LOL.
More seriously: Is there something about a modern diet or lifestyle that tends to cause this weakening? Or have anatomically-modern humans just always had a similar rate of reflux, for this reason?
Spoiler alert: commander did multiple tests, each selecting for idiosyncrasies, resulting in a force a fraction of the original size, and won the battle.
[1] https://news.stanford.edu/2020/07/21/toll-shrinking-jaws-hum...
I had a small hunch that it could also be related to how thoroughly we chew. I've noticed over the years that I chewed less and less while eating and started swallowing most pieces whole. Since a few months ago I started to make an effort to really chew on my food until it's properly minced.
According to the link that seems to be part of the problem.
The following either didn't work, or only reduced the severity of my reflux:
- Medicines were helpful but not an outright fix.
- Dietary changes did not help at all.
- Sleeping upright helped but only so much. And my sleep quality was terrible.
- A medical device that applies light pressure to your Adam's apple. This actually helped a lot, but was not fun to sleep with.
The two things that I think actually got rid of my reflux for good are:
- Intermittent fasting
- Vomitting cat exercise
Step 2: Suck in your gut and arch your back like a cat does when they are startled.
Step 3: Exhale
There is also a variation where you don't arch your back: https://hiitacademy.com/hiit-exercise-how-to-do-cat-vomits/
I basically found myself running out of things to try. My poor sleep quality was especially affecting me and I was desperate to get the reflux under control. And so I spent a lot of time thinking deeply about what could be causing my reflux.
It's difficult to explain why I thought to try this combination (fasting + cat vomitting exercise). It was sort of like I suddenly understood where the weakness was in my esophagus, and that this specific motion/exercise, in combination with giving my esophagus a break for 10 hours/day would relieve the reflux. I fully committed, and in not very long (3-4 weeks if I remember right), my reflux was mostly gone. Only had a few memorable reflux instances in the months that followed and now its been years since I've had any issues at all.
I still practice intermittent fasting 5 days a week but I don't do the cat vomit exercise. Part of me feels strongly that if I hadn't done both those things at the same time, I wouldn't have fixed my reflux, but obviously I have no evidence to prove that.
I also feel its important to mention that reflux has different causes. I felt like what I was experiencing, combined with all the reading I did about reflux, allowed me to settle on this particular regimen.
I am definitely not trying to suggest that this is some secret magical cure that big pharma doesn't want you to know about.
Cat pose or cat cow pose.
Google it.
I am not morbidly obese. I have a pretty small frame and am about 5 ft 6 in tall. My BMI before cutting my portion sizes down was on the upper end of the normal weight range (24.9).
I tend to be a fast eater, and I think that did me no favors.
It makes a lot of sense in retrospect. But when you're not obese, cutting your portion sizes is not the first thing that comes to mind as a method for improving health.
Chewing thoroughly until the food almost liquefies helps the stomach digest faster and empty its contents into the intestines.
In case you are wondering(and I have been to the Dr many, many times about this), triggers for GERD are stress(for me it is the strongest trigger) caffeine, heavy fried foods, spicy foods, cabbage and soy. Methods to avoid acid reflux flare ups are eat slowly(I eat really fast!) eat at least 2-3 hours before bed, and also avoid huge meals. I am truly thankful to OP for this article and will apply its techniques right away, hope the stuff I mentioned helps others as well.
For me, it turned out I was reacting to something in my well water and a bit after switching to bottled water, I could go back to chocolate/coffee/alcohol/spicy food with no problems.
It's not just weakening that's the problem, but also more pressure from below, and obesity can cause the stomach to be pushed up.
I have a hiatal hernia, where there's a too large opening allowing part of the stomach to slipe through the diaphragm, and that massively increases my acid reflux if I don't take medication.
Weight changes dramatically affects the strength of my symptoms. As I've lost weight the symptoms have largely disappeared again.
not sure where you're coming from but LOL for a disease that definitely leads people to die of esophageal cancer on a regular basis not to mention makes living and exercising difficult seems....inappropriate ?
What's funny...?
It's a comically-understated way to say "I kept having acid reflux, just, so very many times, and it hurt like a motherfucker so I became preoccupied with fixing it".