As we get older, we stress more about our health. We wonder,
“Is my chest pain heartburn or heart disease?”
“Are my bowel movements normal or weird?”
“And, can someone tell me where all this gas is coming from?”
We wonder, but we'd rather not talk about it. So, let's separate fact from fiction and de-stress by busting the most notorious digestive myths.
Myth 1: Heartburn is caused by too much stomach acid.
Many times, the amount of stomach acid isn’t the problem. It’s just that the acid doesn’t stay in the stomach where it’s supposed to be. It refluxes back up into your food pipe (or esophagus), and that’s what gives you heartburn.
Myth 2: If you don’t have one bowel movement (BM) each day, you’re constipated.
Only 1 in 10 people experience that once-a-day action. Many feel perfectly wonderful with 3 BMs a week. And believe it or not, some have 3 major bathroom sessions a day. It’s all normal. So, relax and do your own thing!
Myth 3: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is caused by a damaged digestive tract.
IBS causes bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and sometimes so much pain that you are sure your digestive tract is falling apart. But in IBS your digestive hardware is just fine. It’s your digestive software that doesn’t function the way it is supposed to.
Bloating, diarrhea, and constipation are not much fun. Want to take control of your gut?
How to keep your gut from running your life.
