Ugh, heartburn!

[LaurieKeren]

Usually my chronic heartburn goes away as soon as I start eating low carb and grain free. I restarted two weeks ago, and it did decrease. But today, it is back with a vengeance. I am miserable.

What is the cause and how do I stop it!!?

This morning, I had coffee with a bit of cream, coconut oil, and butter.

Then, I had 2 scrambled eggs with 1 laughing cow cheese wedge and some jalepeno salsa on it.

Haven't eaten lunch or dinner yet.

Yesterday, I had the same as today, but also a handful of almonds for lunch and then, for dinner, some venison steak with a few roasted potatoes (yeah, I know, but really it wasn't much! My carbs were still only around 30 for the day).

Any ideas?

[LaurieKeren]

It occurs to me that have been drinking plain carbonated water yesterday and today. Maybe that is the cause?

[reddarin]

Is it possible that it is being caused by low stomach acid?

Google 'low stomach acid symptoms' and the first link is interesting.

They mention a test for it but there is a very simple test you can do. Take some organic apple cider vinegar diluted in water. If the symptoms subside then low acid was the problem. I think the dosing is about one teaspoon for a glass of water.

[svenskamae]

If you can't put your finger on the cause, I hope it at least becomes less and less frequent and severe as your body gets fully transitioned to a lowcarb WOE. There is a change in the digestive enzymes we need as we switch our macro-nutrient proportions, and maybe this is a passing symptom of that transition for you.

[reddarin]

Ah, I knew I'd listened to a Jimmy Moore podcast that mentioned this problem because I'd never heard of heartburn and indigestion being caused by low stomach acid. Took me a minute to find it again.

Google 'LLVLC-ep-629-dr-avery-carpenter' - the stomach acid part starts with JM's asking about feeling worse eating LC and it takes about 2 mins before she describes the issue with low acid.

The title is "The LLVLC Show (Episode 629): Dr. Avery Carpenter Identifies How To Overcome Low-Carb Diet Difficulties" so it is good all the way through.

[jem51]

For me, too much fat.

Even w fat fast, which is very little food, it'll start after a couple days.

[CarolynF]

Probably too much fat in your coffee..Hope you are better.

[Rhubarb]

It took a while for the heartburn to go away for me. I was worried that I'd have to start watching fat intake closely (because that's what I'd always attributed it to in the past.) And then one day I realized that I hadn't had any in weeks. Still haven't.

So, I guess I'm saying to give it some time. I got some sugar free Tums to help me until they passed.

[LaurieKeren]

Thanks for all your responses! I'll look into everything you've said!

[nolcjunk]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

Probably too much fat in your coffee..Hope you are better.

I agree with the too much fat. Your coffee alone would send me gagging and would give me heartburn and indigestion.

[LaurieKeren]

Originally Posted by nolcjunk

I agree with the too much fat. Your coffee alone would send me gagging and would give me heartburn and indigestion.

Obviously, my coffee doesn't make *me* gag, or I wouldn't drink it. I'm not sure why I needed to hear that it would make *you* gag.

The fact that it would give you heartburn and indigestion was relevant information, though.

Maybe it is the fat. I'll tweak and fiddle with things and see what happens.

[rubidoux]

I am gonna vote fat. I'm having exactly the same problem. In the past, I've always had heartburn when I was eating poorly and it's gone away when I've gotten back on the LC wagon. But for the last couple of years, I seem to be going higher and higher fat each time.

Plus, the other day I had a coffee with butter and CO for the first time and it gave me terrible heartburn at a time of day that I never get heartburn. I am fine with coffee and HWC at that time of day, but the butter/CO was just too much. I'm sure it was the fat.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it. I may try to wait a little longer and hope it works itself out. If not, I'll have to start using prilosec, I guess. I have had heartburn regularly since before I was 20 and before I was even overweight. It's been like 25 years, and it's not good to let it go. I have never been aggressive enough about treating it and now that I'm older it worries me.

One thing to do in the meantime, though, that doesn't involve sugar, is baking soda. Just mix between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 4 or so ounces of water and drink it down. It'll make you burp like mad and take care of the heartburn.

And Darin, I can't let myself believe the low stomach acid theory because I'm too scared of the idea of drinking apple cider vinegar while I have heartburn.

[Mimosa23]

For me, I get heartburn from stress...
And from hidden sugar and starches...

I agree with trying some ACV or other things like pickles or saurkraut if you like that kind of thing. It really helps me.

Also, for me my heartburn gets worse when I try and drink it away with water.

Good luck, let us know how it goes and I hope you feel better soon!

ETA: I drink coffee with butter and coconut oil every morning, and consume a fairly high fat diet. I don't get heartburn from the fat.

Have you changed supplements? Maybe there could be something like starches or sugars in them that may cause it? (wildly guessing here!!!)

[LaurieKeren]

Originally Posted by rubidoux

I am gonna vote fat. I'm having exactly the same problem. In the past, I've always had heartburn when I was eating poorly and it's gone away when I've gotten back on the LC wagon. But for the last couple of years, I seem to be going higher and higher fat each time.

Plus, the other day I had a coffee with butter and CO for the first time and it gave me terrible heartburn at a time of day that I never get heartburn. I am fine with coffee and HWC at that time of day, but the butter/CO was just too much. I'm sure it was the fat.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it. I may try to wait a little longer and hope it works itself out. If not, I'll have to start using prilosec, I guess. I have had heartburn regularly since before I was 20 and before I was even overweight. It's been like 25 years, and it's not good to let it go. I have never been aggressive enough about treating it and now that I'm older it worries me.

One thing to do in the meantime, though, that doesn't involve sugar, is baking soda. Just mix between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 4 or so ounces of water and drink it down. It'll make you burp like mad and take care of the heartburn.

And Darin, I can't let myself believe the low stomach acid theory because I'm too scared of the idea of drinking apple cider vinegar while I have heartburn.

The fact that you burp like mad when you take baking soda suggests to me that you probably do have high stomach acid.

Twice now, I've done a little home test involving baking soda, and it doesn't make me burp like mad. I drank about 1/4 tsp of baking soda in 1/4 cup water in the morning on an empty stomach, and both times, I only burped once, and it took 3-5 minutes before I burped. That suggests to me that I might have low stomach acid rather than high. (I read about this test on a website somewhere.)

I might want to take reddarin's suggestion and try drinking vinegar if I get heartburn today!

[CarolynF]

Try the vinegar..If I get heartburn, I drink a diet drink that is carbonated..

[TishyLish68]

I`d vote the carbonated water. I`m not prone to heartburn, but Perrier water will almost always give me heartburn especially if I drink it between meals.

[nolcjunk]

Originally Posted by LaurieKeren

Obviously, my coffee doesn't make *me* gag, or I wouldn't drink it. I'm not sure why I needed to hear that it would make *you* gag.

The fact that it would give you heartburn and indigestion was relevant information, though.

Maybe it is the fat. I'll tweak and fiddle with things and see what happens.

Sorry, I didn't mean that it was disgusting or something. It's just that too much fat makes me gag and then I know I'll probably get heartburn or indigestion. It's that dry throat type of feeling so the gag and heartburn goes together.

[clackley]

I had chronic heart burn and it didn't really improve much when I started to low carb. It took some time and a very generous person here to teach me it was about gut flora. I had to go cold turkey with my tums and zantac and I started on probiotics at the same time. Within 2 wks. it was all but gone. Truly remarkable in my mind. Wish I had understood the problem long before that.



The common issue with coconut oil it seems (and was for me), is that it is a medium chain-triglyceride and is digested a bit differently. It is advised to start with a tsp. or less and work your way up. It is a great thing to include in your woe for a variety of health reasons so don't be put off.

[LaurieKeren]

Thanks again, everyone!! So much to think about.

I had coffee w/cream and some coconut oil this morning, and I do have slight heartburn (not too bad, though). I do think that the carbonated water exacerbated the issue, too (it got really bad after I drank that).

I've been thinking of cutting out the coffee anyway. I may try that and see what happens. I do still want to keep EVCO in my diet, though.

Clackley, I probably DO need to take probiotics. I make yogurt regularly, but I don't really eat a lot of it. Hubby and kids eat it daily, but I'm not a huge yogurt eater, I guess. I'm thinking of making sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables, and that would help with the probiotics, too. Just gotta get the courage! Rotten veggies. Seems weird in this day and age, lol.

[clackley]

Yes, I agree that it seems odd to be seeking out bacteria when we live in a culture that tells us to wash our food, wash our hands constantly. There is is great new research now that seems to say that we are causing problems with antibiotics and our normal gut flora. Not to say that we shouldn't take antibiotics (they save many, many lives) but maybe to look to repopulating bacteria. I am always on a quest to find ways to do this and my most recent addition is kimchi. It is not for everyone's tastes but I happily, love it!!

[Britt1975]

I had really bad heartburn on the SAD - every afternoon I would sit in my office and try in vain to burp quietly. It was really painful and horribly embarrassing. At night after dinner I would feel the pressure build up and I would burp over and over and over again - I couldn't lay down to sleep without feeling the need to burp building up - so awful!!! I was doing rounds of omeprazole and Prilosec every other month or so - seriously - it was miserable! When I started low carb, I started taking EVCO in my morning tea and drinking 1 or 2 tsps of ACV in every 20oz water and my heartburn went away. No more burning painful sensation in my stomach, chest and throat - no more embarrasing burping - no more sleepless nights! I feel great!

I spoke with my doctor about it at my last visit and he did confirm that it's possible that having acid that is too low can cause heartburn, and that taking small amounts of ACV can be helpful to correct the acid level in the stomach.

[Rowief]

Six weeks with 20 pound loss. No matter what I eat, I end up with severe heartburn. It almost made me think that I was having a heart attack. I drink one cup of coffee in the morning and the rest of the day I drink water. I take a multivitamin and magnesium in the morning with my breakfast. Today's food intake:

B...Coffee with 1/2 tsp HWC, 1/2 avocado and hard boiled egg
L...grilled 3 oz hamburger patty, lettuce with 2 tbsp blue cheese dressing
D...2 scrambled eggs in butter, spinach with olive oil

Could low salt intake have anything to do with it?

Many thanks from a grateful newbie.

[reddarin]

I don't think low sodium is going to affect it. Have you tried the apple cider vinegar test? Drink a teaspoon diluted in some water after eating. If your heartburn subsides or feels much better the problem is low stomach acid.

Google 'apple cider vinegar low stomach acid'.