Chronic heartburn When the esophagus burns
“I have pain below my sternum,” “The acid rises high in my throat,” “I can only sleep sitting up.”
This is how people with chronic heartburn experience their agonizing condition.
Chronic heartburn can severely limit the quality of life due to the typical reflux symptoms: burning, stabbing pain in the stomach region, throat or pharynx, acid regurgitation and reflux of acidic food into the mouth. Even chronic hoarseness can be the result. The symptoms are often aggravated by the consumption of e.g. coffee, fruit juices, wine or chocolate.
The aggressive stomach acid attacks the sensitive mucous membrane of the esophagus and can lead to inflammation, and if left untreated after years, even to esophageal cancer.
How does Vedic medicine view reflux disease?
Chronic heartburn from an Ayurvedic point of view
According to Maharishi Ayurveda, chronic heartburn begins with the loss of natural balance.
Metabolic residues and toxins, called “ama” in Ayurveda, are constantly produced – due to our lifestyle – and accumulate in the stomach area in the case of reflux disease. Chronic heartburn affects eighty percent of overweight people, the acid production in the stomach is excessive or the upper gastric sphincter no longer closes properly.
But according to Ayurveda, no two patients are alike and so each reflux disease is different. The Ayurvedic approach in our clinic is based on holism.
What can Ayurveda do for you?
In Vedic medicine, chronic heartburn is addressed by combining various treatments into a multi-faceted approach adapted to your individual situation, as determined in a comprehensive diagnosis by one of our physicians.
An integrated approach
Increasingly, patients are finding that conventional therapies alone are not enough.
They recognize that the path to recovery must take place at all levels. For example, in the case of chronic heartburn, the focus can be on the elimination of toxins or weight reduction. It is important to bring the natural regulatory principles back into a necessary balance. Dietary recommendations, helpful exercises as well as special herbal mixtures – all put together especially for you – help you to lead a more conscious lifestyle. So that your natural self-healing powers can effectively mitigate the symptoms of reflux.
