H.Pylori/low stomach acid: Nutritional causes, therapies, remedies & prevention

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H. Pylori & low Stomach Acid: Nutritional Causes, Prevention & Therapies

While "stress" was a popular basis for stomach ulcers years ago, Helicobacter Pylori has become a primary

cause for peptic and duodenal ulcers since its discovery by two Australian doctors, Robin Warren, M.D., and

Barry Marshall, M.D., in the early 80's. Some doctors place the bacterium's involvement as high as 90%, but

ulcer-inducing drugs, alcohol, and other lifestyle stimulants are still a more common factor in the development

of these ulcers than given credit lately.

H. Pylori may be inhibited by raising stomach acid or lowering its pH, provided this is done before much

damage is done by the bug. This is the reason why people who manage to maintain normal stomach acid

levels are generally asymptomatic and don't get ulcers unless they are taking specific drugs, they consume

excessive amounts of alcohol (although alcohol itself inhibits Helicobacter Pylori), or they supplement too

much calcium and magnesium, which in turn can lower stomach acid levels too much. Coffee consumption

is another factor known to aggravate the symptoms of H. Pylori infections.

Unfortunately, people with reduced acid levels frequently suffer from what they assume is elevated stomach

acid (heartburn, bloating, nausea, frequent burping), and subsequently take acid-lowering drugs or remedies.

By doing so they encourage greater H. Pylori activity and thus increase the risk to develop peptic or duodenal

ulcers, pancreatic / gastric cancer, and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma.

H. Pylori infections can also lead to some forms of arthritis (calcification, spurs), iron-deficiency anemia, and

Vitamin B12 deficiency that may develop as a result of lowered stomach acid levels and damage to parietal

cells which produce the intrinsic factor. H. Pylori is further implicated with heart disease / arteriosclerosis,

atrial fibrillation, asthma, rosacea, gum disease, and chronic headaches or migraines.

If patients had indeed high stomch acid levels (as some physicians still have

them believe), then why do symptoms improve when acid levels are raised?

The confusion usually stems from the fact that esophageal reflux (GERD) causes heartburn from acid getting

up into the esophagus, which doesn't have the acid-protective mucus coating of the stomach, and where it

could eventually cause ulcerations or esophageal cancer if acid was not reduced.

In that case, stomach acid will indeed have to be controlled by acid-lowering medications, as well as other

lifestyle changes such as not overeating at any meal, not bending down or lying down following meals, and to

sleep with the upper body more elevated until the reflux situation is resolved. Bromelain supplementation

with meals is often beneficial in such situations because of its anti-inflammatory and pro-digestive properties.

Because of its acid-inhibiting effect, Helicobacter Pylori actually reduces the risk of developing esophageal

adenocarcinoma, which is a form of cancer that may result from chronic esophageal reflux, and also Barrett's

esophagus (Barrett's syndrome). However, as mentioned above, H. Pylori increases the risk for developing

various other cancers, including esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma.

Whether or not a Stomach Ulcer has developed as a result of H. Pylori infection, acid-lowering drugs are

routinely prescribed as part of the antibiotic therapy to either allow an ulcer to heal (if present), or to prevent

one from developing while on antibiotics, which can be very irritating to the stomach. Once the course of

drugs is finished and an ulcer has healed, then normal acid levels should be maintained from there on.

After the discovery of Helicobacter Pylori, and once medical science accepted it as being a significant factor

with ulcers, predictions were made that ulcers and related stomach complaints would become a thing of the

past. However, there are as many patients as ever complaining of stomach problems, including those who

had been "cured" of H. Pylori. The reason is very simply low stomach acid - which had not been corrected

as part of the treatment. Antibiotic-resistant Helicobacter Pylori cases have now become a commonplace

occurrence as well, and there are plenty of patients who simply don't tolerate any of a number of antibiotics

used in the treatment of H. Pylori.

Physicians don't generally test for Helicobacter Pylori unless a patient exhibits gastric complaints, and even

then, patients themselves have to frequently convince - or even beg their GPs to run a test after learning about

H. Pylori through a news flash or reading about the long-term risks associated with its infection. Unfortunately,

if a patient suffers from non-gastric symptoms, there is little chance of the average practitioner relating any

number of medical conditions to a possible Helicobacter Pylori infection.

Antibiotic use in children has long been associated with an increase in asthma, as have been the more

"sterile" living conditions of urban households - versus rural upbringing of children near livestock. Among

common bacteria found to reduce asthma rates in children, those who carried H. Pylori were 40 - 60% less

likely to suffer from childhood asthma. Unfortunately, adults do not seem to enjoy the same benefits.

For example: One of my patients developed asthma after having had no prior history of this condition.

An Acu-Cell Analysis revealed greatly reduced stomach acid levels and very high calcium and magnesium

levels - also with no prior history. Although supplementing digestive aids to raise acid levels improved that

patient's asthma, the fact that her bismuth and lithium levels were lower as well, led me to suspect H. Pylori

involvement, with turned out to be positive.

Following antibiotic therapy, her magnesium, calcium, bismuth and lithium levels returned to normal, her

stomach acid levels returned to near normal without the need for any more digestive aids, and she became

and remained completely asthma-free. Without eradicating H. Pylori, she would have likely had to remain

on asthma medication for much of her life, and/or there would have been the additional risk to develop other,

potentially serious H. Pylori-related medical conditions, including cancer.

Following are some "Natural Remedies" that have been used with mixed results for H. Pylori:

A 5% solution of "Manuka Honey" from New Zealand worked well in vitro to kill the bug, with several studies

backing up the claims, however I have yet to see a single patient ending up with an actual "cure" after taking

Manuka Honey. There are also claims that pure Alcohol taken on an empty stomach early in the morning will

kill H. Pylori. Only one of my patients tried that approach, and although the symptoms did indeed disappear

for a while, they eventually returned as severe as before.

Regular consumption of sulfur-containing sources such as Garlic, Onions, or MSM is supposed to be helpful

for H. Pylori symptoms according to some sources. Similar claims are made for regular intake of Licorice

and Cinnamon, larger amounts of Vitamin C, as well as Coconut oil, or spicy foods such as Hot (Chili)

Peppers. All had shown to somewhat inhibit Helicobacter Pylori in various trials, but again, none of these

have really proven to be effective in actual clinical settings on a long-term basis.

Probiotics (friendly bacteria culture) consisting of Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Bifidus - although not a

cure in themselves - are an important addition to any therapy for H. Pylori infection to help inhibit the bug, and

to counteract any headaches, early-morning nausea, or general dyspepsia associated with low stomach acid

alone, or following antibiotic therapy, with the acidophilus being best taken at bedtime. Some patients only

tolerate the lactobacillus acidophilus, without the bifidus.

An optional adjunct remedy in the treatment of H. Pylori is Bismuth, which is also part of OTC products such

as Pepto-Bismol. Bismuth and lithium levels routinely test below normal with low acid levels, respectively to

upper stomach involvement (bismuth), and lower stomach / duodenal involvement (lithium). The only problem

might be that the high magnesium present in some products (that contain bismuth) generally worsens already

low acid levels.

"Mastic" is another remedy that has made the news. It is derived from a tree resin (Pistacia lentiscus) that

has been used as a food ingredient in the Mediterranean region for thousands of years, and which is now

dried and sold in capsules. Using 1 - 2 g a day, there are reports of H. Pylori symptoms clearing in 90% of

patients, and stool samples being H. Pylori-free in 80% of patients after only two weeks. In vitro studies have

shown Mastic Gum to be effective against at least seven strains of Helicobacter Pylori, and an increasing

number of human trials show similar results, backed by urea breath tests coming back negative.

A number of scientific studies around the world are currently underway, including trials to find out if killing

H. Pylori in the oral cavity by chewing mastic gum - not just in the stomach alone - would more permanently

eradicate the bug. Unfortunately, as is the case with many therapies and remedies, mastic (mastica) is not

tolerated too well by a small percentage of patients who report stomach upsets similar, or even worse than

the the discomfort experienced from the H. Pylori bacteria itself.

Most patients however experience no problems during the two week mastic treatment, however despite the

promising results of some of the above studies, there have been other clinical trials conducted with mastic

(or mastica) that showed no efficacy whatsoever.

Sulforaphane is a compound that is reported to inhibit extracellular, intracellular, and antibiotic-resistant

strains of Helicobacter Pylori. This effect was identified by scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School

of Medicine in Baltimore while investigating sulforaphane for its protective effect against cancer.

Sulforaphane is found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, and kale,

with broccoli sprouts containing anywhere from 30 - 50 times the concentration of the chemicalas contained

in the mature plants. Daily recommended amounts of sulforaphane from broccoli sprout extracts are in the

200 - 400 mcg range.

According to the above study, "The dual actions of sulforaphane in inhibiting H. Pylori infections and blocking

gastric tumor formation offer hope that these mechanisms might function synergistically to provide diet-based

protection against gastric cancer in humans." Subsequent research showed that while consuming a daily

dose of broccoli sprouts reduced the levels of Helicobacter Pylori by more than 40%, they returned to pre-

treatment levels 2 months after stopping the broccoli sprouts, suggesting that H. Pylori activity is reduced, but

the bacteria is not eradicated.

Most patients who don't produce enough stomach acid will continue to experience problems, even if antibiotic

therapy - or any other "natural" approach - has successfully killed the bug, but not everyone necessarily always

suffers from "heartburn"- like symptoms, or bloating.

Low Stomach Acid can be a factor with allergies, asthma, headaches, chronic fatigue, non-specific aches

and pains, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and other calcium metabolism-impaired problems -- all the way to

various cancers. Many of these complaints are rectifiable by normalizing stomach acid, and from personal

clinical observation, I am convinced that even several non-gastric types of cancers could be prevented, since

they never seem to develop in the presence of normal acid levels.

To help the symptoms, or until any of several possible causes for low stomach acid are resolved, a digestive

aid containing Glutamic acid + Betaine + Pepsin should be taken with every larger meal. Some patients

also have good results using Lemon or Lime Water. The only contraindications are gastritis, the presence

of an ulcer, or when stomach acid levels are high, which would prohibit the use of acid-raising supplements.

Bromelain, known for its anti-inflammatory and digestive support, may be another consideration to help a

low stomach acid environment - with or without reflux, but particularly when reflux is present, provided there

are no contraindications to bromelain's mild blood-thinning properties.

When antibiotics and natural approaches have not been successful in eradicating H. Pylori, or when there is

an intolerance to most of the remedies that are usually helpful with low-acid symptoms, then regularly drinking

Pineapple Juice with meals, or sipping it slowly throughout the day may be another option that has helped

many patients reduce their symptoms and improve general digestion. (see also "Calcium & Magnesium" for

more information on the causes for low stomach acid). ¤

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Acu-Cell Disorders: Helicobacter Pylori & low Stomach Acid

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