Page 16 - Summer2018

Gastroesophageal

Reflux Disease:

A Straightforward, Drug-free

and Effective Solution

By Christopher J. Amoruso, DC, MS, CNS, CGP

astroesophageal reflux disease, better known by
its catchy acronym GERD, is a growing health

Gepidemic in the United States and worldwide.
GERD costs U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars each year

and accounts for hundreds of deaths.
1
Historically, the very first “blockbuster” drug was Tagamet (cimeti-
dine), developed in the 1960s by researchers looking for a “solution” for
heartburn. Currently, the proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) often used to treat
GERD are one of the best-selling classes of drugs in the U.S., with sales of
nine and a half billion dollars in 2012. Nexium, one of the more well known
PPIs, was the top-selling of all drugs that year, raking in nearly six billion
dollars. Americans also spend over two billion dollars annually on liquid
2
and tablet antacids. In 2016, U.S. private-label sales of antacids reached
almost eight hundred and sixty million dollars, and sales of Nexium 24HR
and Zantac totaled over half a billion dollars more.
3
14 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2018