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Barrett’s esophagus
Hello @Bernadette_Abraham and @Daniel ,
My husband was diagnosed with Barrett’s esophagus. Generally I believe he was told that this valve or sphincter is not closing properly and so he has acid reflux and GERD. No ulcers, thankfully. He is now taking medicine but long term he wants to change his diet to manage things better without a lot of med.
Would you know any good resources where he could find enough info to build a better diet? Right now he just started eliminating a lot of things based on online research but without a wholistic view. It may not work long term in my opinion or will start causing deficiencies in other things.
Thank you
Szilvia -
0 Replies
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Hey @Szilvia Bartalos,
The good news is that this platform is a pretty good resource for acid reflux, GERD and Barret’s Oesophagus! When the oesophagus is exposed to stomach acid on a regular base, the oesophagus gets inflamed. What in some cases can happen is that the tissue of the esophagus changes: they become more like the column-shaped cells in the lining of the stomach and bowel. This is what Barret’s Oesophagus is.
You could view Barret’s Oesophagus as an adaptation from the body to protect the oesophagus against regular exposure to acid from the stomach.
Some foods can trigger acid reflux and are recommended to be avoided. These foods include coffee, citrus fruits, tomato sauce, black tea, alcohol, soda and spicey foods.
When the sphincter is not closing properly, positions in which acid could flow in the oesophagus can cause a burning sensation as well. When your husband goes to sleep, it helps keep his head and upper part of the body a bit higher than the rest of the body. That will help to keep the stomach fluids in the stomach.
Root causes
There are several different causes that can lead to acid reflux:Stress
A little breach in the diaphragm (Hiatus Hernia) can cause the stomach to push through the diaphragm which in turn can cause acid reflux
An overgrowth of H. Pylori (Which can lead to Ulcers, but often not. The absence of ulcers is therefore no proof of the absence of an H. Pylori overgrowth)
Nutrient insufficiencies like zinc, vitamin B1 and magnesium
Insufficient stomach acid
A slow thyroid (which can lead to insufficient stomach acid. If you like to test for a slow thyroid watch this movie)
More information about what you can do to prevent/heal from acid reflux can be found here in this handout!
Finding the root cause becomes important for addressing the problem. What works for a Hiatus Hernia, doesn’t work for a slow thyroid. Always keep in mind: there can be more than 1 root cause!
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Thank you Daniel!
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