I have had GERD since I was in my thirties and took all that medication for relief. Here I am in my sixties and and within one week of finally finding raw milk my stomach problems disappeared.
Yes, my cousins and I drank raw cow and goat milk fresh from the animal on the family cattle ranch.
Also, there is the Altadena Dairy in Altadena, California from which we had the raw dairy delivered. Dairy operation at Altadena Dairy was sold in 1990s. Nowadays, I go to a food co-op or a local dairy farm for raw dairy.
How interesting! I watch a man on YouTube called Wiltshire Man, who is blessed to have a raw milk producer near enough to be able to buy his milk. He recently did a video in which he said he had been taking Omeprozole on and off for years, but since drinking raw milk, he no longer needs it.
Hello Bruce! I happen to have a cow and a goat (a story for another time), but having so much problems with reflux I can’t even imagine drinking the raw milk.
Is there any routine you follow to drink the milk? What do you recommend?
I can't imagine having a cow and not using the the milk! Why have a cow, what do you do with the milk?
Let the fresh milk sit in the fridge over night, pour off part of the cream so it's not so thick. Shake the refrigerated raw cows milk before you pour it and enjoy! If you have difficulty with drinking milk, put it in your cereal/oatmeal, mix some chocolate milk, make a batch of cookies & dunk them in the ice cold milk, & enjoy!
Great article! Over a decade ago, I went to the doctor with continual/constant burping. She diagnosed me with GERD (which was a midiagnosis). After taking Prilosec for about six months and working to educate myself, I learned that what I was experiencing were simple age-related symptoms and learned to manage my body with food. There are some good sources out there that can help with this:
Both articles have good information. This is also when I began to learn/notice that doctors are trained to distribute medication rather than educate their clients.
I'm 59 now, but found that spicy food and red wine were the main culprits. I do love these things, I just eat less of them. Every body will be different. It takes a bit of patience and experimentation to find out what the problems are.
At 83 I have had periodic GERD for decades. Limonene (citrus peel oil) stops it in its tracks.
From my AI:
Limonene isn't just some random essential oil fad — it's one of the more interesting and under-discussed natural approaches for GERD that actually has a plausible mechanism and some clinical backing.
What Limonene Actually Is
D-limonene is a terpene found abundantly in citrus peel oil — oranges, lemons, limes. It's the compound that gives citrus its characteristic smell. But it's not just a fragrance molecule; it has real physiological effects.
Mechanism of Action for GERD
Limonene works through several pathways that address GERD differently than acid-suppressing drugs:
1. Gastric Coating and Mucosal Protection
Limonene is lipophilic (fat-loving) and floats on top of gastric contents. It forms a physical barrier — essentially a thin, hydrophobic raft — that sits at the gastroesophageal junction. This mechanically prevents acid and pepsin from splashing up into the esophagus. Think of it as a lightweight, natural physical barrier rather than a chemical neutralizer.
2. Accelerated Gastric Emptying
This is arguably the more important mechanism. Limonene speeds up gastric emptying — it gets food moving out of the stomach faster. GERD is often as much a motility problem as an acid problem. If the stomach is sitting full and stagnant, the gastroesophageal sphincter is under constant pressure. Limonene helps clear the stomach, reducing that pressure and the likelihood of reflux events.
3. Esophageal Mucus Stimulation
Limonene appears to stimulate the production of protective mucus in the esophageal lining, creating a natural coating that shields the tissue from acid damage when reflux does occur.
4. Mild Prokinetic and Antispasmodic Effects
It has gentle smooth-muscle relaxing properties that may help normalize the lower esophageal sphincter function — not weakening it, but preventing those inappropriate transient relaxations that characterize pathological reflux.
The Clinical Evidence
The most cited study on this is a small but notable trial by Willette et al. where participants took 1,000 mg of d-limonene every other day for 20 days. The results were striking: roughly 90% of participants reported complete resolution of GERD symptoms, with effects lasting months after the short treatment course ended. That's not a cure in the strictest sense, but the durability of the effect suggests something more than symptomatic relief — possibly a reset of some underlying dysfunction.
Now, that's a small study and it's been heavily promoted by the company that funded it, so interpret with appropriate skepticism. But the mechanism makes sense and the anecdotal reports are substantial.
Why It's Not Mainstream
Simple: you can't patent limonene. It's a natural compound found in orange peels. There's no incentive structure for the pharmaceutical industry to run massive randomized controlled trials on something that anyone can extract and sell. PPIs generate billions annually. Limonene doesn't threaten that revenue stream enough to warrant suppression — it's more that nobody has the profit motive to push it through the FDA approval gauntlet.
Practical Considerations
Dosing: The typical protocol is 1,000 mg every other day, not daily. Daily dosing seems to reduce efficacy for reasons that aren't fully understood.
Form: Purified d-limonene in gel capsules, not just orange oil. Orange oil contains other compounds including citral which can be irritating.
Burping: You will taste citrus. The limonene volatilizes and you'll get orange-flavored burps. Not unpleasant for most people, but worth knowing.
Not for acute relief: This isn't like popping a Tums. It's a longer-term approach that takes days to weeks.
The Bottom Line
Limonene addresses GERD as a mechanical and motility problem rather than just an "acid problem" to be chemically suppressed. Given the growing evidence that long-term PPI use causes its own set of problems — nutrient malabsorption, SIBO risk, kidney issues, rebound hyperacidity — a short course of a non-toxic natural compound with a sensible mechanism is worth considering for many people.
It's not going to fix a hiatal hernia or Barrett's esophagus. But for run-of-the-mill GERD with no structural abnormality, it's a reasonable intervention with a favorable risk profile.
I'm most interested in this recommendation. 30 yrs of PPI's and I need to free myself. I started to look for purified d-limonene in gel capsules and was unable to find anyone selling that form. They all seem to simply have orange peel oil but not the purified version you suggest. Can you disclose the brand you described that sells these ? Also, wondering if this would be useful as I am trying to wean myself off or is this primarily good to use once weaned off the PPI's. Looking forward to your suggestions.
I bought d-limonene in a metal bottle for use in various herbal recipes...how to get it into capsules (and measure dosage) is another thing entirely, though.
Allowing Big Pharma to make products that harm and kill by just fining them
Putting fluoride in water - swallow it ( When fluoride toothpastes have warnings that if one swallows the paste to go to a poison control unit; and, when one drinks water hardly and
teeth even touch the water ??? )
More and more vaccines with toxic ingredients being given to people.
Foods full of health robbing ingredients
Don't let sunlight reach one's skin by putting toxic chemicals on one's body.
Create enemies via fear instead of creating friends via trade and, well, friendship.
Create more fear via climate change nonsense propaganda.
Create more fear via epidemic nonsense.
And, that's just a start.......
How many scams will it take to realize that it's not just about money, that they're trying to kill us ?
I believe it's more a complete lack of regard or concern for the consequences than a desire to kill us, but I completely understand why there seems to be intentional malice. That said, a strong case can be made that the global elite believes they have a duty to reduce the population as many measures have been implemented to enact that.
I currently agree, from what little I "know" that a reduction in population is in play. Another way to say that they're trying to kill us ( some/many of us. LOL. ) But, why the
slow route ? Why not just zap us till they get to the desired level ? Lots of theories out there........ One being that they're harvesting fear, pain , suffering which explains wars, illness, mental anguish........ Would be nice to know the truth of what's going on.
And, we could run this world morally and deal with any population excess morally, if that were the true issue - too many people being a cancer to Earth.
So, since we're being run immorally - " complete lack of regard for the consequences", then we have to stop feeding the parasite, so to speak. Don't buy their products or their propaganda, think for ourselves, vote in morally based leaders, live morally...... realizing that they have the advantage because they aren't restricted by morality.
"One being that they're harvesting fear, pain , suffering which explains wars, illness, mental anguish." That is assigning a spiritual intention - which it is.
It may not be malice, per se, but it is likely an empathy-free, materialistic view of the bulk of humanity (and other living creatures on this planet) as objects to be used, abused and discarded as desired by the "elite." Recall Kissinger's "useless eaters" comment, among many other disturbing comments in the same vein. Recall also, the bizarre claim at the very inception of the Covid "pandemic" that tens of thousands of mechanical ventilators would be needed. Ventilators have no therapeutic value, are damaging to the lungs in the best of circumstances, and are purely a last resort. Why would the authorities plan to fail?
I’m pretty sure that now they want to kill us. Definitely don’t want to heal or save us. And being poisoned daily by everything and it’s getting harder to avoid and eat healthy unless you have time and space and physical ability to grow a garden. Produce aisles in every single store have incredibly poor quality produce and department gets smaller every day. Availability and quality of frozen organic produce is diminishing rapidly as well
Well, in my area even Walmart has organic products. But, we do have to shop different stores to keep stocked organically since not one store has all of what we like to eat. We have been gardening for three years now and are beginning to get halfway decent at it. But, no way will our results begin to feed us. We're in our 70s and so won't likely get to the point of growing the food we need. Now, someone in their 30s plus or minus, could make a go of it, but it's a lot of work and requires one to be totally at home, especially if animals are involved.
I wish I had time to garden. Basically we forage for food IN STORES now!! I work full time -drive an hour each way (only 20 miles!!) and am person who can plan and cook the healthy meals at home. I end up going to stores for produce at least 4 times a week. It’s exhausting. This us no way to live. I’m too damn old to be witnessing the nightmare we live in and too damn old to bear it
I'm 79 and we go to the stores 2-3 times a week. Also, I buy over the internet, mostly meat that is organically grown. We have two freezers which allow us to shop sales and then store excess to be eaten later on. There's also a farm in the area where we get meat that is grown traditionally.
I took omeprazole for years. Every time I ate, I would experience burning in my stomach, not my esophagus. I stopped taking it and I stopped eating seed oils. I have not experienced the burning stomach since. I am obsessive about what I put in and on my body. Only grass-fed, grass-finished, field harvested, ruminant meat. Raw milk, organic fruits and vegetables. I don’t buy much from the grocery store, including eggs. Those I order from nourishfoodclub.com
The most important thing I learned regarding GERD was that my GERD was caused 90% by statin drugs. Once I got off the statin drugs, I noticed most of my reflux went away. I had been on a constant diet of Prilosec I went off the Prilosec. The nastiest and stupidest drug ever invented is statin drugs. Many people who go off the standard drugs will be able to go off Prilosec within a month. This is the main cause of the tremendous stomach problems. Statin drugs are the most ridiculous invention in the history of medicine since the invention of CALOMEL.
How about, " One of the numerous, abundant most ridiculous inventions in the history of medicine " ? After all how many times has Big Pharma been fined ( no one goes to jail and no company gets shut down ) for making products ( drugs ) that harm and kill people ? Fined billions and billions of dollars - just a cost of doing business.
No need to wonder. My son, the rationalist, always admonishes me that "Just because someone [ or entity ] is evil enough to commit [ fill in the blank here ] does not mean they are guilty". True, but the chances are far higher.
My sister-in-law who was a lifelong nurse, passed away from brain cancer in 2019. She had been taking prescribed acid reflux drugs for over 20 years. I always wonder if there was a connection.
YES, the Combinations are Brutal! They also have Most people over 55 now on Statins. They also cause muscle weakness and the GERD that prompts the SSRI's. It's a wicked cycle and finally, our doctors began to listen.
Our Angel House in South FL is small, invisible to most of the world, but we do Search for Natural cures and try to educate families and doctors.
A simple but very helpful way to reduce pressure on your stomach (and acid reflux) is to have good posture. Strangely (or not so strangely), the idea that there is a normative range of good posture came under fire recently from an Ivy League professor publishing in an Ivy League press. The idea that good posture was fake news was then diseminated through countless national news organizations.
It's tragic that something so fundamental to human health has been undermined like this, especially since it doesn't cost anything to sit up a little straighter and probably everyone in this screen-filled world could use the reminder.
4 years ago I fell on the ice. Hard. Hit my lower back and I knew it was bad and it was. I could not stand. X-rays showed I had knocked a vertebrae out of alignment. The pain was indescribable. Up to that point, I had run/power walked 3 miles every day for 36 years. Now laying on the couch was the only way I could be somewhat pain free. Fear was taking over. After 2 weeks of this, I started searching the internet. I was caught by a title that said. "In this practice, I try to keep you out of my office." It was a back surgeon. She said that if you corrected your posture [ practicing vertical alignment and specific exercises ]] you could reduce your pain and avoid surgery. Desperate I started reading her article and doing what she recommends. Within 48 hours my pain had been reduced by 90%. I can't run anymore, but the power waling is fine. If you had told me something so simple could have such significant results, I would not have believed it. Turns out I had terrible posture. My body reminds me now. It wants to be aligned.
Thanks for the info. Can you put the source for your info so I can give it to my FIL who humps over because of back pain, please? I’d love to be able to help him.
So, I seem to have lost the links, but did some digging online to get the information. Here's a good link [ https://www.chiroone.com/blog/why-spinal-alignment-matters-how-a-healthy-spine-supports-your-whole-body/ ] and I will share what I had read previously: Picture your shoulders and clavicle like a hanger. The clothes should be hanging freely. Standing in a full mirror from the side, draw a straight line with your eyes from the middle top of your head through your shoulders hips knees and arch of your foot. Make adjustments slowly. I had to remember every several minutes all day long in the beginning. Walk that way from now on.
Still looking for the exercises that were really helpful. Will get back soon.
I had a episode with what I thought was to much acid and after seeing aMD I was prescribed a PPI. After doing a few tests myself, like taking baking soda and water and waiting to see how long it took to burp. Another was to eat some meat and see how my stomach reacted to it. I took HCL for a few weeks before my biggest meal of the day and that has cleared it up. Now I always take digestive enzymes when I eat.
I permanently fixed my reflux (burning stomach) decades ago, by taking a tbspn ACV (vinegar), before my meals. At the end of two weeks, I felt good again and never had any subsequent issues. Taking digestive enzymes is also an excellent idea especially if you have enzyme deficiencies or certain digestive disorders. The chart puts me in the 50% acid producing category. Sometimes if I eat a large meal I take an emzyme tablet but usually I have no issues. Since I think we need more nutrients as we age, and the food and soil gives less and less, I will be taking more enzymes.
Topical progesterone caused my acid reflux to become so bad I slept sitting up. I was put on the GERD meds, which I just didn’t use :0) and ended up getting a scope for esophageal cancer. I read somewhere that estrogen tightens muscles and progesterone loosens them. I went off the topical progesterone and the GERD disappeared. Twenty years later it’s still gone. I might take a tums once or twice a month if I eat late.
I developed Acid Reflux after moving to the mid-west from the coastal area. On a separate investigation, I found out I was living in a low iodine environment in the mid-west. I remembered not having AR before the mid-west move. I started taking 5 drops of Lugols 2% Iodine Solution in water everyday. I no longer have AR. I know the body is complicated and there are many confounders. For several years, I did everything and it always came back (ACV, no process food, Omad, etc) but the Iodine Solution worked for me.
After reading of the LES/HCL connection at Mercola's site, relaying AMWD's theories on stomach acid and Gerd, I stopped taking Omeprazole cold turkey by adding Betaine 648mg each night. GERD stopped almost immediately. After about a month, I started taking it only occaisionally when I have something like wine, or ice cream that I know produces heartburn after going to bed.
Sometimes I'll go three weeks without any Betaine.
Now if I could do something about the overactive bladder..........
So glad this is being addressed, as I learned many years ago that everything begins in the gut, so I've been taking digestive enzymes and probiotics daily--and I mean strong ones. This is why I believe the ph is the best monitor, disease cannot live in an alkaline environment and an acidic one creates all kinds of havoc. I found it alarming that this past year a few global posts have suggested 'staph' infections as tho it's a disease in itself and wonder if someday the globalists may decide to measure bad gut bacteria as a disease needing jabs.
I have used 1/4-1/12 tsp of baking soda for acid reflex, also known as heart burn, for the last 60years. This habit began in the last months of my 1st pregnancy- when acid reflex becomes common due to the increase in the child’s size pressing against the digestive organ. Today I also find my posture affects how my digestive system functions.
Band-aid Medicine defines how GI issues are treated in the US. Rather than determine how to reverse the health issues, or prevent the health issues, the solution is to suppress the symptoms of GI distress by prescribing a drug which is most beneficial for the drug manufacturer. Creates a long term user, who suffers with side effects.
In the early 1990's my wife developed GERD. The physician prescribed Prevacid 15 mg. One in the AM. Did the trick. The GERD disappeared. What developed were episodes of food poisonings. We both ate the same food, but my stomach acid was high and it was a barrier to kill the bacteria that was on the food that was not cleanly prepared.
I was worried about long term consequences of taking Prevacid daily and attended a CE program for physicians and pharmacists in the early 1990's to see if there were any cautions about long term use.
The CE was conducted by the head of Gastrointestinal Department at the University of Illinois, Chicago campus. In glowing terms he expressed his support to giving Prevacid for GERD. In fact, he clearly stated that he prescribes 30 mg, twice daily in the AM and PM to all his patients. . The reason, he doesn't want them returning to the hospital for treatment. Most of those treated at UIC for GERD were obese, on welfare and consumed foods that were of poor value and contained inflammatory toxins.
There was no discussion about negative side effects from long term use.
The basic issue that is not addressed is that food choices that carry inflammatory chemicals and/or consumption of substances that destroy the microbiome are some of the root causes.
Case in point. A GI physician working at UIC has identified that carrageen is an inflammatory chemical that is found in cheap food products as a thickener. She has sent 19 White Papers to the FDA alerting them to the fact that it is NOT a safe product to consume. It should be taken off the list of GRAS products approved to being added to food products. FDA has ignored her research. It is found in most of the cheap ice cream being sold today. Splenda, sucralose is another chemical that is flying under the radar screen at the FDA.
When the prescription market for GERD drugs were saturated, the only way the manufacturer can expand the sales base is to take it OTC. Sell it without a prescription. FDA went along with this and Prevacid profitability was expanded 6 X's" Same happened with Zantac which was taken off the market recently because it was contaminated with a cancer causing agent from China that caused stomach cancer. Lost a friend to it.
It was not till a decade or so later that a long term side effect of acid blockers is discovered and it is the depletion of Vitamin D. Essential for maintaining a healthy immune system.
Over consumption of food contributes to the issue and is aided and abetted by consuming food products with NATURAL FLAVORS, which is a misnomer because they are hiding synthetic lab produced chemicals that stimulate the taste buds to tell the brain ...EAT MORE!
It is over a 30 billion dollar business that most processed foods include on the ingredient level.
I read the labels and avoid those with Natural Flavors, carrageen and sucralose. A strong immune system requires sufficient Vitamin D to suppress the ability of pathogens to overwhelm the bodies defenses.
In 2008 I learned my blood value of D was 50 ng's and my wife's was 9 ng's. We battled lymphoma for almost 10 years and Prevacid, Metformin and Cipro destroyed her immune systems ability to survive the second time around.
I also learned that her GERD was real because she had a Mangani hernia that should have been repaired with surgery if it had been properly diagnosed 15 years earlier.
If I were to be chronically prescribed Acid Reflux Inhibitors, I would ask my physician to order a Vitamin D blood test. If the value is less that 50 ng's, I would supplement. I take 5,000 iu's (125 mg) daily and maintain a blood value around 70 ng's. If the physician refuses, you know he is practicing Band Aid medicine.
Drink hot water ( as hot as you can tolerate) immediately before eating meals - the warmth and heat raise your hyperchloric acid levels - increasing it before your meal. Add in a good digestive enzyme right before eating and this also will help to stop the reflux.
When it occurs, taking ginger 1/4 tsp in water ( you can use organic powdered ginger or organic fresh ginger) powdered works well and fast. It’s a strong bite - but it helps within 10 min.
ginger is all I ever take if something is wrong with my stomach, which happens once every one or 2 years (usually when I have eaten at friends, who prepare stuff I never eat at home)
Ginger is so healing, it’s anti inflammatory, helps eliminate acidic reactions, break up gas , it’s good for nausea and also helps the liver - so many benefits.
that fits with ayurvedic principles. Drinking cold water shocks the system. You wouldn't wash a greasy pan in cold water. Hot water helps everything along.... I was just meditating on how I used to drink turmeric water out of a thermos....
I have had GERD since I was in my thirties and took all that medication for relief. Here I am in my sixties and and within one week of finally finding raw milk my stomach problems disappeared.
The raw milk that is forbidden in several states as being 'unsafe' (for the pockets of the medicine man)
Yeah but somehow I survived to adult hood drinking it.
For thousands of years humans drank it that way. But for 100 years the medical man needed more money.
Yes, as did we and all the ranch and farm kids still drinking and eating raw dairy today.
Yes, my cousins and I drank raw cow and goat milk fresh from the animal on the family cattle ranch.
Also, there is the Altadena Dairy in Altadena, California from which we had the raw dairy delivered. Dairy operation at Altadena Dairy was sold in 1990s. Nowadays, I go to a food co-op or a local dairy farm for raw dairy.
My grandparents always got milk at the Altadena drive thru in San Bernardino. I did not know they sold raw milk.
I checked with Altadena Dairy and they stopped selling raw milk in the 90s as they sold the dairy and the herd. 😢🐮
How interesting! I watch a man on YouTube called Wiltshire Man, who is blessed to have a raw milk producer near enough to be able to buy his milk. He recently did a video in which he said he had been taking Omeprozole on and off for years, but since drinking raw milk, he no longer needs it.
wow, that's interesting!
Hello Bruce! I happen to have a cow and a goat (a story for another time), but having so much problems with reflux I can’t even imagine drinking the raw milk.
Is there any routine you follow to drink the milk? What do you recommend?
Thanks for sharing your experience!
I can't imagine having a cow and not using the the milk! Why have a cow, what do you do with the milk?
Let the fresh milk sit in the fridge over night, pour off part of the cream so it's not so thick. Shake the refrigerated raw cows milk before you pour it and enjoy! If you have difficulty with drinking milk, put it in your cereal/oatmeal, mix some chocolate milk, make a batch of cookies & dunk them in the ice cold milk, & enjoy!
I put in a glass and drink it. : ) Ithink it helps because is has the natural stuff in it your stomach needs.
Great article! Over a decade ago, I went to the doctor with continual/constant burping. She diagnosed me with GERD (which was a midiagnosis). After taking Prilosec for about six months and working to educate myself, I learned that what I was experiencing were simple age-related symptoms and learned to manage my body with food. There are some good sources out there that can help with this:
https://chriskresser.com/how-to-cure-gerd-without-medication/
https://time.com/4929930/acid-reflux-drugs-diet/
Both articles have good information. This is also when I began to learn/notice that doctors are trained to distribute medication rather than educate their clients.
Thank you for this post!
"doctors are trained to distribute medication rather than educate their clients."
That pretty well sums up our medical system today.
Thank you, Debbie, for sharing these links! Very helpful! My question was around what we CAN do to support ourselves without taking medication!
I'm 59 now, but found that spicy food and red wine were the main culprits. I do love these things, I just eat less of them. Every body will be different. It takes a bit of patience and experimentation to find out what the problems are.
Excellent advise Debbie. To know one's own body is the key to lots of problem solving.
Debbie thank you for the links! Super helpful
At 83 I have had periodic GERD for decades. Limonene (citrus peel oil) stops it in its tracks.
From my AI:
Limonene isn't just some random essential oil fad — it's one of the more interesting and under-discussed natural approaches for GERD that actually has a plausible mechanism and some clinical backing.
What Limonene Actually Is
D-limonene is a terpene found abundantly in citrus peel oil — oranges, lemons, limes. It's the compound that gives citrus its characteristic smell. But it's not just a fragrance molecule; it has real physiological effects.
Mechanism of Action for GERD
Limonene works through several pathways that address GERD differently than acid-suppressing drugs:
1. Gastric Coating and Mucosal Protection
Limonene is lipophilic (fat-loving) and floats on top of gastric contents. It forms a physical barrier — essentially a thin, hydrophobic raft — that sits at the gastroesophageal junction. This mechanically prevents acid and pepsin from splashing up into the esophagus. Think of it as a lightweight, natural physical barrier rather than a chemical neutralizer.
2. Accelerated Gastric Emptying
This is arguably the more important mechanism. Limonene speeds up gastric emptying — it gets food moving out of the stomach faster. GERD is often as much a motility problem as an acid problem. If the stomach is sitting full and stagnant, the gastroesophageal sphincter is under constant pressure. Limonene helps clear the stomach, reducing that pressure and the likelihood of reflux events.
3. Esophageal Mucus Stimulation
Limonene appears to stimulate the production of protective mucus in the esophageal lining, creating a natural coating that shields the tissue from acid damage when reflux does occur.
4. Mild Prokinetic and Antispasmodic Effects
It has gentle smooth-muscle relaxing properties that may help normalize the lower esophageal sphincter function — not weakening it, but preventing those inappropriate transient relaxations that characterize pathological reflux.
The Clinical Evidence
The most cited study on this is a small but notable trial by Willette et al. where participants took 1,000 mg of d-limonene every other day for 20 days. The results were striking: roughly 90% of participants reported complete resolution of GERD symptoms, with effects lasting months after the short treatment course ended. That's not a cure in the strictest sense, but the durability of the effect suggests something more than symptomatic relief — possibly a reset of some underlying dysfunction.
Now, that's a small study and it's been heavily promoted by the company that funded it, so interpret with appropriate skepticism. But the mechanism makes sense and the anecdotal reports are substantial.
Why It's Not Mainstream
Simple: you can't patent limonene. It's a natural compound found in orange peels. There's no incentive structure for the pharmaceutical industry to run massive randomized controlled trials on something that anyone can extract and sell. PPIs generate billions annually. Limonene doesn't threaten that revenue stream enough to warrant suppression — it's more that nobody has the profit motive to push it through the FDA approval gauntlet.
Practical Considerations
Dosing: The typical protocol is 1,000 mg every other day, not daily. Daily dosing seems to reduce efficacy for reasons that aren't fully understood.
Form: Purified d-limonene in gel capsules, not just orange oil. Orange oil contains other compounds including citral which can be irritating.
Burping: You will taste citrus. The limonene volatilizes and you'll get orange-flavored burps. Not unpleasant for most people, but worth knowing.
Not for acute relief: This isn't like popping a Tums. It's a longer-term approach that takes days to weeks.
The Bottom Line
Limonene addresses GERD as a mechanical and motility problem rather than just an "acid problem" to be chemically suppressed. Given the growing evidence that long-term PPI use causes its own set of problems — nutrient malabsorption, SIBO risk, kidney issues, rebound hyperacidity — a short course of a non-toxic natural compound with a sensible mechanism is worth considering for many people.
It's not going to fix a hiatal hernia or Barrett's esophagus. But for run-of-the-mill GERD with no structural abnormality, it's a reasonable intervention with a favorable risk profile.
PS Usually I only need to take it for a few days to get resolution for months.
Thank you for this specific and well-written information!
I'm most interested in this recommendation. 30 yrs of PPI's and I need to free myself. I started to look for purified d-limonene in gel capsules and was unable to find anyone selling that form. They all seem to simply have orange peel oil but not the purified version you suggest. Can you disclose the brand you described that sells these ? Also, wondering if this would be useful as I am trying to wean myself off or is this primarily good to use once weaned off the PPI's. Looking forward to your suggestions.
Look for limonene on Amazon.....
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=limonene&crid=SAGCXLR9IQ4S&sprefix=limonene%2Caps%2C168&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
Good luck.
I bought d-limonene in a metal bottle for use in various herbal recipes...how to get it into capsules (and measure dosage) is another thing entirely, though.
I will try this! Colostrum has also helped a lot.
Thank you for this comprehensive information.
How many scams will it take ?
Great acid reflux scam.
Silence on dangers of EMFs
Silence on chemtrails
Allowing Big Pharma to make products that harm and kill by just fining them
Putting fluoride in water - swallow it ( When fluoride toothpastes have warnings that if one swallows the paste to go to a poison control unit; and, when one drinks water hardly and
teeth even touch the water ??? )
More and more vaccines with toxic ingredients being given to people.
Foods full of health robbing ingredients
Don't let sunlight reach one's skin by putting toxic chemicals on one's body.
Create enemies via fear instead of creating friends via trade and, well, friendship.
Create more fear via climate change nonsense propaganda.
Create more fear via epidemic nonsense.
And, that's just a start.......
How many scams will it take to realize that it's not just about money, that they're trying to kill us ?
I believe it's more a complete lack of regard or concern for the consequences than a desire to kill us, but I completely understand why there seems to be intentional malice. That said, a strong case can be made that the global elite believes they have a duty to reduce the population as many measures have been implemented to enact that.
I currently agree, from what little I "know" that a reduction in population is in play. Another way to say that they're trying to kill us ( some/many of us. LOL. ) But, why the
slow route ? Why not just zap us till they get to the desired level ? Lots of theories out there........ One being that they're harvesting fear, pain , suffering which explains wars, illness, mental anguish........ Would be nice to know the truth of what's going on.
And, we could run this world morally and deal with any population excess morally, if that were the true issue - too many people being a cancer to Earth.
So, since we're being run immorally - " complete lack of regard for the consequences", then we have to stop feeding the parasite, so to speak. Don't buy their products or their propaganda, think for ourselves, vote in morally based leaders, live morally...... realizing that they have the advantage because they aren't restricted by morality.
"why the slow route" = ? So that it's invisible, untraceable, the perfect murder.
"One being that they're harvesting fear, pain , suffering which explains wars, illness, mental anguish." That is assigning a spiritual intention - which it is.
Agreed. Just say no.
It may not be malice, per se, but it is likely an empathy-free, materialistic view of the bulk of humanity (and other living creatures on this planet) as objects to be used, abused and discarded as desired by the "elite." Recall Kissinger's "useless eaters" comment, among many other disturbing comments in the same vein. Recall also, the bizarre claim at the very inception of the Covid "pandemic" that tens of thousands of mechanical ventilators would be needed. Ventilators have no therapeutic value, are damaging to the lungs in the best of circumstances, and are purely a last resort. Why would the authorities plan to fail?
This was successful with 70% of the US taking at least one covid vaccination.
I’m pretty sure that now they want to kill us. Definitely don’t want to heal or save us. And being poisoned daily by everything and it’s getting harder to avoid and eat healthy unless you have time and space and physical ability to grow a garden. Produce aisles in every single store have incredibly poor quality produce and department gets smaller every day. Availability and quality of frozen organic produce is diminishing rapidly as well
Well, in my area even Walmart has organic products. But, we do have to shop different stores to keep stocked organically since not one store has all of what we like to eat. We have been gardening for three years now and are beginning to get halfway decent at it. But, no way will our results begin to feed us. We're in our 70s and so won't likely get to the point of growing the food we need. Now, someone in their 30s plus or minus, could make a go of it, but it's a lot of work and requires one to be totally at home, especially if animals are involved.
I wish I had time to garden. Basically we forage for food IN STORES now!! I work full time -drive an hour each way (only 20 miles!!) and am person who can plan and cook the healthy meals at home. I end up going to stores for produce at least 4 times a week. It’s exhausting. This us no way to live. I’m too damn old to be witnessing the nightmare we live in and too damn old to bear it
I'm 79 and we go to the stores 2-3 times a week. Also, I buy over the internet, mostly meat that is organically grown. We have two freezers which allow us to shop sales and then store excess to be eaten later on. There's also a farm in the area where we get meat that is grown traditionally.
Thank you. The devil is a master at the long game.
I took omeprazole for years. Every time I ate, I would experience burning in my stomach, not my esophagus. I stopped taking it and I stopped eating seed oils. I have not experienced the burning stomach since. I am obsessive about what I put in and on my body. Only grass-fed, grass-finished, field harvested, ruminant meat. Raw milk, organic fruits and vegetables. I don’t buy much from the grocery store, including eggs. Those I order from nourishfoodclub.com
Interesting as I too can eat all the grass fed butter I want and have no problem. Years ago I think safflower margarine gave me gall bladder pain…..
Lucky you to have these food sources
The most important thing I learned regarding GERD was that my GERD was caused 90% by statin drugs. Once I got off the statin drugs, I noticed most of my reflux went away. I had been on a constant diet of Prilosec I went off the Prilosec. The nastiest and stupidest drug ever invented is statin drugs. Many people who go off the standard drugs will be able to go off Prilosec within a month. This is the main cause of the tremendous stomach problems. Statin drugs are the most ridiculous invention in the history of medicine since the invention of CALOMEL.
How about, " One of the numerous, abundant most ridiculous inventions in the history of medicine " ? After all how many times has Big Pharma been fined ( no one goes to jail and no company gets shut down ) for making products ( drugs ) that harm and kill people ? Fined billions and billions of dollars - just a cost of doing business.
Yes! And I often wonder, if the govt is keeping all these millions in fines, then they have an incentive to allow such corruption.
No need to wonder. My son, the rationalist, always admonishes me that "Just because someone [ or entity ] is evil enough to commit [ fill in the blank here ] does not mean they are guilty". True, but the chances are far higher.
What do they do with the money, is a very valid question.
My sister-in-law who was a lifelong nurse, passed away from brain cancer in 2019. She had been taking prescribed acid reflux drugs for over 20 years. I always wonder if there was a connection.
YES, the Combinations are Brutal! They also have Most people over 55 now on Statins. They also cause muscle weakness and the GERD that prompts the SSRI's. It's a wicked cycle and finally, our doctors began to listen.
Our Angel House in South FL is small, invisible to most of the world, but we do Search for Natural cures and try to educate families and doctors.
Slippery Elm Bark cured my reflux. I don’t even need to take it anymore.
It also helps both human and dog when diarrhea happens! it calms the intestins.
A simple but very helpful way to reduce pressure on your stomach (and acid reflux) is to have good posture. Strangely (or not so strangely), the idea that there is a normative range of good posture came under fire recently from an Ivy League professor publishing in an Ivy League press. The idea that good posture was fake news was then diseminated through countless national news organizations.
It's tragic that something so fundamental to human health has been undermined like this, especially since it doesn't cost anything to sit up a little straighter and probably everyone in this screen-filled world could use the reminder.
My husband took the book on in this review: https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2025/04/americas-failure-to-achieve-posture-perfection/
4 years ago I fell on the ice. Hard. Hit my lower back and I knew it was bad and it was. I could not stand. X-rays showed I had knocked a vertebrae out of alignment. The pain was indescribable. Up to that point, I had run/power walked 3 miles every day for 36 years. Now laying on the couch was the only way I could be somewhat pain free. Fear was taking over. After 2 weeks of this, I started searching the internet. I was caught by a title that said. "In this practice, I try to keep you out of my office." It was a back surgeon. She said that if you corrected your posture [ practicing vertical alignment and specific exercises ]] you could reduce your pain and avoid surgery. Desperate I started reading her article and doing what she recommends. Within 48 hours my pain had been reduced by 90%. I can't run anymore, but the power waling is fine. If you had told me something so simple could have such significant results, I would not have believed it. Turns out I had terrible posture. My body reminds me now. It wants to be aligned.
Thanks for the info. Can you put the source for your info so I can give it to my FIL who humps over because of back pain, please? I’d love to be able to help him.
Let me look.
Thank you so much.
So, I seem to have lost the links, but did some digging online to get the information. Here's a good link [ https://www.chiroone.com/blog/why-spinal-alignment-matters-how-a-healthy-spine-supports-your-whole-body/ ] and I will share what I had read previously: Picture your shoulders and clavicle like a hanger. The clothes should be hanging freely. Standing in a full mirror from the side, draw a straight line with your eyes from the middle top of your head through your shoulders hips knees and arch of your foot. Make adjustments slowly. I had to remember every several minutes all day long in the beginning. Walk that way from now on.
Still looking for the exercises that were really helpful. Will get back soon.
I had a episode with what I thought was to much acid and after seeing aMD I was prescribed a PPI. After doing a few tests myself, like taking baking soda and water and waiting to see how long it took to burp. Another was to eat some meat and see how my stomach reacted to it. I took HCL for a few weeks before my biggest meal of the day and that has cleared it up. Now I always take digestive enzymes when I eat.
I permanently fixed my reflux (burning stomach) decades ago, by taking a tbspn ACV (vinegar), before my meals. At the end of two weeks, I felt good again and never had any subsequent issues. Taking digestive enzymes is also an excellent idea especially if you have enzyme deficiencies or certain digestive disorders. The chart puts me in the 50% acid producing category. Sometimes if I eat a large meal I take an emzyme tablet but usually I have no issues. Since I think we need more nutrients as we age, and the food and soil gives less and less, I will be taking more enzymes.
Topical progesterone caused my acid reflux to become so bad I slept sitting up. I was put on the GERD meds, which I just didn’t use :0) and ended up getting a scope for esophageal cancer. I read somewhere that estrogen tightens muscles and progesterone loosens them. I went off the topical progesterone and the GERD disappeared. Twenty years later it’s still gone. I might take a tums once or twice a month if I eat late.
I developed Acid Reflux after moving to the mid-west from the coastal area. On a separate investigation, I found out I was living in a low iodine environment in the mid-west. I remembered not having AR before the mid-west move. I started taking 5 drops of Lugols 2% Iodine Solution in water everyday. I no longer have AR. I know the body is complicated and there are many confounders. For several years, I did everything and it always came back (ACV, no process food, Omad, etc) but the Iodine Solution worked for me.
After reading of the LES/HCL connection at Mercola's site, relaying AMWD's theories on stomach acid and Gerd, I stopped taking Omeprazole cold turkey by adding Betaine 648mg each night. GERD stopped almost immediately. After about a month, I started taking it only occaisionally when I have something like wine, or ice cream that I know produces heartburn after going to bed.
Sometimes I'll go three weeks without any Betaine.
Now if I could do something about the overactive bladder..........
So glad this is being addressed, as I learned many years ago that everything begins in the gut, so I've been taking digestive enzymes and probiotics daily--and I mean strong ones. This is why I believe the ph is the best monitor, disease cannot live in an alkaline environment and an acidic one creates all kinds of havoc. I found it alarming that this past year a few global posts have suggested 'staph' infections as tho it's a disease in itself and wonder if someday the globalists may decide to measure bad gut bacteria as a disease needing jabs.
I have used 1/4-1/12 tsp of baking soda for acid reflex, also known as heart burn, for the last 60years. This habit began in the last months of my 1st pregnancy- when acid reflex becomes common due to the increase in the child’s size pressing against the digestive organ. Today I also find my posture affects how my digestive system functions.
Chewing gum or sucking on an almond works as the salia washes rising acid down.
Band-aid Medicine defines how GI issues are treated in the US. Rather than determine how to reverse the health issues, or prevent the health issues, the solution is to suppress the symptoms of GI distress by prescribing a drug which is most beneficial for the drug manufacturer. Creates a long term user, who suffers with side effects.
In the early 1990's my wife developed GERD. The physician prescribed Prevacid 15 mg. One in the AM. Did the trick. The GERD disappeared. What developed were episodes of food poisonings. We both ate the same food, but my stomach acid was high and it was a barrier to kill the bacteria that was on the food that was not cleanly prepared.
I was worried about long term consequences of taking Prevacid daily and attended a CE program for physicians and pharmacists in the early 1990's to see if there were any cautions about long term use.
The CE was conducted by the head of Gastrointestinal Department at the University of Illinois, Chicago campus. In glowing terms he expressed his support to giving Prevacid for GERD. In fact, he clearly stated that he prescribes 30 mg, twice daily in the AM and PM to all his patients. . The reason, he doesn't want them returning to the hospital for treatment. Most of those treated at UIC for GERD were obese, on welfare and consumed foods that were of poor value and contained inflammatory toxins.
There was no discussion about negative side effects from long term use.
The basic issue that is not addressed is that food choices that carry inflammatory chemicals and/or consumption of substances that destroy the microbiome are some of the root causes.
Case in point. A GI physician working at UIC has identified that carrageen is an inflammatory chemical that is found in cheap food products as a thickener. She has sent 19 White Papers to the FDA alerting them to the fact that it is NOT a safe product to consume. It should be taken off the list of GRAS products approved to being added to food products. FDA has ignored her research. It is found in most of the cheap ice cream being sold today. Splenda, sucralose is another chemical that is flying under the radar screen at the FDA.
When the prescription market for GERD drugs were saturated, the only way the manufacturer can expand the sales base is to take it OTC. Sell it without a prescription. FDA went along with this and Prevacid profitability was expanded 6 X's" Same happened with Zantac which was taken off the market recently because it was contaminated with a cancer causing agent from China that caused stomach cancer. Lost a friend to it.
It was not till a decade or so later that a long term side effect of acid blockers is discovered and it is the depletion of Vitamin D. Essential for maintaining a healthy immune system.
Over consumption of food contributes to the issue and is aided and abetted by consuming food products with NATURAL FLAVORS, which is a misnomer because they are hiding synthetic lab produced chemicals that stimulate the taste buds to tell the brain ...EAT MORE!
It is over a 30 billion dollar business that most processed foods include on the ingredient level.
I read the labels and avoid those with Natural Flavors, carrageen and sucralose. A strong immune system requires sufficient Vitamin D to suppress the ability of pathogens to overwhelm the bodies defenses.
In 2008 I learned my blood value of D was 50 ng's and my wife's was 9 ng's. We battled lymphoma for almost 10 years and Prevacid, Metformin and Cipro destroyed her immune systems ability to survive the second time around.
I also learned that her GERD was real because she had a Mangani hernia that should have been repaired with surgery if it had been properly diagnosed 15 years earlier.
If I were to be chronically prescribed Acid Reflux Inhibitors, I would ask my physician to order a Vitamin D blood test. If the value is less that 50 ng's, I would supplement. I take 5,000 iu's (125 mg) daily and maintain a blood value around 70 ng's. If the physician refuses, you know he is practicing Band Aid medicine.
If you want to learn more about D and other health issues go to thomasabraunrph@substack.com also, vitamindwiki.com and grassrootshealth.net
Coming soon: A book entitled: Seven Innocents & the Tylenol Trail of Death. The true story.
Drink hot water ( as hot as you can tolerate) immediately before eating meals - the warmth and heat raise your hyperchloric acid levels - increasing it before your meal. Add in a good digestive enzyme right before eating and this also will help to stop the reflux.
When it occurs, taking ginger 1/4 tsp in water ( you can use organic powdered ginger or organic fresh ginger) powdered works well and fast. It’s a strong bite - but it helps within 10 min.
I will usually take a hint of baking soda in 4-5 ounces of water and that works for me.
So much great info involving baking soda . Thank you.
ginger is all I ever take if something is wrong with my stomach, which happens once every one or 2 years (usually when I have eaten at friends, who prepare stuff I never eat at home)
Ginger is so healing, it’s anti inflammatory, helps eliminate acidic reactions, break up gas , it’s good for nausea and also helps the liver - so many benefits.
that fits with ayurvedic principles. Drinking cold water shocks the system. You wouldn't wash a greasy pan in cold water. Hot water helps everything along.... I was just meditating on how I used to drink turmeric water out of a thermos....