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Free book on heartburn
Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:01 AM PST
I just discovered that Dr. Norm Robillard’s excellent book on the causes and treatment of heartburn, Fast Track Digestion Heartburn, is available free on Kindle. I don’t know how long it will remain free, but I wanted to get this post up and out so that anyone who has heartburn or GERD can grab a free copy.
I briefly contemplated doing an in-depth review of this book replete with multiple quotes and my digressions, but since I don’t know how long the book is going to remain free on Kindle, I figured it would be best if I just got the post up quickly. In short, the book discusses how small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) causes most cases of heartburn. SIBO can be successfully treated in most cases with a low-carbohydrate diet. Dr. Robillard’s book discusses treatment, including some not-so-low-carb options. In lieu of my review, here is Dr. Robillard’s website, which provides more info. I highly recommend this book to anyone with heartburn.
Acid reflux occurs as a result of digestive malabsorption of five difficult-to-digest carbohydrates. It leads to the overgrowth of gas-producing bacteria in the small intestine and the gas pressure drives acid reflux. Dropping a Mentos into a bottle of Coke is the perfect illustration of this phenomenon. Unfortunately, PPI drugs do not address the real cause, but also cause serious side effects including vitamin and mineral malabsorption, bone fractures, pneumonia, low blood magnesium levels, bacterial overgrowth, C diff infection and pneumonia as explained in the book.
Fast Tract Digestion Heartburn offers science-based food choices and recipes (Fast Tract Diet) to limit the five difficult-to-digest carbohydrates, so that you can feel relief within a few days Also, it enables you to self-manage all of the symptoms of acid reflux going forward. The Fast Tract Diet is based on a scientific formula called Fermentation Potential (FP). FP is the key measure regardless of the carbohydrate count. Limiting foods with high FP will help control the overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine and, as a result, acid reflux. The Fast Tract Diet was clinically tested on reflux sufferers in the Boston area. The results were overwhelming and proved the effectiveness of the diet as an alternative to proton pump inhibitor drugs.
Kindle has a program whereby an author can offer a title free for a month, (or whatever term desired) and split a pot of "reward" money (it's 1.4 million bucks per month for Dec., Jan, and Feb), provided they grant Kindle the exclusive right to offer their book — books available through other bookstores are not eligible. The agreement can be terminated at any time by either Amazon or the author, with a 5-day notice.
It appears to be a good deal for low-priced books, or slow-moving books, but it doesn't pay much, so authors who have priced their books higher than fire-sale levels, for whatever reason, aren't likely to stay with it very long, so it's possible that the arrangement for that book might have ended on the last day of December.
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hmm this is really interesting, I'm going to have to check it out. I'm on a really strong PPI right now and I really would like to get off of it, but haven't found too much good information.
I haven't read the book, but from a quick preview it appears that it basically advocates the same things that we recommend here. Please read my post in the old thread at the link below, that explains how to resolve reflux problems. These tips definitely work. The biggest problem will be weaning off the PPI, because PPIs cause a rebound effect that keeps people addicted to them. When you try to stop taking it, the withdrawal will make your reflux problems worse than they ever were previously (at least that's true for most people). You have to wean off a PPI veeeeeeerrrrrrrry slowly, in order to be successful.
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Yes I have heard weaning off a PPI is very hard, but I started on a 30 mg one and just a few months later had to increase to 60 mg, and I don't want that trend to continue considering how young I am and all of the awful side effects. Thanks for the tip on the Vitamin D, I will definitely try it! I am probably going to start reading this heartburn book today as I can get it for free, I'm just intrigued by the fact that he limits certain starches and fiber. I feel like I'm on the right track with paleo, but I'm just not quite there yet, so maybe this approach will help.
I used to take Nexium daily, thought I would never be able to live without it. Then, about 10 years ago, I switched to a low carb mostly paleo diet and the heartburn went away and has never returned. I didn't know at the time that you should go off ppi's slowly so I didn't, cold turkey if I remember correctly. I think that the low carb aspect of my diet was the essential element. If I indulge a bit in carbs now the heartburn will come back, although never as bad as it once was. Of course any indulgence now does not come close to the carb laden, sugar laden, grain laden diet I used to eat. Paleo certainly helped my gastro-intestinal issues, but never entirely. I continued eating homemade yogurt which is non-paleo and dairy. I also ate a lot of eggs not to mention chicken and beef which I can't eat either (all according to Enterolab testing). However, despite the remaining problems I had, still the heartburn stayed away if I stayed low carb (no sugar, no grains, not fruits except for a few berries).
The Paleo diet has definitely helped me but I am still having a lot of problems, so I feel like there must be something I'm missing. I've been paleo for over a year and while I've always had acid reflux issues it didn't get really bad until around July/August of last year... which is coincidentally after my stupid doctor became convinced that I never had Celiac disease and wanted me to do a two week "gluten challenge" before my endoscopy and colonoscopy, and I followed his instructions because he is my doctor and I wanted to try eating gluten again. Bad decision obviously, during the endoscopy they found ulceration in my esophagus and I've never been able to get the acid reflux back under control. Before this tums were doing the trick.
As you have found, acid reflux is associated with gluten sensitivity. Here's a good video presentation about that issue by Dr. Vicki Peterson (one of the doctors who "gets it").
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Kindle has a program whereby an author can offer a title free for a month, (or whatever term desired) and split a pot of "reward" money (it's 1.4 million bucks per month for Dec., Jan, and Feb), provided they grant Kindle the exclusive right to offer their book — books available through other bookstores are not eligible. The agreement can be terminated at any time by either Amazon or the author, with a 5-day notice.
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