Natural Remedies for Acid Reflux Relief - Ted's Q&A

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Acid Reflux and the Esophagus

Posted by O on 03/14/2008

Mr. Ted,
'I've done extensive reading of your posts about ACV, BS, etc. on Earth Clinic with great interest. I appreciate the way you endeavor to explain why particular supplements should be used.

In my particular case, I have been suffering from Acid Reflux for about 4 years. It causes me heartburn to the point that the center of my chest can be sore when I flex it. I also experience a lot of pain in my throat around my voice box. I feel like my vocal cords are weakening. The pain is also pretty constant all day long, although it does seem to be worse after I eat.

Originally, I started with burning pains in my stomach. The doctor treated me for h.pylori by giving me 2 types of antibiotics and aciphex (PPI) for 2 weeks. After that I started experiencing burning pain in my throat. Had very little reflux in the esophagus before that. I was tested for h.pylor with a breath test later and it was negative. I've had 2 endoscopies, a barium drop, and a 24-hr ph monitor test, and they check how well my LES closed.

The 24-hr ph test said that my esophagus averaged a ph of 4. The LES test said that it was closing properly.

I've changed my diet dramatically over the past 4 years. I rarely eat any of the supposed trigger foods like peppermint, spicy, chocolate, alcohol, etc. Most of my meals each day consist of a serving of protein and several servings of vegetables. I also eat some fruit and nuts.

I also have adrenal fatigue and am hypothyroid. Sometimes, usually in the afternoons, just getting up out of the chair takes effort. Many times I feel like I have low blood sugar and need to eat some protein. I don't eat bread, sweets, etc.

I've tried all the formulas below, all with 1/2 glass of water:
2 TBS ACV, 1/2 tsp BS
2 TBS ACV, 1/4 tsp BS, 1 tsp honey
2 TBS ACV, 1/4 tsp BS, 1/8 tsp Cayenne
1/2 tsp BS, 1/2 tsp Magnesium citrate
1/2 tsp BS

But they haven't seemed to make that much difference. I haven't tried the boron or hydrogen peroxide yet.
I have measured ph with a strip and it does seem to affect me in a alkaline direction, but I don't know for how long.

Nothing I do seems to consistently help the burning subside and I could really use some help.
Is there a formula that would be good in my case to help the burning?
Is there a relationship between the Acid Reflux and the adrenal fatigue and hypothyroidism?
Are there changes in my diet that would help?

From the comments on Earth Clinic, I know you must get a lot of email. If you can reply, it would be much appreciated. Thanks

Replied by Ted
Bangkok, Thailand
391 posts

The esophagus pH of 4 is a good clue. A good healthy pH esophagus is' 6, and the dividing line from conventional medicine is 4 as being what separates an acid reflux from a non-acid reflux is not really a good preventive measures. Ideally I prefer a figure closer to 6. An average of 4 pH generally speaking is an acid reflux. Interestingly a stubborn acid reflux needs to consider two points, that the pH of the saliva may be acid or below pH of 7 which is insufficient to neutralize the esophagus pH. That means the saliva pH needs to be raised too not just the urinary pH. That's only part of the solution. The other points to ponder is that if the esophagus pH is still 4, then obviously the body needs to increase the alkaline dosage much more further. If this doesn't seem obvious, just read the dog research below, where they were able to effectively raise the esophagus pH to 6. To raise the saliva pH requires a different remedy, and a stronger form such as 1/2 teaspoon of trisodium citrate plus 1/2 teaspoon of potassium citrate, in 1/2 glass of water taken twice or three times a day. It is the potassium that raises saliva pH, but it should be either in the form of potassium citrate or potassium bicarbonate. The other intracellular fluids, as opposed to the sodium extracellular fluids to consider is the magnesium citrate, 250-500 mg. If the dose does not increase, it the trisodium citrate portion can be upped to 1 teaspoon of trisodium citrate plus 1/2 teaspoon of potassium citrate taken three times a day. I might wonder why the extreme increase in dose, and I have found the source that is causing extreme acidity, often called metabolic acidosis, which can also trigger a major acid reflux and the body being relatively almost unresponsive to the baking soda, that one major enemy I have was the aspartame hidden in many supplements, sometimes unlabeled, appearing as an innocent sugar free gum, xylitol gum, diet coke, coke zero, pepsi max, hidden in effervescent tablets, hidden in artificial flavorings (as methanol) or labeled as proprietary. After stopping the aspartame the metabolic acidosis last for weeks and if I don't catch it sooner, I get a permanent macular degeneration, and become diabetic and acid reflux. Interestingly the lesson of aspartame can be extended to casual use of paint thinners, and sometimes (at least here in Bangkok) we used methanol as a paint thinner. Both aspartame and methanol degrades into formaldehyde inside the body destroying the neural system that is the major component in controlling the body's pH. Hence to restore this damaged function I need to decompose the formaldehyde and other system in my body by oxidative detoxification by the use of hydrogen peroxide therapies. That means in a one liter drinking water I will add 1 teaspoon of baking soda (1 liter is equivalent to 4 glasses of water with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda at similar concentration) plus 30 drops of hydrogen peroxide 3% taken for a couple of days, to detoxify not just formaldehyde, but also other pharma drugs, and other chemicals that get recirculated in the body causing auto toxification. The other issue is neural damage caused by hydrocarbons (source can come from cigarettes, painting fumes, new carpets chemical smells, new cars chemical smells, gasoline fumes, kerosine use from insecticides, etc) that also causes extreme metabolic acidosis. The problem about the baking soda is that it doesn't cause global alkalization due to its limited ability to neutralize acid in areas where there is high carbon dioxide pressure in the body, and hence the use of trisodium citrate. The problem about trisodium citrate is that it's hard to find in a supermarket, so a suitable substitute might be the carbicarb mixed often used by researchers to revive in animals and humans during a heart attack instead of using the old sodium bicarbonate. However I use this thing to alkalize more effectively, so the remedies appear to be, for a stronger remedy: 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon of sodium carbonate (washing soda) in 1/2 glass of water taken 3 to 4 times a day. It takes about 2-3 weeks to effectively raise the body's pH. However, this is only part of the story. The salivary pH may be acid or below 7 and may not be strong enough to neutralize (when swallowing saliva) the esophagus pH. Thus 1/4 teaspoon of potassium citrate is also added to the remedy. Of course this is a stronger form of remedy and should improvement is seen, its generally best for me to go to the lower dose remedy of just using it twice a day, or just using baking soda alone. One additional tip is that a baking soda, mixed in all drinking water during the day or throughout the day can be used to keep the esophagus pH in check in case an acid reflux is detected or a pain is experience, then I might take 1/4 teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda if I might have an attack, or at least have that feeling before it became worse. It should also be noted that in anorexic, bulimia, and some acid reflux people, a majority of them have a B12 and vitamin B complex deficiency. The neural damage caused by hydrocarbons caused acid reflux since neural system is what controls most of the pH stability. Therefore I might take B12 100 mcg x 4 times a day, plus vitamin B complex in form of B50 where most of the B's are 50 mg each, but because of the high amounts of hydrochloride added to most B complex in an attempt to lower cost, I might take it just once every two days. Most of the problems is that B1 thiamine should be thiamine mononitrate, not thiamine hydrochloride, and B6 should be pyridoxine phosphate, not pyridoxine hydrochloride, and for B3 it should be niacinamide, not niacin. It takes about a month for the body to attain a sufficient amount of B complex, but some maintenance dose is still needed Magnesium here is helpful. As to the adrenal issues, the DHEA 25 mg, pregnenolone 50 mg is taken to put less pressure on the adrenal systems so that the adrenal won't have to work too hard and these hormonal supplements can cause and raise the immunity, thereby affecting the pH of the system. Also glandular systems get destroyed if anyone has a history of fungus issues and if that's the case than a borax remedy is needed, between 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon in one liter of drinking water only 3 or 4 days out of a week. Borax tends to normalize hormonal issues too, but notably it balances the critical magnesium to calcium ratio. Lack of iodine can cause glandular atrophy and iodine kelp may be needed such as once every two days. It should be noted that certain pathogens, and fungus can cause the body to be acid, accumulate heavy metals from antibiotics use, and this is another reason why borax remedy is used. To kill of the pathogens causing the acid reflux. Zinc certainly will raise the immunity and should also be taken in the form of zinc gluconate 50 mg about three times per week. Finally two additional neuroprotective remedies that can further alkalize the body, besides completely avoiding aspartame and hydrocarbons is the smart drugs, such as 800 mg of nootropil (pyroglutame) and 2 mg of hydergine taken together for once every other day, or perhaps 4 days or 5 days in a row, needed to restore that ineural damage. In fact, a cellular phone can do the damage just the same, by inflicting neural damage to the brain the body can also become metabolic acidosis and hence when talking to the phone, either a hands free mode, or a blue tooth is used instead. A Russian had actually cooked boiled eggs using two cellular phones within an hour or so, so even if authorities deny cellular phones cannot damage the brain, it's hard to deny that a cellular phone can cook my brains. I am sure this posting is incomplete, but I think this will at least cover part of the problem. One additional tip: no sour foods.

Replied by Ted
Bangkok, Thailand
391 posts

The effects of vocal cords is a sign of neurodegenerative disorder or excessive acidity in the esophagus which may effect the muscles in the vocal cord by acid digestion. The remedies is already explained on these two factors. Also, one tablespoon of granulated lecithin three times' day may rid of excess fat in the body so that the body's hormones could function more efficiently. This is because most vegetable oils added to food tend to block hormone signals.


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