Stomach Acid
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Since the entire
mystery of heartburn causes rests with stomach acid it is
best that we discuss it in additional detail as well.
After all don’t forget, our plan is to learn as much as
possible about the condition so that we can regain
control. This will also help us understand how our
physician came to the conclusion that we in fact do have
acid reflux. For that we will have to skim over how a
normal digestive process works, and how that differs from
what is going on in your body.
Before we
even swallow the first bite off our meal, the sight and smell
senses of our body engage and begin producing acid which is
released into the stomach. As we start chewing and breaking
down our food, a mucus or saliva is also released into the
mouth. Our saliva contains an enzyme which helps break down the
food and also lubricates the upper gastrointestinal tract. Our
tongue is a large muscle which moves the food around and
finally pushes it down the back of our throat, a place also
called the pharynx.
This is
where gravity gives a helping hand and along with the muscular
contractions inside of the esophagus moves the food downward.
The food then passes through a narrow opening of the esophagus
also known as the lumen. The stomach is made out of many
different layers which work alongside each other in order to
extract all of the carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, reabsorb
electrolytes and other nutrients from the food and fluid which
we provide it. This is why it is so important to eat the right
things, as otherwise your stomach is working very hard and not
replenishing the energy. As with a car if it doesn’t get the
right fuel or enough fuel it will eventually start breaking
down.
The stomach
can change shape depending on whether it is full or empty and a
normal digestive process takes between minutes and several
hours depending on the food. This is why we do not want to eat
too much right before going to sleep as the acid is released
and can cause additional damage while we are laying down. The
gravity is not working in our favor and the stomach acid can
easily find its way up the throat and to the back of our mouth
burning everything along the way. This is one of the reasons
why some people call it the silent acid
reflux.
The most
important part we need to understand is how the stomach walls
work and this will allow for us to see what the medication
does. The parietal cell or the wall is the origin of the
stomach acid and it releases it based on one of three different
triggers. The first one is acetylcholine, which
neurotransmitter triggered by the vagus nerve based on our
sense of smell, look and taste. It activates very small proton
pumps to release the acid into our stomach. The second one is
histamines which are activated as the food begins to stretch
the stomach, and they also turn on the proton pumps to start
acid production. Our last trigger is gastrin, a hormone, which
moves through the blood stream and activates the proton
pumps.
If
everything is working correctly the food in its liquid form
makes its way into the intestines. There are many reasons why
things do not work as smoothly as they should but it is great
to at least understand the regular process. This will come
handy when we talk about the different types of medications,
how they work and why they work.
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