I was walking in downtown Palo Alto a few days ago and noticed a sweet, smoky smell wafting down the sidewalk.
Turning the corner I saw that it was coming from a Hookah Bar that was crowded with college students. Using a water pipe, or hookah, to inhale tobacco smoke has been suggested by some as a safer alternative than smoking cigarettes.
Recently, however, the CDC published their findings that hookah smoking is NOT safer than cigarettes and may actually carry additional dangers.
We all know that smoking is detrimental to our health, contributing to cancer and heart disease. But there is another common health problem that is also linked to smoking that most people don’t know about: acid reflux symptoms.
Heart burn is commonly recognized as acid reflux, but some of the other acid reflux symptoms may not be so widely recognized. Things like excessive belching, sore throat, coughing, and even nausea can be caused by acid reflux. According to Dr. Jonathan E. Aviv, on the Dr. Oz blog there is a strong correlation between smoking and acid reflux symptoms.
How does nicotine contribute to acid reflux symptoms?
The answer lies in the function of a part of the gastrointestinal tract called the lower esophageal sphincter, or LES. Nicotine relaxes the LES. When the sphincter does not close properly, the acidic contents of your stomach come back up, creating acid reflux symptoms.
At my holistic health care practice in Los Altos, CA I have used natural methods to help many people with acid reflux symptoms and other chronic health challenges.
When you need natural solutions for acid reflux symptoms, click here to find out how Holistic Health Care can help you.