Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition, brought to you by nutritional weight and wellness.

If you're somebody who's been suffering from ongoing acid reflux, this is the episode for you.

Because I think a lot of people think that heartburn and

reflux is just kind of annoying and uncomfortable. Maybe you carry a bottle of tums around and

that's that. But really, this is something to take seriously because long-term chronic

heartburn is significant and the consequences can be severe. They really can. And I think this is such an

important topic because people can kind of normalize the symptoms that are occurring week after

week. They might think, I just have a sensitive stomach or I must have eaten something spicy.

Meanwhile, their body is giving them signals that their digestive system really needs some help.

But many people live with reflux for years and don't realize that it can progress into something more serious.

That's right. So we're going to talk about that today. We're going to discuss kind of the biochemistry of what is acid reflux and what is GERD. And we're also going to touch on another

condition called Barrett's esophagus. And we're going to think about how reflux and Barrett's are

related and how they're different. And most importantly, we're going to talk about what you can do

through diet and nutrition to heal and prevent GERD and acid reflux from

progressing into something more serious. But before we go any further, let's introduce ourselves.

My name is Brandy Burrow. I'm a licensed and registered dietitian. And today I'm here with Kara

Carper. Hey, Kara. Hi, Brandy. Great to be here with you again. I'm Cara Carper. Like she said,

I'm a licensed nutritionist and nationally board certified nutrition specialists. And I work

with clients mostly on Zoom, but occasionally in person at one of our local Minnesota offices.

So we're going to start with the basics. First of all, Barrett's esophagus, it's a condition where the lining

of the esophagus changes due to repeated exposure to stomach acid. You know, normally,

your esophagus is lined with delicate cells that are thin and flat, but with chronic acid

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