I want to take a moment to talk about digestion. As an RN working in a hospital setting, almost every patient (and I mean every patient) is prescribed a proton pump inhibitor or PPI like Protonix or Nexium. At first I never thought that much about it; I figured the doctors had a rationale for that, for post-op abdominal surgeries, things like that. But then I thought a bit more. Why EVERY patient?
The purpose of those medications is to inhibit the production of stomach acid. The reason we have acid in our stomachs is to break down food so our bodies can separate the vital vitamins and nutrients we need and process the rest as waste. Acid is essential for proper digestion. And if that is the case, then wouldn't PPIs decrease the efficacy of other medications, and completely interfere with the entire digestive process? Was God wrong? Don't we need stomach acid?
You need to know that PPIs bring a profit of over $13 billion each year to pharmaceutical companies. Research studies at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center suggest that daily PPI use increases c difficile infection by 74%, accounting for over 28,000 deaths in the USA. C difficile is an infection and inflammation of the bowel causing uncontrollable diarrhea that usually requires antibiotics to kill the infection and hospitalization to balance fluid and electrolytes. This infection is most often the result of long-term antibiotic use and/or immunosupression.
In 2009, the FDA issued a warning to clinicians that PPIs with plavix used for post-cardiac stent placement increased the risk for another heart attack by 25%. They stated that Prilosec and Nexium were the problem, but Protonix was ok. Really? So when my colleague actually saw on xray the oval pill with the letters Protonix written on it, it all made sense to me. Of course it's "ok" - it doesn't break down in the stomach because there isn't enough acid there to break down the pill in the first place!
So why are these pills prescribed if the risk is greater than the benefit? Dr. Galland (my hero), says that people don't suffer from acid reflux because of overproduction of stomach acid, but because the sphincter in the esophagus doesn't close sufficiently. Aggravating factors that characterize acid reflux - like spicy foods, excess weight, eating late at night and stress - are all avoidable things.
Take control over the situation and eliminate those aggravations from your life. When acid reflux persists, use nature. Belly Honey is soothing, helps with stomach upset and reflux, and improves digestion throughout the GI tract. A few people have experienced diarrhea as a side effect, but for a person with IBS, that is a Godsend. Improve your digestion and take control of your own health naturally. And keep your stomach acid...God was right!
