Just an observation

The other day I was playing golf with a group of people and Acid Reflux can up and man I was blown away. There were probably 30 guys and I'd say at least half take something for acid reflux. This seemed strange as the more people you ask the more you find that lots of people take something for heartburn or acid reflux. I just don't seem to remember this being such a big problem in my youth. I look at the food we eat and I have to say that HFC has replaced sugar. Well since the use of it has sky rocketed so has a lot of health problems. Beside the heartburn, kids are now becoming diabetic at an alarming rate. Next time you food shop read the labels and you will be shocked at how many foods have HFC.

My question is, in your circle of friends are you experiencing the same?

Agreed DM. High fructose corn syrup is probably enemy number one of the health of everyone who consumes it. Soda pop in the lead.

A higher level of overall stress is a big factor in increasing heartburn, too. My diet is basically the same as it was 10 years ago in college, but whereas I was pretty easy going and had no major worries aside from picking up women and obtaining booze back then, now I have all kinds of responsibillity with kids, work, marriage, the future, the stock market, a littany of concerns the likes of which ATS was built upon, etc. About the only time I ever had heartburn in college it could be directly pinned on drinking and not getting enough sleep, hungover & exhausted = reaching for the Maalox. Now days I find myself wondering sometimes if I have an ulcer my gut bothers me so much. The only change I can see is that stress level, man.

Although I do avoid the HCF and as much of the preservatives & other additive crap as I can purely on principle.

I'v never had heartburn or acid reflux in my life. Ever. Then I became co-owner of a deadline oriented business about 6 years ago. Then about 1 year ago I had my first experience with stomach acid. THe pain was incredible. I went to the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack. The esophagus runs right along the heart so that is a common mistake. I think it's from smoking, coffee and intense stress at times. I looked into acid/alkaline diets. If I have an attack I eat about 10 rolaids and some alkaline foods like watermelon, apples, bananas and such. It does the trick. But I know if I want it to stop I will have to either quit intaking so much coffee and cigarettes (highly acidic) or get out of my business, or maybe both.

Al of my friends are either healthy as hell, or have a laid back comfortable lifestyle so I seem to be the only one with the problem.

Step number 1 in avoiding Heart attacks:

Strengthen your stress buffers by exposing yourself to situations which place mental stress on your concentration - this can be done a number of ways, from filling out cross-word puzzles to debating the finer points of subliminuality (Not a word, but it should be!) within the political establishment.

The problem with many people is that they go from an environment which causes them little stress, like that of an college education, to that of a high-paced, profit-driven corporate posting, which demands every hour and every day of your time.

Many people simply don't have the resilience to be able to handle the stress.

The trick lies within knowing how much resilience you currently have.

And on the original point - HFC seems to predominantly monopolise the cold beverage industry (Coca-Cola, for example), so perhaps the people making the stuff need to ask themselves whether or not it is ethically viable to supply the masses with this chemical substance.

*shudders, having entered the webpage of coca-cola and become tainted*

[edit on 25-4-2008 by Anti-Tyrant]