Old man, you say? I think not: simply not chemically balanced.

OK, OK... before you get freaked out by the title, let me explain.

For quite some time I've been suffering from what seems to be chronic acid reflux. Back in '08/'09 I addressed the problem with the sleep clinic because what we thought initially was sleep apnea, was likely a digestion issue. I created a bit of a stir when the physician on my case prescribed Panoloc which is essentially an antacid concoction designed to arrest the production of stomach acid. She'd prescribed a double dose for 30 days. I blew a fit because I'm (A) not an advocate for prescription drugs and (B) couldn't for the life of me figure out how I was to digest anything for a month! Long story, but a friend suggested Acidophilis which is one in a trinity of probiotics. It worked well, for the most part, but I'd have to remember to take it every time I'd eat.

I was chatting with another friend this weekend whose son has suffered from a multitude of health problems which they've addressed successfully with natural remedies. She suggested baking soda in water - 1 teaspoon to a cup. I figured it couldn't hurt - it's food, after all! I didn't have any soda, so thinking back to grade 6 science class, I recalled that baking powder too, is a base. On Friday night I took a cup before going to bed.

I slept the whole night through.

On Saturday I ate as I usually do, and went to yoga class where, if I eat too close to class time, I suffer when it comes to inverted postures like shoulder stands and back bends.

No problem.

Saturday evening I took a cup of BP water, and again just now. It seems to do the trick. I'll maybe poke my nose around and ask a few questions simply to be sure I'm not masking a potentially greater problem, but one source I spoke with attributed a naturally-acidic-north-american diet to my troubles.

So, although I've reached the crest of the hill, celebrating 40 a few weeks back, I'm not convinced that I'm old, especially before my time.