Normally, what we eat is chewed and swallowed to the esophagus, through the cardia into the stomach, which is a downward process.
What we often call acid reflux, medically known as gastroesophageal reflux disease, is on the contrary, it is an upward process, the food in the stomach or stomach acid reversely crosses the cardia, flows to the esophagus, and even the throat, mouth, and nasal cavity.
Why do foods and stomach acid that have already been eaten "go up against the current"? Is there something wrong with our stomach, or because there is too much stomach acid to fit?
In fact, gastroesophageal reflux has little to do with the stomach, and the main reason is that the cardia is broken.
The cardia is the sphincter formed by the thickening of the esophageal muscle layer, located in the part of the connection between the esophagus and the stomach, and it can be said that the cardia is equivalent to a "valve".
Normally, after food reaches the stomach, it is broken down under the action of stomach acid and pepsin, and initial digestion is done, and during this digestion process, the "valve" should be closed.
If the "valve" is loose and not closed tightly, there may be reflux of food and stomach acid that has entered the stomach.
The stomach acid has a strong corrosiveness, and the place where the reflux upwards will cause different degrees of damage, and a series of corresponding symptoms caused by this process are called gastroesophageal reflux disease.
In addition to impaired cardia function leading to gastroesophageal reflux, there are also some rare reasons for poor gastric motility, that is, poor gastric function, can not empty the food in the stomach in time, which will lead to increased pressure in the stomach, and the contents will also be prone to reflux.
References: Medical Microvision official website "GASTROES REFLUX Disease" - Is GASTROES REFLU caused by too much stomach acid?
Speaker: Wu Jimin Chief Physician - Director of the Department of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease of the Rocket Force General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army of Chinese, Vice Chairman of the Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Professional Committee of the Surgeon Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association