Bile Reflux Gastritis

The medical community is finally starting to recognize natural treatments for it

The answer to this question is yes, and the medical community is finally beginning to recognize some of these natural treatments that have been used for literally thousands of years.

What is it?

In fully understanding the connection between natural treatments for bile reflux gastritis, it is extremely helpful to understand exactly what it is, the symptoms, the various forms of this very wicked condition, as well as exactly what natural treatments can help and why they help.

The first step to understanding this connection is what it is not, as it is very easy to confuse it with GERD or acid reflux disease. Although it is quite similar, it does have some very distinctive major differences.

The first is that while you can control acid reflux disease by diet modifications or lifestyle, this condition will generally have to be controlled with medications, or in very severe cases, surgery.

That is starting to change as the medical community is finally beginning to recommend natural treatments as well. However, the major difference between the two is that bile reflux gastritis not only affects your esophagus, it also affects your stomach, where it can and usually does cause inflammation or gastritis.

This inflammation will in turn cause a very severe gnawing as well as a burning sensation in your upper abdomen.

Bile reflux gastritis occurs when your bile, which is a very strong digestive fluid that is produced in your liver, begins to flow upward and travels from your small intestine into both your esophagus as well as your stomach. It can and often does attack you at the same time that acid reflux disease does, which is the backward flow of acids from your stomach into your esophagus.

Your esophagus is the tubular like structure that connects your throat to your stomach.

The bile in your body is a fluid that is yellow and green in color, and its major role is twofold; to digest fats and to eliminate worn out red blood cells and various toxins from your body. It is produced inside of your liver but it is stored in your gallbladder in very high concentrations.

If you eat any type of meal that has even the smallest amount of fat content in it, your body than signals your gallbladder to release it. If something is wrong, two things can happen; it can spill over into your esophagus or into your stomach.

Two Types:

In further connecting the natural treatments for this condition, it is helpful to understand the two types.

The first type occurs when bile flows into your stomach when you are eating and it affects what is referred to as your duodenum at the same time food is entering into your small intestine through a small valve called the pyloric valve.

This valve, when it is operating properly, will only open up about 1/8 of an inch and it does this by design so there is no backup of your liquefied food that enters into your stomach. However, if this valve does not close properly, the bile backwashes into your stomach and the problems begin.

It can also flow into your esophagus when another of your valves, the lower esophageal sphincter, also does not operate properly. This valve separates your esophagus and your stomach, and if this occurs, it leads to heartburn and inflammation.

Symptoms and Causes:

The final connection in natural treatments for bile reflux gastritis includes the symptoms as well as the potential causes and it is the symptoms that you need to treat with this condition. Although these natural treatments may help some of the causes, in most cases you have no control over them, but you can control the symptoms.

The first symptom of bile reflux gastritis will be a very sudden pain in your abdomen that can also be extremely severe in some cases. This is then followed by heartburn that can very easily spread to your throat, as well as nausea and vomiting. However, unlike most vomiting, with this condition you will not be vomiting food, instead it will be bile.

Bile reflux gastritis has several potential causes and the first on the list are complications from a gastric surgery that you have just had performed. Peptic ulcers can also be a cause as they can very easily block your pyloric valve, as they can interfere with it closing properly.

Gallbladder surgery, esophageal narrowing, esophageal cancer, as well as Barrett’s esophagus are also potential causes.

Natural Treatments for Bile Reflux Gastritis:

The most common forms of treatments for bile reflux gastritis are with medications such as ursodeoxycholic acid or proton pump inhibitors, as well as with surgery in the most severe of cases. However, there are also natural treatments that are finally beginning to be used in the United States.

All of these natural treatments will involve herbs, and there are four that can be very effective; chamomile, licorice, slippery elm, as well as marshmallow.

Chamomile has long been associated with helping with most all types of sleeping problems, but it also has one other very important quality; it helps to fight inflammation. It is a very strong anti-inflammatory agent and has been used for hundreds of years in Europe to fight the inflammation that is caused by this condition.

By far and away the most effective way to use this natural treatment is with a Chamomile tea as it can slow inflammation very quickly and has virtually no side effects.

The herb licorice is next of the list of natural treatments for bile reflux gastritis, and this has been used to not only treat acid reflux disease, but also to treat gastritis, ulcers, and several other digestive problems for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Slippery elm approaches bile reflux gastritis in a different manner as it is very effective at building up your mucous linings to their full strength.

This is critical with this condition simply because they can very easily become weakened by the repeated attacks, but if you can maintain the strength of these critical linings, you can reduce the intensity of the symptoms.

The most effective method of taking this herb is in a powder form mixed with water as soon as you have eaten.

The final herb that can help is marshmallow, as it has also been used for hundreds of years to treat GERD as it can also have a huge impact on the symptoms because of its anti-inflammatory attributes.

Summary:

For several years now the only methods of treating bile reflux gastritis in the United States has been by medications or surgery, but these natural treatments are finally beginning to catch on in this country. If you suffer from this condition, it may be time to try what has been used for centuries in other parts of the world.

References:

Mayo Clinic: Bile Reflux Gastritiswww.mayoclinic.com/health/bile-reflux/DS00651

Natural Treatments for Bile Reflux Gastritis

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