Stress/Acid reflux/The Purple Pill!!

Acid reflux - a huge problem in todays world, and of course there are many contributing factors as what causes this problem for so many.  The explanation is long, so, I will try to be brief and give you the short version.
          We often hear how "stress" is damaging to our health.  We hear the word stress so often that I believe we fail to acknowledge just how powerful stress is in keeping us unhealthy. (More about the power of stress another time).
          Stress is one of the contributing factors for acid reflux/heartburn etc. Stress decreases muscle tone around the lower esophagus, because that requires blood and energy (which we are using to fight or flee). The acid in the stomach washes back up into the esophagus damaging the lining.  These cells get repeatedly damaged causing pain and eventually ulcers or cancer, and so perpetuating the acid bath.
          The medical solution is the purple pill to stop the acid. This actually works quite effectively, however, the problem is that the acid is needed to digest food. Acid also functions to kill bacteria that we've ingested with food.  In masking the symptoms we've created two new problems.  The extra bacterial load burdens the immune system.  The food remains in the stomach longer until the stomach produces enough acid to digest it, but now there's a longer exposure period of the acid to the esophagus. This process becomes a vicious cycle, so, the question is, do we want to mask the symptoms or heal the source?
          Obviously, we would rather heal the source, and, hopefully, you can now see that the source is "stress" and the little purple pill is not your friend.
          My advice always to my clients is, start being a friend to yourself and start the healing process.  Learning how to relieve your stress is key to your good health - keep your eyes on my blog for simple easy steps and healthy tools to gain relief.