persistent indigestion can indicate an underlying condition that may require medical attention.
Causes
Indigestion also has a smorgasbord of possible causes:
NOTE: Smorgasbord – comes complete with it’s own Gas!
- Eating habits like eating too much or too fast.
- At this time of year, piling your plate with your holiday feast and then dessert, and people actually sitting together means you are inclined to eat more than you normally do.
- Or grabbing a giant-sized drive-through lunch and eating on the fly doesn’t leave room for you to chew to help your digestion.
- Foods and drinks – spicy food, fried food, processed food, alcohol, coffee, fizzy drinks, highly acidic food like tomatoes.
- Food poisoning
- Medications like ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and naproxen.
- Antibiotics and other bacterial killing medications interfere with the microbiome and can create indigestion.
- Being overweight or pregnant can predispose you to indigestion because of extra pressure being put on the stomach.
- Many medical websites indicate that illnesses and conditions like gallstones, pancreatitis, celiac disease, ulcers, and diabetes cause indigestion.
- Stress is a big factor. Stress can cause your stomach muscles to tighten and prevent stomach acid from flowing properly and cause food to become stagnant and ferment!
- Lack of magnesium can decrease stomach acid production.
Dr. Google might suggest medical testing
If your symptoms are severe, have been going on for an extended period of time, or they suddenly and severely appeared, your doctor may suggest some tests to rule out disease conditions in your digestive tract:
- Upper GI endoscopy takes biopsy samples of tissue from your stomach lining and the doctor will examine the tissue for signs of disease like cancer, or infection like H. pylori.
- Breath and stool tests for infection like H. pylori.
- Stool tests to look for blood that may indicate a bleeding stomach ulcer.
Dr. Google might (will definitely) suggest these drugs
You only have to turn on the television at dinner time to see how many drugs are on the market for indigestion. It’s enough to give you heartburn!
- Salicylates: Pepto-Bismol, a thick pink liquid to coat your stomach lining, is expertly marketed with a song and dance, to address stomach discomfort like indigestion, heartburn, nausea, diarrhea and upset stomach. It’s also sold under the brand names Kaopectate, Bismatrol and Diotame in the US.
- Antacids / Calcium carbonate: Tums, Rolaids and others in this class reduce stomach acid which in turn is meant to ease symptoms like heartburn and indigestion. NOTE: This excess calcium may build up in joints and tissues causing symptoms of calcification especially when you are magnesium deficient.
- Loperamide: Under the brand name Imodium this medication is used for diarrhea and travelers’ diarrhea but it is offered as a drug treatment option for indigestion.
- Simethicone: Mylanta and Maalox are used for bloating, pressure and gas and the feeling of being full.
- Sodium bicarbonate: Another form of antacid, sold as Alka Seltzer, is meant to alleviate indigestion and heartburn. NOTE: Paradoxically, sodium bicarb can neutralize the acidic pH of the stomach and interfere with digestion.
What I say about indigestion
I’ve already weighed in on some of the causes of indigestion but there’s much more.
It’s alarming that drug companies use images of hot dog eating competitions and buffets of fried food to convince people that they can overindulge in these unhealthy options, feel the impending discomfort, but then get relief with their drugs.
In my world, MAHA should ban these ads!
Even if you eat an optimum diet, there is still the question of proper digestion and absorption of those foods. The most important factor to avoid indigestion is proper food selection, which means avoiding non-nutritive junk foods, and choosing foods that provide the building blocks your body needs. However, many people say that a certain food gives them indigestion, yet they continue to eat that food and medicate the discomfort they feel afterwards.
Take time to chew your food!
The second most important aspect to avoid indigestion is proper chewing. If you chew each bite of food thirty to forty times, this stimulates the salivary amylase enzyme in your mouth and accomplishes one-third of your digestion. A great example of this is chewing and holding cooked grain in your mouth until it becomes sweet. This is the action of the amylase breaking down the starchy carbohydrate into glucose.
Taking time to eat accomplishes another goal – not eating more than your stomach can hold and leaving room for stomach acids to properly churn the contents to help break down your meal.
Fast food implies fast consumption, so even if you grabbed a drive-through dinner, make sure you take the time to chew it well!
The action of chewing also stimulates stomach acid production. As I mentioned above, if you are under stress or are generally tense, the stomach muscle, like any other body muscle, can go into spasm. This spasm can cut off blood circulation in the stomach and inhibit the production of stomach acid. This reduction in stomach acid can lead to improper or incomplete breakdown of stomach contents, especially protein. If incompletely digested food finds its way into the intestines, the intestinal flora (bacteria and yeast) will feed on this food and create gas and bloating and indigestion.
Avoid drinking during your meal
The third most important factor to protect yourself from getting indigestion is to avoid drinking water with a meal, especially ice water. Washing down each bite of food with water dilutes stomach acid and leads to incomplete digestion, washing food out of the stomach too soon. Ice water causes fats and oils in the food to congeal and cling together, which impedes their absorption. It’s best to drink your water up to ten minutes before or two to three hours after eating. And yes, the same advice holds for drinking alcohol, wine, spirits along with your holiday feast!
Indigestion Triggers
Allopathic and naturopathic medicine agree on these triggers mentioned previously:
- Acidic food and drinks: tomatoes, coffee, alcohol, fatty foods, spicy foods.
- Foods you may have sensitivity to like lactose and gluten.
- Overeating and overfilling your stomach.
- Eating too fast and not chewing food enough.
- Medications like ibuprofen, aspirin
Deconstructing Drugs
Because indigestion is so common, as noted above, allopathic medicine has created a number of drugs to make you more comfortable while overeating or eating a bad diet. I’d rather you learn how to eat a healthy diet, so you don’t get symptoms and don’t need drugs.
What’s the Alternative?
Diet especially, along with enzymes, supplements, and herbs can help prevent and treat indigestion.
Healthy options for Indigestion
Diet:
- Eat smaller meals.
- Chew your food well – 30 times per bite.
- Don’t drink with your meal.
- Do not eat late meals or large meals at night. Find your own personal cut off time for dinner and try not to eat that late-night snack. My cut off is 7pm and I’m usually asleep by 10:30pm.
- Avoid bending over, lying down or exercising after a meal. I created a hiatal hernia by doing sit ups and another time by doing the Pilates 100.
- Avoid spicy foods, acidic foods, caffeine, alcohol and smoking
Digestive enzymes and Hydrochloric acid:
A deficiency of gastric acid in the stomach may be treated with hydrochloric acid supplements to help digest food, allowing it to pass into the small intestine. Otherwise, undigested food can sit in the stomach and cause indigestion.
If symptoms of indigestion come several hours after eating, the trouble may be a deficiency of pancreatic enzymes that help digest food in the small intestine. The symptoms you have may be a reflux of undigested food coming back into the stomach causing burping and pain. In this case, pancreatic enzymes could be helpful.
I have searched for a failsafe digestive aid for decades – the one I’m experimenting with right now is Source Naturals Digestive Enzymes. You will have to experiment to find the one that work best for you.
Supplements:
Magnesium: Magnesium deficiency can cause muscle spasms and can be very helpful to secure the esophageal sphincter and prevent stomach muscle spasm. Magnesium is also a necessary factor in the production of gastric acid. The best form to take is a picometer sized ion of liquid magnesium.
Herbs:
Bitter Herbs: There are herbal combinations called “bitters” that help stimulate gastric acid.
DGL licorice: DGL can be as effective as powerful prescription medications for indigestion, heartburn and GERD. Chew one or two wafers twenty minutes before a meal. DGL works by strengthening the stomach mucosal lining and enhancing production of mucin, which prevents inflammation and irritation of the stomach. DGL stands for de-glycyrrhizinated licorice, which removes the potential of glycyrrhizin causing high blood pressure.
Apple cider vinegar: Mix 1 tsp – 1 TBSP in 4 ounces of water and sip throughout a meal to aid digestion by increasing gastric acid production.
Ginger, Catnip, Fennel, and Slippery elm bark: You can use these gut-soothing herbs as a tea or in capsule form before meals. Make a tea or take one to two capsules before meals of any of these herbs either alone or in combination. I highly recommend organic herbs because otherwise you have no idea whether they are contaminated with pesticides and herbicides that can kill intestinal flora.
NOTE: Mint teas may aggravate heartburn; even though mint can relax cramps and intestinal spasms, it can actually weaken the esophageal sphincter.
I’ve given you lots to think about and lots of choices to chew on!
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year.
Carolyn Dean MD ND
The Doctor of the Future.
