GASTRIC GOLD'S BLOG

Labels: acid reflux, GERD

Labels: coeliac desease, IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Johns Hopkins Health Alerts has just published a review of the new GERD guidelines, for safe, effective treatment of your acid reflux.

Treating GERD Effectively

There are four types of treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD): lifestyle measures, medication, surgery, and endoscopic procedures.

Why it is important to treat GERD

Treating GERD is important. Untreated GERD can lead to serious complications, such as esophageal ulcers (nonhealing mucosal defects), esophageal strictures, Barrett's esophagus (a disorder of the cells lining the esophageal mucosa, which may lead to cancer), and even esophageal cancer.

Lifestyle changes to treat GERD

Doctors often recommend lifestyle changes as the first-line treatment for acid reflux. These measures can include elevating the head of the bed during sleep, not eating late at night, and avoiding alcohol or spicy foods.

New findings on effective treatments for GERD

However, a new study reported in "The Archives of Internal Medicine" (Volume 166, page 965) shows that NOT ALL of these changes are helpful in relieving GERD symptoms, and some may be unnecessarily restrictive.

Researchers looked at the results of 100 studies conducted on various lifestyle measures for GERD. Only losing weight and elevating the head of the bed showed a CLEAR BENEFIT in well-designed studies.

Other measures not found to be effective

In comparison, there was little evidence to support avoiding many suspected GERD triggers, such as alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, spicy foods, citrus, carbonated beverages, fatty foods, and mint. The same was true for sleeping on your left side or avoiding food late at night.

Although there was evidence that some of these substances and practices can cause GERD symptoms, evidence was lacking that avoiding them will relieve symptoms.

Bottom line advice on treating GERD

However, if you experience worsening GERD symptoms after eating certain foods or drinking specific beverages you should probably avoid them. In addition, you should certainly give lifestyle changes a chance before trying medication to relieve your GERD symptoms.

For the latest health alerts on GERD (acid reflux), sour stomach, and other digestive disorders, please visit the Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Digestive Disorders Topic Page at: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Digestive Disorders

This article is exceprted from the annual Johns Hopkins White Paper: Digestive Disorders. For more information about this book, please visit: Johns Hopkins White Paper: Digestive Disorders

Johns Hopkins Health Alerts

Labels: acid reflux, GERD

Labels: acid reflux, Food Safety, Heartburn, stomach acid, Video

According to Timothy F. Jones, MD, Tennessee Department of Health and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, "That consumers have a number of misconceptions and unrealistically high expectations of the restaurant-inspection system was a major finding of this large survey. Inspections are one mechanism through which regulatory agencies educate operators and encourage ongoing compliance. However, the industry must ultimately take responsibility for consistently and effectively maintaining food safety. Public health and regulatory agencies should work closely with the industry to improve consumers' understanding of inspection scores and the limitations of regulatory inspections, as well as the role of regulatory inspections in disease prevention."

Using data from telephone surveys of 2000 adults in Tennessee in 2006, researchers found that while almost all respondents (97%) were aware that restaurants were inspected regularly, over 50% believed that inspections occurred from 5 to more than 12 times per year. Only 33% correctly answered that the inspection frequency is twice per year. When asked how often restaurants should be inspected, even fewer people (9%) responded that restaurants should be inspected two times per year; 53% believed that inspections should occur about 12 times per year. When asked about the relative importance of inspections to protect consumers from illnesses, 70% said "very important" and 28% said it was "the most important" safety measure.

Tennessee restaurant inspectors use a 44-item checklist with a total possible score of 100 for best performance. Respondents were asked what score would be the lowest acceptable for a restaurant at which they would eat. Seventy-seven percent said a score of 80 or greater, of whom, 45% said more than 90. This contrasts to a mean score of 82 from another study of 168,000 inspections in Tennessee and where only one third of all restaurants scored higher than 90.

When asked what should happen if a restaurant did not get an acceptable score, 657 (37%) said the restaurant should be closed immediately and allowed to reopen when the situation was corrected. In Tennessee, as in many jurisdictions, it is unusual for sanctions to be imposed on an establishment based on a single inspection. Regulators work with operators to promptly mitigate risks, but closure generally follows recurrent problems that have gone uncorrected after substantial training and consultation.

The article is "Public Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Public Health Inspections of Restaurants" by Timothy F. Jones, MD, and Karen Grimm, MA. It appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 34, Issue 6 (June 2008) published by Elsevier.

Source: AJPM Editorial
Elsevier Health Sciences

Labels: Food Safety, Health