Why Indians are Susceptible to Acidity? 9 FAQs About Acid Reflux Answered

Why we get acidity? What can we do to relieve the acidity symptoms? Dr. Roy Patankar, leading Gastroenterologist & Director of Zen Multispeciality Hospital, Chembur, answers these questions and more in this article.

Acidity, also called acid reflux, is a common condition that most of us experience occasionally. If you often experience acid reflux symptoms like a burning pain in the lower chest, indigestion, sour taste in the mouth, consult your doctor or a gastroenterologist a specialist in gut medicine. If the acid reflux occurs more than twice a week, it is termed as Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, which if left untreated, can lead to serious life-threatening complications, including esophageal cancer. But why we get acidity? What can we do to relieve the acidity symptoms? In this article, Dr. Roy Patankar, leading Gastroenterologist & Director of Zen Multispeciality Hospital, Chembur, answers all these questions and more. He also tells us what makes Indians susceptible to acidity problems. Excerpts follow -

What is acid reflux? Is heartburn the same as acid reflux?

Acidity tends to happen when the gastric glands in the stomach end up producing a large amount of acid, more than what is required for one's digestion process. Acid reflux occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) fails to work the way it is supposed to. The LES is a ring of muscles that is there between the stomach and esophagus. When talking about the normal digestion process, it opens up to let food pass into one's stomach, and closes to keep stomach acid out of the esophagus. If the LES is weak or tends to relax then acid can flow back into your esophagus leading to irritation.

Heartburn is a symptom of acid reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). When acid goes into the esophagus, the cell lining may get irritated and it may result in pain. But remember that not all acid reflux may lead to heartburn. Symptoms of heartburn are chest pain, burning in the throat, and difficulty swallowing. The symptoms of acidity are belching, bad breath, indigestion, constipation, sour taste in one's mouth, vomiting, irritation, swallowing problem, nausea, a burning sensation in the abdomen, throat, and heart.

Why are Indians so susceptible to acidity?

Eating a very large meal or eating too close to bedtime, being obese or pregnant, opting for foods like chocolate, spicy, citrus, and acidic ones, eating a diet that is low in fiber, alcohol, eating quickly, caffeine, carbonated drinks and taking some medications can invite acid reflux. (Most Indians love spicy food and this probably explains our susceptibility to acidity.)

What are the broad causes of acid reflux?

Stress, insufficient sleep, side effects of certain medications, due to existing medications and faulty eating habits can raise one's risk of acid reflux. Moreover, it can hamper your daily activities and steal your peace of mind.

How can it be diagnosed and what tests are required?

An x-ray of the upper digestive system, esophageal manometry, esophagram, and endoscopy can aid the diagnosis of it. Once the diagnosis is made, you will have to seek appropriate treatment.

What can it be symptomatic of?

If you are overweight, obese, have eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, or smoke then you also get acidity.

Do men and women experience acid reflux differently? In what ways?

Children, adolescents, and pregnant women often experience acid reflux. Pregnant women are often at risk of acidity. Children and adolescents tend to eat a lot of fried, processed, salty, and oily foods, sleep immediately after eating, or don't chew the food properly. These are some of the factors due to children encounter more acidity problems.

Is it age-specific, or more common to a particular age group?

Anyone irrespective of their age can have acidity.

What should we do if we suffer from acid reflux? Can acid reflux disease be treated with diet and lifestyle changes?

Eat slowly and chew your food properly, sleep after 3-4 hours of eating the food, elevate your head with an extra pillow while sleeping, avoid painkillers, smoking and alcohol, and cut down on those excess kilos. Furthermore, exercise on a daily basis by doing activities that you like. Yoga, swimming, cycling, gymming, aerobics, weight training, Parkour, Pilates, running, or walking can be done. Eat a well-balanced diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and pulses. Opt for a low-carb diet.

Things to avoid if one has acidity problems?

Do not sleep immediately after eating. Avoid skipping your medication, try to exclude mint, fatty, spicy, processed, junk food, citrus juices, and carbonated drinks from the diet. Avoid binge eating. Say NO to foods like tomatoes, onions, tea, coffee, and onions.