Your Stomach Acid Is There For A Reason: Terrific Post By Dr. Michael Eades On Treating GERD (And How Many Doctors Do Harm)
Dr. Michael Eades writes at ProteinPower.com about doctors who go straight to "Take a drug!" as their solution to a medical problem:
If a patient were to present to me with a medical problem, the first thing I would think of is how (or if) the problem could be treated nutritionally. If a nutritional treatment is appropriate, then pursuing that therapeutic option is the epitome of the first pillar of the practice of good medicine: Primum non nocere. First, do no harm.It should be obvious, but just in case it isn't, that nutritional therapy wouldn't be the first thing flitting to my mind, if presented with victims of a car wreck, someone experiencing an acute heart attack, my kid showing up with a bleeding gash in his head, or a person in severe respiratory distress. But it is surprising how many chronic problems can be treated - or at the very least made better - by nutritional means. So in those disorders that can be improved by a change in nutrition, that is my default position.
Not so for the vast majority of physicians out there practicing mainstream medicine. For that lot, the default position is pharmaceuticals. Presented with a problem, they think drugs. Our professor in the Medscape video is a case in point.
In the last post, I discussed my experiences treating GERD using a low-carbohydrate diet, and I also described Dr. Norm Robillard's research into SIBO as a driving force for GERD and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) along with his methods of treatment using both high- and low-carb diets. Both his method and my method have proven successful in the vast majority of cases of GERD. Simple nutritional strategies.
Now let's take a look at how the mainstream folks treat GERD.
Most of them immediately prescribe a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), a type of drug that produces a profound reduction in the stomach's production of gastric acid (stomach acid). These PPI's (Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, etc.) are potent inhibitors of stomach acid secretion, in fact, they're the most potent drugs for this purpose so far developed.
...Seems like the perfect treatment. You have symptoms caused by acid getting into your esophagus, so let's take a PPI, reduce stomach acid production, and Voila! your symptoms vanish. All fine and dandy except for one little thing. Your stomach is full of acid for a reason. And if nature put stomach acid there for a reason, you can bet getting rid of it can cause problems. Let's take a look at what stomach acid does.
•It starts the digestive process of breaking down food into smaller particles
•It activates the enzymes needed for protein digestion
•It sends a message to the pancreas to begin producing and releasing digestive juices into the small bowel
•It initiates the process of peristalsis, the rhythmic contractions of the small bowel that moves food through the digestive process
•It is essential for the absorption of vitamin B12
•It is the first line of defense against bacteria and parasites found in food, water and the air we breathe....That last bit may make you suppose that people who are on PPIs and other acid-suppressing drugs might have increased rates of respiratory infections. As it turns out, they do.
I put in as much as I had to here to make this make sense, but read the whole thing at the link.
And a term I learned from an epidemiologist friend -- iatrogenesis -- when medical care harms.
interesting article. I am a 68 year old female and have been taling Altosec for years for a Hiatus Hernia. I have been on a LCHP (Atkins) for a month and have lost 7kgs. AND feeling great. Question: do I still have to continue with the Altosec medication? (My GP said I would need to take it for life)
Perl Stead at October 14, 2013 7:00 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/10/14/your_stomach_ac.html#comment-3978935">comment from Perl SteadQuestion: do I still have to continue with the Altosec medication? (My GP said I would need to take it for life)
I'm not a doctor, so I can't advise you (and even doctors can't responsibly give medical advice that's more than generalized stuff to strangers over the Internet). I would consider going to a more evidence-based doctor. Unfortunately, there aren't many out there.
I know Eades has more on GERD on his blog. You might read there further. Search GERD.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/
He's suffered from this in the past.
Amy Alkon
at October 14, 2013 8:24 AM
My husband had a terrible GERD problem that sent him to ER and has been taken Prevacid twice a day for years..and it's interfering with his B12 absorption too. I take Prilosec once a day and would sure like to get off it.
I do think low carb helps, and also not stuffing yourself helps too. But I am reluctant to talk him into quitting after what he went through.
carol at October 14, 2013 8:48 AM
I have wondered for some time if diet was not the key to GERD.
I would not stop any medications for it abruptly. The thinner you get, the less it will bother you. If you have a coffee habit, you might never get rid of it completely, but I think reducing the use of medications is almost always helpful.
Isab at October 14, 2013 10:12 AM
Glad to see you addressing this issue! I've always wondered why people don't understand that you need your stomach acid, it is essential for your digestive system. Also, ginger changed my life along with a commitment to high fat low carb eating. It's pretty simple.
Another thought - you had a blog post awhile back talking about why it's important to eat grass-fed beef and free-range chicken and pork. Part of the reason for that is that we eat what those animals eat, so even if a person doesn't eat corn, it ends up in your system as part of your diet if that's what the animals you eat are fed. The point of eating animal meat is that they eat the food we can't eat, so it is important to eat grass-fed beef, and pork from pigs that eat clover and peas and have the opportunity to graze. Also, good ranching practices are good for the soil and the animals... and us.
Jess at October 14, 2013 3:14 PM
Stomach acid is also the primary way Chloride enters the hematological and immunological system, Cl assists the body in water balance, and CL assists in the osmolality of extra cellular fluid.
HCL it's not the first line of defense for each of those items tho'.
: )
adambein at October 14, 2013 6:37 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/10/14/your_stomach_ac.html#comment-3980056">comment from adambeinThanks, Adam!
Amy Alkon
at October 14, 2013 8:12 PM
This is an interesting item that to me helps prove, at least as an anecdote, that the science behind low carb makes a lot of sense.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/health/in-struggle-with-weight-william-howard-taft-used-a-modern-diet.html?_r=0
spqr2008 at October 15, 2013 5:43 AM
Gérd Depdieu: la maladie de reflux gastro-oesophagien.
JD at October 15, 2013 12:44 PM
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