THE HEALTH HAZARDS OF BLOCKING ACID PRODUCTION BY THE STOMACH

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THE HEALTH HAZARDS OF BLOCKING ACID PRODUCTION BY THE STOMACH

JoAnn Guest

Aug 25, 2006 17:28 PDT

 

 

 

 

By Dr. James Howenstine, MD.

December 9, 2004

NewsWithViews.com

 

Removal of (stomach acid) has serious long term consequences over

time.

The resulting poor digestion is the genesis of all sorts of

significant health problems.

 

A recent study[1] from Holland revealed that patients using acid

suppressing drugs had a quadrupled risk of developing pneumonia when

compared to patients not using these drugs.

 

There are two classes of

drugs that interfere with acid production by the stomach:

 

Proton Pump Inhibitors (Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix,

Aciphex)

are used primarily to treat stomach acid refluxing into the

esophagus.

 

H2 Receptor Antagonists (Pepcid, Zantac, Tagamet, Rotane, Axid ) are

used primarily to treat heartburn.

Many physicians have become accustomed to ordering one of the above

drugs when a patient is placed on a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory

NSAID drug for arthritic symptoms because of the well recognized

risk of

ulcer formation and internal bleeding that can occur with NSAID

therapy.

This decision is based on the incorrect assumption that stomach acid

is

bad and decreasing this acid production should help prevent ulcer

formation and subsequent bleeding episodes. Stomach acid is critical

to

digestion of food and the long term loss of this beneficial acid

causes

a myriad of health problems.

 

In the study from Holland the medical records of 360,000 patients

were

surveyed for usage of Proton Pump Inhibitors and H2 Receptor

Antagonists. The risk of developing pneumonia increased the most in

the

patients receiving the highest doses of these drugs. Dr. Allan Spreen

[2]

relates that when stomach acid production is decreased by these

drugs

there is also diminished tightness in the muscular contraction of

the

gastroesophageal sphincter during digestion.

 

This lack of a trap door

effect permits gastric fluid to have an easier time in refluxing up

into

the esophagus where it can drop into the lung. One of the functions

of

gastric acid is too kill infectious bacteria in the stomach. The

loss of

maximal acid production by the stomach might make it easier for this

regurgitating stomach fluid to contain living infectious organisms

when

it drops into the lung and thus facilitate bacterial pneumonia.

 

The actual development of stomach and duodenal ulceration is related

to

lack of digestive enzymes and mucous which protect the stomach

lining

against ulceration.

 

Stomachs that are not producing adequate amounts of

acid also tend to be low in their production of digestive enzymes.

 

These stomach enzymes and mucous act to protect the normal stomach

lining from

being digested by acid and thus can protect from ulcer formation.

 

In

normal digestion the high stomach acid content causes no problems

with

reflux of acid into the esophagus because the gastroesophageal

sphincter

is able to become tight enough so that no acid regurgitates into the

esophagus.

 

The appearance of regurgitated acidic gastric fluid on the

esophageal lining is what produces the pain seen in this condition

(reflux).

 

Health Problems Related To Lack of Adequate Amounts Of Gastric Acid

Over

Long Periods Of Time

 

There are a multitude of health problems related to deficiency of

gastric acid production. Lack of hydrochloric acid causes failure of

digestion in the small intestine, inability to breakdown fiber,

flawed

enzyme activity and inability to assimilate minerals. Lack of

gastric

acidity causes disappearance of electrolytes (sodium, potassium,

chloride, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate) from the body.

 

This

electrolyte lack causes an inability to maintain body pH in an

appropriate level and also leads to nearly complete failure to

produce enzymes.

 

Persons lacking gastric acid are unable to digest protein which

is responsible for 50 % of the body's sugar production so there is a

tendency to low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) with symptoms reflecting

low

blood sugar values (shakiness, sweating, hunger, confusion,

headaches,

dizziness, palpitation).

 

A serous problem occurs when vitamin B complex

is not absorbed. This results in lack of enzyme function which is

responsible for nearly every bodily function that keeps us alive.

 

Thyroid function becomes flawed because of lack of vitamins B2, B3

and

B6 along with the minerals iodine, zinc, selenium, magnesium,

copper,

molybdenum, essential fatty acids and the amino acid tyrosine.

 

Lacking

these substances thyroid hormone can not be constructed.

 

Magnesium deficiency tends to raise blood pressure and interferes

with

normal dilatation of arteries. Lack of folic acid and pyridoxine

(B6)

results in elevation of homocysteine values which accelerates

arteriosclerosis.

 

Lack of gastric acid causes bacterial infections in the intestines

to

flourish, nutrients become wasted in the stools, undigested

substances

become able to penetrate the injured intestinal wall (leaky gut

syndrome) and auto immune reactions develop against these abnormal

ingested foreign blood proteins.

 

Lack of the vitamins A, B, and C

impairs the normal protection against developing malignancies. The

missing electrolytes, vitamins and minerals leads to impaired liver

performance (zinc and manganese deficiency cause deficiency of the

key

liver nutrient choline).

Muscle wasting follows impaired protein

ingestion.

 

Histamine is important for proper immune function and the lack of

hydrochloric acid prevents histidine from being converted into

histamine. This histamine lack causes the mast cells in the stomach

to

fail to stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid. Chronic

stress

depletes the body of B vitamins and minerals which are already

lacking.

 

Eighty percent of healthy 85 year old adults test positive for

hypochlorhydria (not enough stomach acid). At least 50 % of persons

over

50 years old have diminished stomach acid production.

 

Zinc is absent or nearly absent from all the major farmlands in the

U.S.

Zinc is needed for over 200 enzyme reactions in the body. This

review

has only touched on a few of the significant problems which result

from

decreased gastric hydrochloric acid production.

 

The mere presence of heartburn does not prove that the patients

symptoms

are caused by stomach acid as persons regurgitating bile onto the

esophagus may experience similar pain.

 

The seriousness of the health

problems resulting from lack of stomach acid makes other methods of

handling the symptoms of heartburn and regurgitation an important

issue.

 

 

Therapy For Impaired Gastric Acid Production.

 

Any patient exhibiting any of these signs of absent acid production

by

the stomach should consider stopping H2 blocker or proton pump

therapy.

Dr. Allan Spreen states that about 66 % of patients suffering from

heartburn, indigestion and reflux have responded well to the use of

frequent acidophilus powder[3] which relieves the pain without

altering

acid production by the stomach.

 

The bacterial preparation may need to be

taken frequently. Stomachs that are low in acid production are also

low in production of digestive enzymes.

 

Treating with acid and digestive

enzymes along with the acidophilus tends to be beneficial as long as

stomach acid fails to reach the esophagus.

 

Dr. Spreen likes the

formulation Super Enzymes by Twin Lab taking two capsules in the

middle

of the meal. This product contains betaine hydrochloride, a plant

based

form of acid like that in the stomach. Acidophilus seems to work

better

if the capsule is opened so the saliva carries the bacteria down the

esophagus into the stomach. Acidophilus can be found in health food

stores and over the internet. Refrigerated varieties of acidophilus

in

either capsule or powder in dosage of billions of CFU (colony

forming

units) ¼ to ½ teaspoon before meals and bedtime as well as whenever

needed during the daytime. Swallow with saliva or a few sips of

water.

 

 

 

The English product Potter's Acidosis contains meadowsweet,

charcoal,

and rhubarb which often works to stop internal bleeding from ulcers,

cancer and gastritis when all other therapies have failed may be

quite helpful.

 

This can be obtained by calling 011-44-1942-405100 or

herbal-direct.com in England. Individuals who fail to improve with

these

measures will need consultation and possibly even surgery to tighten

the

esophageal gastric sphincter.

 

 

 

Footnotes:

 

1 Risk of Community-Acquired Pneumonia and the use of Gastric Acid

Suppressive Drugs Journal of the American Medical Association

Journal

Vol. 292, No. 16 10 /27/ 2004

2 Spreen, Allan HSIRes- Nov 4, 2004 pg. 1-2 and

Nov 11, 2004 pg 1-2

3 HSIRes- Nov. 11, 2004 pg 1-2

 

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets