Burning (heartburn) and the feeling of heaviness in the stomach – these sensations are familiar to everyone; according to the statistics a lot of people suffer from these ailments. People’s way of life and the culture of nutrition very often negatively affect on the gastrointestinal tract functioning. Constant stress, irregular and improper diet, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, drinking coffee on an empty stomach, can cause such stomach diseases as gastritis and ulcer which symptoms are the pain and unpleasant sensations in the stomach. This is due to the fact that alcohol, coffee, spicy and pickled food increase the acidity of gastric juice, and an unbalanced diet leads to the disruption of the regulatory function of the stomach. It reduces the enveloping protective effect of the mucus of the stomach wall membrane leaving it exposed to corrosive gastric juice, hydrochloric acid, and some types of microorganisms. The mucous membrane of the stomach wall is damaged, it is manifested in discomfort, burning (heartburn), and the sense of heaviness in the stomach. The excess of hydrochloric acid which is a part of gastric juice exacerbates the damage of the stomach wall and leads to the development of gastrointestinal diseases. At the deficiency of gastric protective factors (mucus, local immunity, active processes of healing, etc) there is no complete healing of the stomach wall, which leads to the development of chronic forms of stomach disease.
