Page 20 - Summer2018

The reality is from binding on the parietal cell H2 receptors for gastric malignancy do not sound to me like

that antacids that stimulate acid secretion; secondly, when reasonable solutions for GERD.
the H2 receptors are blocked, other substances
When H2 antagonists no longer work, or if
are doomed that promote acid secretion (such as gastrin and the person’s GERD symptoms are more severe,
to fail and, acetylcholine) also will have a reduced effect on PPIs will be the last option before more invasive
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over time, parietal cells. According to the National Insti- surgical procedures. PPIs work by irreversibly
tutes of Health, H2 receptor blockers decrease blocking the hydrogen-potassium adenosine
stomach stomach acid secretions over a twenty-four-hour triphosphatase enzyme system (the H+/K+
symptoms period by 70 percent. Any hope of actually ATPase, or, more commonly, the gastric proton
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inevitably digesting your food with these bad boys is slim pump) of the gastric parietal cells. Stated an-
to none—but hey, at least your heartburn and other way, PPIs essentially shut down the pumps
will worsen. reflux will be gone. that make hydrochloric acid for the stomach. In
One very serious problem with H2 an- doing so, however, PPIs can lead to bacterial
tagonists is that they have been shown, albeit overgrowth just like H2 antagonists. One trial
in rare instances, to be toxic to the liver. This of the very popular PPI Prilosec (omeprazole)
is bad news if you value your liver (and I’d say showed that the drug blocked stomach acid
that most of us should). The H2 antagonists production so effectively that a majority of the
also can cause diarrhea, muscle pain, fatigue, subjects developed significant bacterial over-
drowsiness, constipation and headache. Even growth as compared to the control group. 9
worse, they can react with other drugs to cause
more deleterious effects. MEDICATION RISKS
Researchers from as far back as the 1990s The truth is that PPIs and other medications
have questioned the safety of long-term H2- used to treat GERD all come with long-term
receptor antagonist therapy, stating that it needs risks and side effects, which are all too often
to be considered in relation to the potential con- brushed under the carpet. Numerous studies
sequences of prolonged acid suppression. These have reported that the use of PPIs is associated
include the risk of proliferation of gastric flora with negative health effects that include kidney
and the risk of developing enterochromaffin-like disease; decreased calcium, iron and vitamin
cell hyperplasia, which could, theoretically, B12 absorption; magnesium deficiency; frac-
lead to gastric malignancy. Yes, you read that tures of the wrist, hip and spine; pneumonia;
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correctly—not only can these drugs interact dementia; life threatening Clostridium difficile
in unknown ways with other medications, infections; and cardiovascular disease. An
they also can lead to proliferation of bacteria October, 2015 article in The New York Times
in your stomach, which is normally a sterile emphasized these very facts, quoting a Harvard
environment. In fact, the normal highly acidic Medical School doctor as saying that PPIs “are
environment of the stomach is our body’s first not the benign drugs the public thinks they
line of defense against any pathogens we are are.”
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exposed to through the oral route. Bacterial A 2016 study published in JAMA Neurol-
proliferation in the stomach and the potential ogy found that PPIs were associated with an

WHAT'S IN THAT ANTACID?

Most people don’t know what is in their over-the-counter candy-like antacids. The active ingredients in Rolaids, as
one example, are calcium carbonate (550 mg) and magnesium hydroxide (110 mg); the inactive ingredients are dextrose,
flavoring, magnesium stearate, polyethylene glycol, pre-gelatinized starch, sucralose and sucrose. Nothing like a dose of
chalk, artificial sweeteners, refined sugars, aluminum and other Franken-gredients to start one’s day right! Moreover, ant-
acids come in many varieties and cool “flavors,” many of which contain artificial colorings like FD&C lake #6 (aluminum),
which imparts a reddish-yellow color to medicines and foods (because, let’s face it, it has to have a cool color, doesn’t
it?). The frightening fact is that this very same aluminum may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease as well as some forms of
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cancer. Further discussion of the myriad harmful ingredients in over-the-counter antacids is beyond the scope of this
article, but much of this information is easily available to those willing to search it out.

18 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2018