Disease (GERD)
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- What is GERD?
- Symptoms of GERD
- Causes of GERD
- Prevention of GERD
- Risk factors for GERD
- Complications of GERD
- When to see a doctor about GERD
- Diagnosis of GERD
- Conventional treatment of GERD
- Alternative/complementary treatment of GERD
- Living with GERD
- Caring for someone with GERD
Risk factors for gastro-eosophageal reflux disease (GERD)
There are a number of risk factors associated with both with the development of gastro-eosophageal reflux disease (GERD) and with triggering worsening of symptoms:
- Being overweight - excess weight puts a lot of pressure on the whole digestive system and especially on the lower eosophageal sphincter (LOS) and can cause reflux symptoms. The LOS is the flap that ensures the stomach contents are kept intact and do not rise out
- Excessive alcohol - a well known risk factor for triggering symptoms is excessive alcohol intake. This is because alcohol puts pressure on the whole digestive system, but especially the lower eosophageal sphincter (LOS) which can produce quite severe symptoms, depending on the amount of alcohol intake
- Excessive caffeine intake - this is another risk factor for triggering symptoms. People who drink a lot of coffee or eat a lot of chocolate often experience worsening of symptoms with an increase in caffeine intake and this is due to caffeine's effect on reducing the pressure on the lower eosophageal sphincter (LOS)
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- Poor gastric digestion - if the digestion process that begins in the stomach is not happening as it should, this could cause more acid to be produced to try to digest the partially digested food and this causes higher level of gas to be produced. This may cause gastric pressure to rise and enable contents of the stomach to be exposed to the eosophagus and cause symptoms
- Pregnancy - sometimes women who are pregnant can get some reflux symptoms due to the hormones circulating and extra pressure on the abdominal area as this can loosen the normal pressure of the lower eosophageal sphincter (LOS)
- Smoking - this is known to lower the pressure in the lower eosophageal sphincter (LOS) and causes reflux symptoms
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< 4: prevention 6: complications > Last reviewed: 10 November 2007 || Last updated: 3 January 2009
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NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.
Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.
