Acid Reflux, Bile Reflux, and Gastritis
QUESTION
Dear Dr. Schulze,
Hello there, I heard of you in a health board blog and someone recommended your detox program, so I looked you up, it does seem to have a lot of info, but I'm not sure what to do. I had an endoscopy and I have a combination of acid reflux and bile reflux and gastritis most likely from bile in my stomach, and the esophagus was irritated and sore. I was told to take Prilosec for a couple of months and if pain continues take it again, but I don't want to live on meds every day if there is a natural cure for this problem. So I was wondering if you could recommend some herbs or program and I'm also afraid to detox and lose more weight since I'm only 126lbs. Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
— Amanda K. in Rochester, NY, United States
ANSWER
Dear Amanda,
About Dr. Schulze
Since you are from the same town where I was born, I couldn’t help but give you and all readers, a few details, and a little quick Dr. Schulze history, that will make more sense later.
I was born in Rochester, but grew up outside of Rochester in the rural farming community of Penfield. It was an area of German immigration during the 1800s. At that time the Penfield Road area where I lived was all farms and also full of dairy farms and farm markets. I had a paper route delivering newspapers by bicycle all over that area, and I also worked as a kid at Mr. Welkley’s dairy farm and store (now a residential subdivision).
I was born in Genesee Hospital, in Rochester, and was taken back there from time to time for stitches. This is also where I was diagnosed with heart disease, after I became ill in the 1960s. Since both my mother and father were cut and drugged under the doctors’ care there, until they both died in the 1960s at age 55, I have NO DOUBT, if the medical doctors would have done their suggested treatment on me, I would have been dead before 20, as they had predicted. This hospital has been closed for years. I kid you not—a major contributor to research there was named Frankenstein.
About Amanda
I don’t mean to oversimplify your problem, but SIMPLE is ALWAYS the best place to start.
Your Diseases
Acid Reflux: stomach digestive acid backing up into the esophagus
Bile Refux: liver digestive fluids backing up into the esophagus
Gastritis: inflammation of the stomach lining
Irritated and Sore Esophagus: from all of the above
What Causes Your Diseases?
ALL of these dis-eases are always caused by one or all of the following:
• Eating too much food
• Eating food that is hard to digest
• Being overweight
Since you are only 126 pounds, I don’t think overweight is the cause. So my first thought with any patient with ANY digestive problem is ALWAYS…
What the heck are you EATING!!!
It only makes common sense if, after you eat, your stomach is overflowing and burning with acid, to the point where your stomach and esophageal lining is being irritated and burnt, and you have burning and pain in your stomach, that you are eating food that you cannot digest!
When you eat food that is difficult to digest, or a combination of food that is difficult to digest, your stomach keeps producing more and more digestive acid, trying to digest this food. In the same way your gallbladder keeps releasing more and more bile, again attempting to digest the food you ate. Then, you have all of this food you cannot digest, sitting and going nowhere in your stomach, and all this digestive acid, bile, and this undigested food mess starts digesting you, and burning your stomach lining—Gastritis. Then you lie down or exert yourself, and all of this mess splashes up your esophagus, and now you have Acid and Bile Reflux. Eventually this mess will burn holes in your stomach and esophagus lining. Let’s take it a step further…eventually this may also cause colitis or burning - inflammation and damage to your colon.
Undigestable Foods
The densest and hardest foods for you to digest are animal foods. Animal flesh is almost always the cause of the diseases you have and is the ultimate hard-to-digest food, along with animal byproducts like cheese (liquid meat) and any foods made from animal fat, milk and eggs.
If you eat smaller amounts of food, and also eat food that is much easier to digest, consequently, you will excrete a lot less digestive fluids from the stomach and gallbladder, and this food will digest easier, and much quicker, and leave your stomach quicker. Therefore, you should not have any stomach irritation, burning, reflux illness, or burning or irritation in your esophagus.
“I was told to take Prilosec for a couple of months and if pain continues to take it again, but I don't want to live on meds every day if there is a natural cure for this problem.â€
You are right to decline taking drugs to cure this problem. Drugs like these simply slow down and stop your body from producing digestive acids. This is not getting to the cause of the problem, which is what is on the end of your fork and spoon. I also had many patients who took drugs like this that slows down or stops their body’s ability to produce and release digestive fluids, and many of them ended up having problems digesting their food for a decade.
“So I was wondering if you could recommend some herbs or program.â€
I will do both; but what do you eat?
Amanda, since you did not mention what you eat in your letter, I will have to go there first. Look, I was born and raised in Rochester, and at the age of 15, along with heart disease, I had gastritis and a bleeding ulcer. So I know all too well the typical Rochester Diet.
Rochester Diet
Again, you never stated what you eat, so I will assume you are a typical, average, Rochestarian. Even if you think you eat good, or anyone else reading this thinks they eat healthy, WHATEVER you are eating, if you have Acid Reflux—it is NOT RIGHT FOR YOU!
My German family ate blood for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. We ate animal everything and had meat, meat byproducts, dairy and or eggs at EVERY meal. My dad would buy a whole cow, have it butchered and then freeze it. For lunch as a kid in school, I vividly remember all the other kids eating peanut butter and jelly as I brought liverwurst in my brown bag. I grew up thinking hot dogs were white, (Rochester white hot dogs “porkersâ€) and as a young teenager I ate at cheap greasy spoons like Gitsis on Monroe Avenue. I am well aware of Rochester’s German, Italian, Irish, Eastern European, Jewish, Greek and even Soul Food cuisine that has kept local gastroenterologists in business for the last few centuries. Look, Rochester’s most famous restaurant, Nick Tahou’s, is famous for their “garbage plateâ€! There is even a Wikipedia site to it!
And, when a restaurant’s own website is www.garbageplate.com—I have to worry.
Look, I am not saying that you eat at these establishments, or even eat a lot of animal food, which is extremely hard and slow to digest. But what I do know is that…
• You are probably eating TOO MUCH food at one sitting
So start eating smaller meals during the day.
• You eat food that YOU CANNOT DIGEST
I highly suggest you start off with a simple vegetarian food program, like my Health Building Food Program. For more information on this program, see page 76 of my book "20 Powerful Steps to a Healthier Life" which can be viewed here: https://herbdocblog.com/book-view/9/.
And if you are like most of my patients with reflux disease and Gastritis, you probably are stressed out (stress produces increased gastric juices) and maybe chew gum, drink carbonated beverages, drink coffee, tea, alcohol, sodas, and/or carbonated water, ALL of which adds to the problem. You need to take a good look at EVERYTHING that goes past your lips! And create a more relaxed lifestyle, especially before, during and after your meals.
Are there any exceptions? NO! ALL digestive diseases (including yours) are caused by consuming liquids and foods that your body cannot digest, assimilate or eliminate—ALL DIGESTIVE DISEASES. Again, I will say that even if you eat better than most people you know, it is still not good enough for YOU, so let’s clean up your food program.
I know that when your digestive system is irritated, burnt and splashing back acid that sometimes even drinking water can feel like it is burning your stomach, so let me start off with some herbal medicines that will make a HUGE difference.
Herbal Medicine
Digestive Tonic
I would start by taking 2 to 3 droppersful of my Digestive Tonic, in a few ounces of water, at least four times a day. You can take it right before a meal, or right after a meal, or both. You can double this dose as needed. You can also take a dose of 3 to 8 droppersful in a little water just before bed, to STOP the Acid or Bile Reflux.
Digestive “SHOTâ€
After a meal, if you want an even more powerful digestive aid, use my Digestive “SHOTâ€. This herbal formula contains my Digestive Tonic along with other digestive herbs, plus Papaya and Pineapple concentrates that break down and pre-digest food for you.
5-Day BOWEL Detox
As soon as you have your digestive system a little more under control, but no later than two weeks from now, I want you to begin my 5-Day BOWEL Detox.This detox will flush, tone and clean out your entire gastrointestinal tract. After doing this Bowel Detox, I suggest that you take my HerbalMucil Plus indefinitely to ensure you are getting enough fiber in your food program.
5-Day LIVER Detox
No more than a month later, I want you to do my 5-Day LIVER Detox. This will stimulate, flush out and tone your liver and gallbladder, and get these organs back in shape.
“I'm also afraid to detox and lose more weight since I'm only 126lbs. Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated.â€
Doing a detox, especially like my 5-Day Detox Programs, well, the only weight you will lose will be the waste and sludge in your digestive tract.
Amanda, I had hundreds and hundreds of patients with every digestive disease known, and many had reflux problems and gastritis just like you, and they were ALL able to free themselves from this illness and recover. Beyond this, I know personally from having it myself, that life can seem miserable when you have Acid and Bile Reflux, and Gastritis, but since I have not felt that pain in 45 years, I suggest you follow my advice.