How to ease acid reflux with a game-changer nutraceutical
Introducing Mirgeal® gel, innovative food supplement that rapidly relieves symptoms related to acid reflux performing better than alginate.
It features two botanical extracts able to protect against ulcers and re-epithelize gastric and esophageal mucosa with long-term benefits.
Reflux disease and its symptoms
Have you ever felt a burning sensation in your chest after meals or when you lie down? This is commonly referred to as heartburn and is due to acid reflux. This happens when Hydrochloric acid from your stomach travels back up into your esophagus whose lining is too delicate to handle acid aggression, with the result of a burning pain that can even be mistaken for chest pain, because the junction of stomach and food pipe is right around the middle of your chest.
Many people experience acid reflux occasionally. However, if you have heartburn every other day, it might be because of GERD (gastrointestinal reflux disease) or NERD (non-erosive reflux disease). The main difference between these conditions is that GERD can severely damage the inner lining of the food pipe, while in NERD the esophagus is unharmed by stomach acid.
Anyway, both diseases can affect the quality of life and result in annoying symptoms such as:
- Chest pain
- Heartburn
- Abdominal bloating
- Regurgitation
- Hoarse voice
- Dry cough
When symptoms occur repeatedly it is important to see a doctor and get a proper treatment that commonly involves the use of an alginate-based product and even PPIs (proton-pump inhibitors). But PPIs may be associated with important side effects and are not indicated for continuous use.
Introducing Mirgeal® gel, a winning combination of ingredients
PharmExtracta recently researched a new treatment for acid reflux, with the precise purpose of providing patients with an effective and side-effect-free solution to rapidly improve all symptoms and prevent damage to the mucous membranes.
The research resulted in the development of Mirgeal® gel, an innovative food supplement. That contains licorice extract, documented for its anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer properties, and Mirtoselect®, a special blueberry extract, that promotes re-epithelialization of the gastric and esophageal mucosa.
These extracts are trapped in an alginate matrix that sticks to gastric and esophageal mucosa, mechanically hinders reflux and is also a tool for the release of licorice and blueberry.
And for those who wonder whether the licorice content in Mirgeal® gel can lead to high blood pressure, the answer is NO, since licorice is present in low doses, thus it can give its benefits without causing side effects.
Mirgeal® gel: much more than alginate!
An Italian multicentre study “Outcomes in patients with nonerosive reflux disease treated with a proton pump inhibitor and alginic acid ± glycyrrhetinic acid and anthocyanosides” compared Mirgeal® gel with a product based only on alginate and calcium carbonate, evaluating their effectiveness on improving NERD symptoms.
The study involved 58 people suffering from non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease (NERD), characterized by no injury to the lining of the esophagus but presenting all the typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), such as chest pain, regurgitation, heartburn, cough and abdominal bloating.
Study participants were randomized into two groups:
- Mirgeal® gel group: 29 patients receiving pantoprazole (20 mg twice a day) together with Mirgeal® gel (1 stick twice a day) for 4 weeks and afterwards receiving Mirgeal® gel alone (2 sticks/day) for another 4 weeks;
- Alginate group: 29 patients receiving pantoprazole (20 mg twice a day) together with sodium alginate (500 mg twice a day) for 4 weeks and afterwards receiving alginate alone (500 mg twice a day) for another 4 weeks.
All patients were visited every 15 days and the intensity of each patient’s symptoms was recorded. Possible side effects were also evaluated.
At the end of the two-month study, both treatments proved effective on the symptoms, but Mirgeal® gel group showed a significantly greater improvement.
In particular, at week 4:
- Chest pain intensity decreased by 72% in the Mirgeal® gel group and by only 16% in the alginate group; moreover, the improvement recorded in the Mirgeal® gel group was maintained up to the 8th week.
- Acid regurgitation intensity was reduced by 79% in the Mirgeal® gel group, against 51% in the alginate group; plus, in the Mirgeal® gel group, the improvement persisted also in the following weeks, while alginate group showed a worsening.
- Heartburn intensity was reduced by 79% in the Mirgeal® gel group and by only 45% in the alginate group.
These results demonstrate that Mirgeal® gel was globally more effective than alginate, both when associated with pantoprazole and when used as a follow-on monotherapy, since it was able to maintain the improvements achieved, even after discontinuation of pantoprazole.
Furthermore, Mirgeal® gel has showed greater tolerability compared to alginate alone. So… Great job for Mirgeal® gel, a new team of actives that can be really a game-changer when it comes to acid reflux!