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I enjoy eating spicy foods. I like curry, hot mustard, Tabasco sauce, habañero sauce, and wasabi. I am fond of eating fresh, whole, jalapeño peppers, much as one might eat an apple. It is seldom that a day goes by in which I do not consume at least one spicy food. Yet my medicine cabinet is surprisingly void of Zantac, Prilosec, Pepcid, Tums, Rolaids, Maalox, etc. I must admit to having one small, unopened, year-old bottle of Mylanta in the refrigerator as an emergency back-up in case my heartburn should return. In spite of my addiction to spicy foods, I live a heartburn and acid-indigestion free life.
There was a time in my life when I purchased Tums EX and Rolaids in the bulk packs or family-sized bottles. I was always certain to have an ample stock of antacid pills in my car, in my desk at work, in my briefcase, and on the nightstand by my bed. I popped Zantac and Pepcid whenever I was able to buy them at reduced prices, and I went through the Prilosec fourteen-day program several times. I was suffering from GERD: gastro-esophageal reflux disease, or acid reflux disease.
I had acid indigestion many times throughout most days, and then there came a time when the acid reflux began to prevent me from sleeping. I could not sleep on my back without having my upper body elevated. Not long after that, while traveling in Haiti, I had my first hiatal hernia attack. It is not within the scope of this article to provide an in-depth explanation of a hiatal hernia, but it is enough to say that it is a result of long term acid reflux. If you have recurring, severe heartburn for a long enough period of time, a hiatal hernia could result. In this first attack, I experienced such crushing pain in my chest and back that I was certain that I was having a heart attack. Even with such debilitating pain, I determined that I would have to be much closer to death's door before I became desperate enough to go to any hospital in a third world country. Eventually, the pain subsided and I returned to the States the next day.
After explaining my symptoms to a gastroenterologist, he ran a scope down my throat, diagnosed a hiatal hernia resulting from gastro-esophageal reflux disease, and told me to stop drinking coffee and soda. To be perfectly honest, I am not certain as to whether the doctor's advice would have ever solved my problem because I did not follow his advice. I still enjoy drinking a cup of coffee every day, and while I have subsequently removed soda from my diet, I stopped drinking soda because of it's sugar content, not because of my acid reflux.
I continued on my way in life, popping the always handy Tums throughout the day, and having occasional attacks of hiatal hernia pain. At times these attacks would be severe enough to cause me to vomit. I actually reached a point where, when I had an attack, I would hope that I would quickly vomit because the vomiting brought about almost immediate relief from the pain. Then one day something happened that changed my whole approach to the problem.
I was on a commuter flight to Denver when I had a very painful attack. The pain would not allow me to sit still, so I got up and went to the back of the airplane, where I found the flight attendant. I told her that I wasn't feeling well and asked if I could stand and maybe pace a little in the area around the lavatory. She consented and asked if I wanted some water. I really did not want the water, but I did not want to slight her kindness, so I gratefully accepted. As I began to drink the water, the pain began to immediately subside. I finished the first cup and requested another. When I had finished drinking three cups of water, my pain was completely gone, and I was able to return to my seat and enjoy a pain-free flight.
From that day I began to carry a bottle of water with me at all times. I still carried and regularly consumed all of my antacid pills, because I still had daily attacks of heartburn. But the water was the immediate cure for any painful attacks.
My life may have gone on indefinitely in this manner had I not picked up a book entitled Your Body's Many Cries for Water (Published 1992, Global Health Solutions, Inc.). This book was written by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D. In his book Dr. Batmanghelidj describes how he stumbled on the “water cure” in 1980. He was examining a patient who was suffering from severe pain similar to what I suffered with my attacks. Dr. Batmanghelidj was uncertain as to a course of treatment, so he gave the patient a glass of water to drink while the doctor took time to think. The patient's pain immediately began to subside as he drank the water, and so Dr. Batmanghelidj gave him a second glass. After the third glass of water the patient's pain was gone altogether. This incident that Dr. Batmanghelidj described was so eerily similar to my own experience that I had to read the whole book.
Dr. Batmanghelidj contends that the majority, if not all, of pain associated with digestion results from dehydration. He states that “gastritis, duodenitis, and heartburn should be treated with an increase in water intake alone.” I decided to try Dr. Batmanghelidj's water cure, and I have not purchased a pack of Tums since. I do not know whether I still have a hiatal hernia or not, but it has not made it's presence know in over three years. I eat every spicy food that I like without hesitation, and I am confident that I will never have to pop the Purple Pill (Nexium) as long as I keep my body hydrated.
Dr. Batmanghelidj's water cure involves a daily water intake of ½ ounce of water per pound of body weight. So if you weigh two hundred pounds, you should drink 100 ounces of water per day. My current body weight is one hundred ninety pounds, so I drink ninety five ounces of water each day. I know that this sounds like a great deal of water, but to relieve the problems that I was experiencing I would gladly drink twice as much.
If you are experiencing any acid reflux disease problems (heartburn, acid indigestion), I would strongly encourage you to try Dr. Batmanghelidj's water cure. Begin feeding your body the water that it craves rather that the Purple Pill that simply masks the problem.
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