Stomach & Digestive Pain: Peptic ulcers 101

By Sherry Brescia
Holistic Blends

Hi my friend,

One of the most common digestive complaints today
continues to be peptic ulcers.

Now, it's probably safe to say everyone has heard of
ulcers, but not safe to assume that everyone knows what
they're called or exactly what's going on when you have
one.

Here's a mini crash course on ulcers:

===========
Ulcer lingo
===========

Peptic ulcer is the "umbrella" term for an ulcer in the
stomach or duodenum (the first part of the small intestine
where it connects to the stomach). When the ulcer is in
the stomach it's a gastric ulcer, and in the duodenum it's
a duodenal ulcer.

============================
The ins and outs of an ulcer
============================

The inside of your stomach and duodenum are covered with a
lining to protect them against the strong acidity of your
digestive enzymes. Think of this lining like a rubber
glove that you wear when you use harsh cleaning chemicals.

An ulcer is a sore in that protective lining that allows
your digestive acids to seep through and "burn" the stomach
or duodenum. (Kind of like having a hole in your rubber
glove and getting harsh chemicals burning on your skin.)

That's why ulcer sufferers commonly complain of a burning
pain--that's exactly what's going on. They can also feel
nauseous and vomit.

=====================
How they're diagnosed
=====================

There are two common tests for ulcers and neither are very
pleasant.

An Upper GI series is where you drink a barium solution (a
thick, gooey, salty concoction that you have to fight hard
not to puke up), then x-rays are taken of your stomach and
duodenum.

An endoscopy is where you're sedated (thank God) and a
thin tube with a camera on the end is inserted in your
mouth, then passed down your throat into your stomach and
duodenum. The doctor can see if there's an ulcer and take
a biopsy (snipping a small sample of your insides) if
necessary.

=================================
Treatments that make things worse
=================================

Typical treatments for ulcers are antacids, H2 blockers
and proton pump inhibitors.

Antacids neutralize the acid in your stomach. H2 blockers
stop the action of histamine (a hormone that signals the
stomach to secrete acid). Proton pump inhibitors shut
down the little "pumps" in the acid-secreting cells of the
stomach.

The problem with these treatments is that they only mask
the symptoms of an ulcer and they completely mess up your
digestion.

You see, your stomach NEEDS acid to properly digest
protein. So when you take a drug to neutralize or prevent
stomach acid, you're bringing your digestion to a
screeching halt.

Sure, you might get relief from the "burning" sensation
for a few hours. But trouble will be brewing elsewhere.

When your digestion is thwarted, your stomach realizes
there's a problem, so it tries to secrete MORE acid to kick-
start digestion again.

And if you're an antacid user, you reach for another Tums
and think to yourself, "Damn ulcer!" when you should be
thinking, "Damn antacid!"

If you're an H2 blocker or PPI user, the stomach will get
nowhere with its acid secretion efforts anyway.

And either way, your food is STILL sitting there in the
stomach, not properly digested, and starting to rot and
putrefy.

This is when the rumbling starts...I'm talking about gas.
Pain. Cramps. Bloating. Flatulence (farting).

And while your food is sitting there rotting and you have
more gas than a Citgo station, all of the necessary
vitamins and nutrients in your food are obliterated. Since
your body's hunger signal is triggered by a need for the
nutrients in the food, and it hasn't gotten any, lo and
behold, you feel hungry again.

And heaven forbid if you eat something--you'll start the
cycle all over again!

Now, once your stomach gets sick of the rotting,
putrefying mess it pushes it into the intestines, but since
the food has not been completely digested yet, your wastes
don't pass through nice and easy like they should.


And what happens then? Constipation. Diarrhea. Feces
getting stuck in your colon and leading to things like
diverticulosis and diverticulitis (and possibly, if it goes
on long enough, cancer).

============================
What really works for ulcers
============================

The problem here is not acid in and of itself--acid is a
natural part of digestion. The problem is when TOO MUCH
acid is produced by the stomach. Then it creates and
irritates ulcers and you get that familiar pain.

It can also go rising up into the throat and voila--acid
reflux.

But when you have a diet of mainly alkaline foods and eat
foods together that are compatible in the stomach, it can
accomplish its job easily and without overproduction of
acid.

The food is digested quickly (usually within 3 hours) and
passes through to the intestines, nice and easy.

And no pills necessary to put out the fire in your gut.

Because there is no fire.

When you keep the acid low in your system naturally with
your foods, (and not mask your symptoms with pills), you
begin healing the ulcer.

The simple, easy to understand advice I teach in the Great
Taste No Pain Health System shows you exactly what to do.
Every day. Every meal. It's super easy. It's positively
delicious. And it's the answer to ulcers that really
works.

If you own Great Taste No Pain, do what it says to do.

If you don't, learn about it and get it here: Great Taste No Pain

Great Taste No PainIf it hurts we can help!
James Dean @ ItHurts.com