Bottle with pills coming out of it on a table.

Heartburn: Why Antacids Aren’t The Solution

If you’re taking antacids to relieve heartburn, indigestion, or GERD symptoms and they’re working, you might be wondering what the problem is. Why switch to something more natural if you’re current medicine of choice is getting the job done?

Well, there are many reasons none of which include the fact that Mother Nature provides solutions that are more wholesome, healthy, and safe.  But you should ask yourself if your medication is just covering up your symptoms while avoiding the cause of the problem. Or, has anyone discussed the long-term use of your acid lowering solution that can lead to serious health issues down the road.

Before you decide on a long-term solution for your heartburn, let’s explore the real reason you are getting that burning feeling.


The Role Acid Plays In Your Body

While many people may think that acid in their stomach is a negative thing, it’s crucial to your wellbeing. It plays a vital role in digestion by helping you break down the food you eat.  It also acts as part of your immune system by killing off unfriendly bacteria that finds its way into your digestive tract. Keeping the bacteria flora balanced in your stomach also helps you absorb the nutrients from your food.

Acid is meant to be contained in your stomach though, where there is an appropriate lining to protect it from doing damage. When it ends up in your esophagus (which has a different lining), it becomes an issue. But you don’t necessarily need to have an overproduction of acid to experience heartburn.


The Real Cause Of Heartburn

Most people are misled about the burning feeling they experience from their acid reflux.  They are led to believe it is related to the overproduction of acid in their stomach. But that just isn’t true. Any amount of acid that finds its way into your esophagus could cause discomfort! But why does this happen in the first place? If it’s not from too much acid, what’s the cause?

You might be shocked to hear it’s actually from too little, not too much acid in your stomach.  In fact, most people assume that acid production increases as we age since so many experience issues as they get older. But studies show that acid production decreases (by a lot!) over time. If too much acid was, in fact, the problem, wouldn’t we see more teenagers complaining about heartburn?

When you don’t have enough acid in your stomach, the flora becomes out of balance there.  Your unfriendly bacteria starts to overgrow. This causes maldigestion of carbohydrates which produces gas; the gas creates pressure, causing the lower esophageal sphincter to malfunction. Acid gets released into the esophagus, and symptoms of heartburn or GERD are produced. We didn’t want to get too technical, but once you understand the chain of events, it makes total sense!Chart showing why low stomach acid is the root cause of acid indigestion.


Why Your Current Solution Isn’t The Answer

So if antacids and PPI’s work on lowering the acid in your body, but the real issue is not having enough acid, why are they working? We’re not arguing that the medication doesn’t work to relieve the symptoms because it does. They might be removing the acid from your esophagus, but they aren’t getting to the root of the problem.  And what’s worse, long-term use create more health problems down the road. Acid hindering drugs can lead to increased bacteria growth, impaired nutrient absorption, higher chance of infections, and increased risk of cancer and other diseases.


What The Pharmaceutical Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know

Let’s face it; people don’t want to change their eating habits.  They love their favorite heartburn causing foods. But when their drugs fail to address the real problem, they make the underlying condition (not enough stomach acid) even worse. This leaves a patient no choice but to continue taking their medication for extended periods of time. Drugs that were meant to be used for no longer than six weeks are being taken for life.  They’re even now available over-the-counter where there may not be a doctor’s guidance and oversight.

In short, the pharmaceutical industry isn’t interested in cures or promoting a dietary/lifestyle change. They’d rather have you as a customer for life.


How Maty’s Can Help

Our All Natural Acid Indigestion Syrup was created to not only help alleviate symptoms of occasional heartburn and reflux but to actually get to the root issue. We use whole food ingredients (things you’d find right in your kitchen) combined in synergistic proportions, so there’s no worry of drug interactions or side effects.  It’s safe to take everyday!

Ingredients like honey, apple cider vinegar, turmeric, and ginger help to promote healthy acid levels and provide digestive support. We’ve received incredible success stories from our customers who swear by this product.  We’re so happy to be able to offer a natural alternative.


We also recently just came out with our All Natural Acid Indigestion Relief Capsules— the same great ingredients, but much easier for on-the-go!


Acid is necessary for digestion, maintaining a healthy bacteria balance, and absorbing nutrients. While the media might have convinced you otherwise, acid lowering solutions are causing a lot more harm than good. So the next time you’re experiencing discomfort, you might want to take a different approach!


Resources: (1) (2)