What is Barrett's Disease?

Barrett's disease, also called Barrett's esophagus, it is caused by repeated injury to esophageal tissue from chronic gastric acid reflux. This causes changes in the makeup and color of the cells which line the lower esophagus. In a healthy person, the mucous membrane lining of the esophagus consists of cellular tissue called squamous epithelium. Barrett's disease is caused by  the side effects of having chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).Most people who have GERD do not get Barretts disease.The people who are diagnosed with Barrett's may have a small but higher risk of developing esophageal cancer. People suffering from Barrett's disease are often recommended to follow a similar diet to what is commonly recommended for sufferers of GERD.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

GERD has some common symptoms such as heartburn and reflux, but Barrett's disease in a lot of cases does not seem to promote any definite symptoms. As Barrett's disease progresses, the tissue lining oesophagus becomes less sensitive from the effects of chronic acid reflux. The mucous membrane lining in healthy oesophagus is made up of cellular tissue called squamous epithelium. But constant damage from acid reflux can alter the normal tissue lining, replacing it with cells called columnar epithelium, this type of tissue is normally only found in the stomach and upper intestine

How do doctors diagnose Barrett’s esophagus?

A doctor may diagnose Barrett’s esophagus while performing tests to find the cause of a patient’s (GERD) symptoms or sometimes during a procedure for a stomach problem such as treating an ulcer or other stomach ailment.

Doctors will usually diagnose Barrett’s esophagus whilst doing an upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and if they see unusual tissue growth they will take a biopsy..(a small sample of tissue is removed for examination under a microscope)

Upper GI endoscopy and biopsy

During an upper GI endoscopy, the gastroenterologist, will use an endoscope to look inside your upper GI tract, most often while you receive light sedation. An endoscope is flexible tube with a light and a camera on the end that a surgeon can direct into your throat and stomach it also has special devices that can take small tissue samples for examination.     The surgeon will carefully feed the endoscope down through your esophagus and into your stomach and duodenum. During the procedure he might see some changes in the lining of your esophagus.
He may also take a small sample of tissue from the lining of your esophagus through the endoscope. You won’t feel the biopsy. A pathologist will examine the tissue sample in a laboratory and look for signs of columnar epithelium cells indicating the presence of Barrett’s disease.

Treatment and Complications

 The Most common recommended medical treatment for Barrett's disease requires prolonged use of proton pump inhibitors, which may slow down the disease, antacids are also prescribed to quickly relieve heartburn. With severe damage to the oesophagus, procedures such as photodynamic therapy, endoscopic mucosal resection and surgery can sometimes be recommended. Complications often involve narrowing of the oesophagus, and can be accompanied by ulcers..

The most serious complication of Barrett's disease is called oesophageal adenocarcinoma if a substance called “specialized intestinal metaplasia” is found during the biopsy then the risk of  getting cancer is greatly increased.

The main target in treating Barrett’s disease is to prevent or slow down the development of Barrett's oesophagus by primarily treating and controlling the acid reflux. This is usually done by changing lifestyles and diet as well as using medication.

Lifestyle changes include.

• Change of diet.

 People diagnosed with Barrett’s disease or GURD need to change their dietary habits and avoid certain foods that can induce reflux. Things to avoid include fatty foods, spicy foods, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and some fruits and other food that can cause high acid levels.

Diet Guidelines
 


      According to diverse research done by many universities and health professionals the most beneficial diet for helping with the symptoms of Barrett’s disease is one that excludes foods that trigger an increase in stomach acids during digestion. According to most of the expert studies trialled on diets for this disease food that should be greatly reduced or eliminated include those that contain caffeine, peppermint, chocolate, spearmint and alcohol .Decaffeinated coffee is also included and is recommended that it should not be consumed at all.

      Beneficial foods are those types that are high in complex carbohydrates .Some of these beneficial foods include whole grain breads and pastas, brown rice and other whole grains. These foods absorb some of the excess acid and are much easier for the stomach to digest as they are complete foods. Low acid vegetables such as, beans, green beans baked potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and broccoli are less likely to cause acid reflux. Some people may find however that a certain vegetable that is deemed ok still causes that individual to get heart burn so it is sometimes just a trial and error process of eating different food types and eliminating those that cause a bad reaction. The best way is to just try the vegetables you like one at a time and make a note of those that create a problem. Sufferers of reflux should also avoid raw onions and deep fried vegetables, steamed or raw is the best way to cook most vegetables to avoid this problem.

(I was originally told to avoid tomatoes as they are acidic but usually they don’t cause me any problems and  I love tomatoes)

•      Barrett’s sufferers should try to avoid fatty or processed types of meat like hotdogs, salami and processed luncheon type meats as these usually cause an increase in acid production in the stomach. The best meats to consume are those that are low in fat like lean beef, skinless chicken, fish and other lean meats. Pork and other fatty type meats can sometimes cause indigestion and should be avoided if you find you have a bad reaction from them. Meats are best cooked by braising or stewing or lightly grilling; avoid frying in oil and fat as this will promote reflux.

(I personally have a very bad reaction to pork although I can eat small amounts of well grilled bacon )

•     Most fruits are ok to consume except citrus and pineapples and some tomatoes, it is best to just individually test the fruit you like and then try to reduce –replace or eliminate those that cause you heartburn.( I can’t eat most citrus without getting heart burn but am ok with low acid pineapples)

• Most people suffering from Barrett’s disease can tolerate dairy products although some people might need to try low fat versions of these products if they have a reaction to dairy. In some people eggs will cause an acid reaction and they should try to avoid eating the yolks. Fruit smoothies and low fat yogurt are usually ok as deserts but foods like ice-cream- cream cakes and other fatty foods should be avoided. ( I don’t have problems with eggs at all but ice-cream will give me bad heart burn even though I don’t react to full cream milk)

•        Barrett’s sufferers should avoid alcohol especially a few hours before sleeping, even tea and coffee can cause a reaction from the caffeine. The best thing for people who get reflux is to drink plenty of water.

 (I used to get very bad reflux from beer until I found a brand that doesn’t seem to upset me-unless I drink too much of it, most spirits and wines give me heartburn. I usually put quarter of a teaspoon of bi-carb of soda in a full glass of water before going to bed after drinking beer and I’m usually ok )
Alternative Treatments and programs for acid reflux ,heart burn or gerd.
Apart from the conventional medical treatment for acid reflux which is the root cause of gerd there are some natural treatments out there that work with out the use of dangerous drugs .
These alternative treatments use a compilation of natural remedies that help your body to repair  the root cause of the reflux in the first place and help to avoid the use of drugs that only mask or temporary relive the symptons .
Heart Burn no more is a diet and exercise program that can realy  help you to reduce or even eliminate heartburn,acid reflux and Gerd it was produced by a well known medical practitioner who also had reflux and did not want to use the convention drugs which he knew to be harmfull and had bad side effects.CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE


How You Eat and the most important things you should do after eating.

If you have Barrett’s disease or other forms of GERD it is most important to adopt a different style of eating than you did before. Changing the way you eat, what you eat and how much you eat along with the type of activities you do after a meal can drastically reduce the symptoms of gastric reflux.
Smaller meals

• Instead of having two or three large meals during the day try to eat much smaller meals that can be digested quicker. Four to five smaller meals of about 300-400 calories are usually recommended but you just need to work the sizes out for yourself.

Chew your Food

• You should always try to eat your meals slowly and make sure you chew everything and mix it with plenty of saliva and drink sips of water as well. 

(This was the most useful alternative information i have found is not well know or talked about and it realy does help a lot. I was first told of this from the owner of a  Chinese herbal shop and have since found some other references about the benifits of this on the digestion of food elsewhere )

The enzymes in your saliva will help to break down the food and also balance the acid levels as saliva is naturally slightly alkaline. If you enjoy the occasional glass of fruit juice try making saliva in your mouth as you drink, try to drink a couple of mouthfuls at a time and let you glands produce saliva in between gulps.
(  I personally have found the tip about trying to eat and drink and mentally try to produce saliva with my food helps me the most from getting heart burn)
But every time I am in a hurry and just scoff my food down or just gulp down a glass of fruit juice on the run I ALWAYS get heart burn directly after and then need to take an anti-acid .)

Plan your meal times

• Always try to have your evening meal at least three to four hours before going to bed and always try to stay in an upright position at least thirty to forty minutes after eating.

  Lose Weight  Being overweight can increase your risk of having reflux. Excess weight and body fat can put pressure on the stomach especially during sleep and can cause reflux more readily. Click here to learn more

Sleeping habits and position
People with reflux will experience fewer problems if they adopt a routine of having food at least 3to four hours before going to bed. Even a light snack can trigger reflux during the night. They should also take all medications with food and plenty of water. Tilting your bed so that your head is about 8 inches (12 cms) higher than your feet can also help as this can help to stop acid from flowing up into your esophagus while you sleep.                                                                 
Doctors recommend taking regular prescribed medications such as the 4 types below.

1. Proton pump inhibitors that reduce the production of stomach acid
2. Antacids to neutralize stomach acid
3. H2 blockers that lessen the release of stomach acid
4. Promotility agents -- drugs that speed up the movement of food from the stomach to the intestines.

  I was taking the proton pump inhibitors daily according to my doctor’s instructions but after a while I started getting bloated about an hour after eating, passing lots of smelly wind and having diarrhea and I was passing undigested food. I was also feeling tired but couldn’t sleep properly etc. When I asked the doctor about it  he told me it was just some side effects that would pass but it got worse so I decided to chuck the pills and start researching alternative ways to control my reflux and stomach acids. I had a feeling that the acid inhibitors were interfering with my stomachs ability to digest my food properly and after a bit of research i found this to be true and I also learned a lot about the  other nasty things that these proton pump inhibitors could cause .Things like weakened bones and much more . I have copied some references from Wikipedia and added a link to the article if you want to read more I have copied the text as it has an out line of each drug and its side effects on the body. I did a lot more research on other medical sites but a lot of it is in medical terms where as Wikipedia sums it up in an easier to understand format.If you are here on my website looking for more information then you may have already read this .
If you are looking for a more natural method of controlling your re-flux and Barret's disease then CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT PROTON PUMP INHIBITORS FROM WIKIPEDIA

Click here to learn more about healthy Nutrition

Click Here to find healthy food alternatives including Gluten and Lactose free foods

Click here if you have been looking for natural vitamins and nutrients

Click here to learn how to control acid reflux the natural way.