Acid Reflux Acupuncture

1. Dr. D. Zou and colleagues at Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia found that stomach distension is the major trigger for transient relaxations of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the muscle around the connection between the esophagus and the stomach, which can lead to acid reflux.

2. If you eat greasy or protein-rich food, the stomach starts producing acid to digest these foods. The more greasy food one eats, the more acid is produced. Normally, heartburn will not result, but if you combine drinking soda, milk or water at the same time, the pressure in your stomach will increase dramatically, resulting in heartburn or acid reflux.

3. Low serotonin levels and acid reflux: Serotonin is abundantly located in the stomach, the intestinal muscles, and underneath their mucous membranes. It can effectively increase stomach movement to accelerate the emptying of the stomach. As you get older, serotonin levels may decrease, causing digestion to slow down. Although we eat the same amount of food and drink the same kinds of fluids, we could develop acid reflux. Therefore we need to change our eating habits: eating small meals more frequently and cutting down on greasy and high protein food.

4. Soda and acid reflux:  Stomach pressure dramatically increases when food is mixed with fluids, especially soda that has a lot of bubbles. This leads to the opening of the esophageal sphincter. Very often, when people eat salty or spicy food, they become so thirsty right after the meal that they drink too much water, which increases stomach pressure, causing acid reflux.

5. Allergies can cause acid reflux. An allergen not only triggers type-one histamine receptors, which might cause a sneeze or a runny nose but can also trigger type-two histamine receptors, which stimulate acid secretion in the stomach. In this case, anti-histamine drugs may work well.

Bloating and indigestion

Acupuncture improves stomach and intestinal movement.

Colitis/ Crohn’s disease

Acupuncture can reduce the symptoms of colitis by balancing the immune system, decreasing inflammation, and optimizing the body’s chemical balance. Acupuncture can be used to reduce the inflammation of the colon by strengthening your adrenal gland function so that your body can produce more anti-inflammatory hormones such as cortisol, progesterone and GABA. This is especially important when the patients are in the process of cutting down the steroid dosage. If your body can produce the right amount of cortisol without increasing your stress level, your body can get rid of the inflammation as soon as possible. Acupuncture can speed up the reparation of the colon because it can relax your mind and body so you sleep deeper and longer with a higher level of growth hormones. Acupuncture can reduce the spasms of the colon so you will have better digestion and less abdominal pain. Acupuncture can balance your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems so that your immune function will not be hyperactive to attack your own tissues. This is very important for any kind of auto-immune problems such as Hashimoto’s diseases, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and others.

Constipation and diarrhea 

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Acupuncture reduces inflammation of the stomach and intestines by improving digestion by regulating the movement of the bowels and reducing stress, which can negatively impact digestion.  Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can help reduce your need for Western medications.

More about IBS

Ulcers