Are antacids counterproductive? I've heard that acid reflux is a symptom of LOW stomach acid, so wouldn't taking an antacid just lower your available stomach acid further? Or does it work some other way?

I'm asking because I am pregnant haven't been 100 percent raw (though I'm desperately trying to be). Two days ago for my birthday, we went to my in laws and I ate some cooked food and had a severe case of acid reflux in the middle of the night. I have these Udo's Choice ant-acid tablets, which are all natural and free of dyes etc... and they were the only things that helped. Since my birthday, I've eaten some other cooked foods and exasperated my problem. Obviously I need to start eating right again, but in the meantime is it better to wait out the indigestion or take the tablets? Or will I prolong the problem with the tablets?

Thanks!


Thanks!

My personal experience has been that taking the antacid will make the problem worse in the long run. If I eat too much or mis-combine my foods such that I suffer from acid reflux, I take a Betaine HCl supplement. This actually is hydrochloric acid to help replace the lowered level of acid that is causing your reflux.

What you are refluxing is not the actual "stomach acid" that you produce but lactic acid produced while food ferments in your stomach. Food ferments because you did not produce enough acid to digest it or because faster exiting foods (like fruits) were combined with slower exiting foods (like avocados or vegetables). While the faster exiting foods are waiting for your stomach to work on the slower exiting ones they ferment producing lactic acid. The production of lactic acid is that acid you are refluxing.

If I eat cooked food - like cooked potato - I also take an additional product to help me digest the food. I purchase my products from Healthline (Premier Nutrition Products). Healthline advocates the consumption of raw foods.

If I overeat and start to reflux acid, I take the Betaine HCl and it gets rid of the problem in about 30 minutes. If I eat cooked food I take the Betaine HCl and the a called Digest, which is specific for taking with cooked food.

Good Luck. Link to the site below.

Patty

[www.healthline.cc]

Thank you, Patty, for your thorough answer.

I knew I had heard something like you said, but couldn't remember what it was.

Do you what exactly a traditional antacid does that makes the problem worse in the long run?

I have a food enzyme tablet by Udo's Choice. Would that help solve my problem?

Thanks!

What works for me for better digestion is simpler meals. Mono meals, that is a meal of only one food, are the easiest meals to digest.

Bryan's comment is right on. Keep meals simple and small even if you are eating cooked - like just cooked potato or squash. (Squash is a very prominent local crop by me so I have been eating more of it since it is in season.)

The antacid will suppress and/or neutralize whatever acid your body is trying to produce and further impede your body's ability to digest the food and extract nutrients from it.

As far as the Udo's food enzyme tablet, I don't know anything about it. You might want to contact the company.

Personally, I try to prevent the problem through proper eating and reserve supplement use for cooked food. I try to eat smaller meals and avoid foods or larger amounts of foods I know will cause a problem for me. Obviously, I am not 100% raw either. I am at a time when I am not emotionally ready and still need the grounding from cooked foods. But, my cooked foods are simple - a plain potato or plain squash or steamed beans. I generally do well when I eat these unless I eat too much in one sitting.

Patty

Sure. I agree with Bryan and the above great posts.

-This is a common question: whether medications are counter-productive. My personal belief is that many of the maladies in people's lives are lifestyle related. As such, medications cover up those symptoms. If you are not in an acuste crisis, I would look to see what areas of my lifestyle and emotions give rise to the symptoms...and make small steps to change that lifestyle over time. If you are in a crisis, then do what you have to do to get out of it...and then hammer your lifestyle. The tools mentioned above (like mono-eating) will help tremendously...I think.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I think it depends on the problem and how often you do it if they make things worse. SAD people are addicted to antacids and pop Tums like they're candy every other day. Obviously eating Mcdonalds just to have to pop some pills afterwards isn't a good thing.

I've taken Tums as a quick fix for things like trapped gas which is something you can't sit and wait out because the longer you do nothing the more it builds up and gets extremely painful because the gas has nowhere to go. And in those kinds of cases it was the best thing to do for me. Obviously if I avoided the food or combination it wouldn't have happened in the first place though. But to say it makes it "worse" isn't true since it went away and I could eat normally again.

Low HCI acid isn't hard to fix anyway or build back up..lemons are good for that and you can just squeeze the juice in water. Some of you make it sound like taking a few antacids lowers your lifetime supply of it. lol.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2008 04:53PM by LikeItOrNot.

I've never had acid reflux but sometmes I get a little heartburn in the middle of the night and to relieve it I take a couple chewy calcium vitamins and this helps, the calcium nuetrilzes the acid I think, not raw, but I haven't had any detremential effects. It usually comes from poor food combining so mono eating is a good preventive measure. Prevention is the key I think.

I suffered through indigestion through my entire first pregnancy and most of my second one. Pregnant indigestion is different I think.

Towards the end of the second pregnancy I took an antacid, and the problem completely went away. I was so mad at myself for being too stubborn to try that in the first place, it was a lot of discomfort for nothing.

So I would say it won't hurt to try it - it might work, and if it doesn't then try something else. I don't think normal acid reflux goes away that easily.

Good luck!

Sapphire