Asthma and Acid Reflux Connection

Gasping for air, struggling to pull in oxygen, wheezing with each breath, & feeling a heightened level of anxiety. Quick relief comes in the form of an inhaler that typically contains a β2-agonist which reopens the airways immediately. Asthma is a debilitating condition that can be extremely frightening when an attack comes on. There are different triggers that initiate asthma attacks, and they can range from air pollution to dairy consumption. But since we use a functional medicine approach, what is the root cause of asthma? What is the underlying mechanism causing the hyperreactivity of the patient’s lung tissue?

When you have a pebble in your shoe, it is always better to remove the pebble than to mask the pain with Tylenol. So, if we can find the pebble that is causing your asthma, then maybe you will be able to eventually toss that Albuterol into the garbage.

There appears to be a significant correlation between pH & asthma. Two theories have surfaced which help to elucidate the mechanism behind this unfortunate condition known as asthma.

Reflex Theory: If acid enters the esophagus, say from the stomach, & lowers the pH, certain nerves sense the change & send this information to the brainstem where a reflexive action is taken, constricting the airways.

Reflux Theory: When gastric reflux occurs, some may make its way into the trachea as it vaporizes, at which time, the smooth muscle surrounding the airways constricts & mucus production is pushed into high gear.

You may be thinking now, if we can lower the stomach acid, then that may lessen the asthma attacks. There are two problems that I can think of with this approach.

1. The sphincter between the esophagus & the stomach responds to pressure & a pH close to 1.0, which is what the stomach should be around when food is waiting to make its trek through the rest of the GI system. Once the stomach becomes more basic, this is when some of the acid escapes into the esophagus, causing an asthma attack.

2. As you raise the pH through medication like Tums or Prilosec, over time the stomach will respond by increasing production of hydrochloric acid & causing gastric distress. This may be a good tradeoff for asthma, but it still is substituting one problem for another.

The true culprit is likely low stomach acid production, not too much. We can correct that instantly by using some supplemental betaine HCl, but then we still have to dig deeper to find why the stomach stopped secreting enough HCl on its own. Are you not entering into a parasympathetic state when you are eating? Are you munching on protein bars while stuck in rush hour traffic? Maybe you are inhaling your food instead of actually chewing it properly. Perhaps H. Pylori snuck in back when you were popping NSAIDs like candy & it is disrupting the gastric ecosystem. Until we address the actual problem, then we will just continue to chase the symptoms around like you and your best efforts with the fly swatter.

Crossroads Chiropractic & Natural Medicine will be hosting a quarterly “Coffee with the Docs.” On April 10, 2021, Dr. Jackson & Dr. Damon will be discussing the topic of Asthma & Allergies while answering any questions you may have. Please RSVP for the event & bring a friend that may be suffering from Asthma or Allergies. A link will be included in a mass email sent out so be on the lookout.

Wilson, N. M., Charette, L., Thomson, A. H., & Silverman, M. (1985). Gastro-oesophageal reflux and childhood asthma: the acid test. Thorax, 40(8), 592-597.

Ricciardolo, F. L., Gaston, B., & Hunt, J. (2004). Acid stress in the pathology of asthma. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 113(4), 610-619.