Nexium & Prilosec Insight: How Common Are these Drugs?

Acid reflux occurs when food or liquid contents leak back up from your stomach into your esophagus, causing heartburn and other uncomfortable symptoms in your chest, stomach, and throat.

If you experience heartburn occasionally, the blame could be acidic foods.

However, if you're experiencing heartburn on a daily basis, you may have something more serious like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

GERD can irritate the esophagus, causing heartburn and other related symptoms.

Whether you're constantly or occasionally experiencing heartburn, your first instinct may be to pop an OTC acid reducer.

But, did you know you could be doing more harm than good?

According to an article posted on the Functional Medicine University website, the popular acid reflux drugs Nexium and Prilosec are essentially the same medication.

Both Nexium and Prilosec stop the cells in your stomach from producing necessary acid for proper digestion. These acids are also essential for promoting nutrient absorption and killing unwanted "bugs." Blocking the production of acid can wreak havoc on your body, leaving you with more health issues than just heartburn.

What are some natural ways to ease your heartburn symptoms or GERD?

In this Mindful Medicine segment, Dr. Holly joins host Melanie Cole, MS, to share the similarities between Nexium and Prilosec and why you should consider a more natural approach to healing heartburn and/or GERD.