The Truth About Heartburn Medications

 

The Truth About Over-The-Counter Medication: Heartburn Medications

While these medications are tested and found to be “safe”, they add to the imbalance in our bodies. When heartburn occurs, it can be tempting to chew a tablet and wait for the sensation to pass. This is actually damaging to our body’s ability to heal. Many of these medications contain harmful chemicals, such as polyethylene glycol which can be contaminated with dioxane or antifreeze, and aluminum which has been connected to Alzheimers. Other medications like Omeprazol or Zantac which stop acid production are now being associated with vitamin deficiencies, kidney problems, and DEMENTIA!!! Instead of listening to the cry for help, we mute it with an acid-eliminating tablet. This causes our bodies to react more strongly the next time we consume the offending food and makes us reliant upon the medication. Instead of correcting the problem, we mask the symptoms and continue a life of imbalance.

A Different Standard for Healing

Chinese Medicine postulates that a balance between body, mind, emotions, spirit, energy, and activity promotes a healthy life. Our bodies work hard to restore balance, which diverts energy away from the other aspects of our being. When we feel this imbalance, instead of walking down the aisle of the grocery store for the latest heartburn remedy, reflect on your diet and see what might be needed in order for you to heal. Interestingly, heartburn can be caused by not enough acid as well as too much acid. As we get older, this is a more common cause of heartburn.

Supporting Your Body During the Process

The best way to promote wellness inside and out is to allow your body to heal itself. By tuning into signals like heartburn and acid reflux, we learn which foods are damaging to our bodies. These are often starchy white foods. You may still experience symptoms for up to a week after you stop eating them; however, eliminating these foods has provided relief for over 90% of my patients!

It can take time to get used to reading these signals from your body, and I encourage you to be extra gentle and patient with yourself. Pay attention to any uncomfortable sensations, and note which foods you consumed prior to the flare-up. Rely on healthful, soothing teas and supplements when needed. Peppermint is a cooling, helpful herb that is a wonderful remedy for soothing a bout of heartburn. Ginger harmonizes all the organs and is particularly good for your stomach and digestion. Other herbs work with your body to heal instead of simply dulling pain.

You CAN end your addiction to over-the-counter heartburn medicines. Make a few changes to your diet and substitute herbs for your favorite medicine. You’ll be supporting your health both today and in the future!

Heartburn medications can cause heart attacks and death!

 

Health and Wellness Associates

Archived

Dr Shiroko

Dr J Jaranson

312 972 WELL

HealthWellnessAssociates@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/hwa.jaranson

Heartburn Drugs Harm Your Arteries

 Heartburn drugs harm arteries

 

 

A popular over-the-counter heartburn medication accelerated aging of blood vessel cells in lab tests, raising red flags about its long-term effect on heart health, researchers say.

Faster aging of blood vessel cells exposed to the antacid Nexium (esomeprazole) might potentially hinder the tasks these cells perform to prevent heart attack and stroke, the new study suggests.

 

These lab results could explain why other studies have shown increased risk of heart disease in people who use proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) — the class of heartburn medication that includes Nexium, said study senior author Dr. John Cooke.

 

“Our finding that the lining of blood vessels is impaired by proton pump inhibitors is a unifying mechanism for the reports that PPI users are at increased risk for heart attack, stroke and renal failure,” said Cooke, chair of cardiovascular sciences at the Houston Methodist Research Institute.

 

AstraZeneca, the maker of Nexium, responded with a statement noting that the study was conducted in a laboratory setting, “not in humans within a controlled clinical trial. Therefore, conclusions around cause and effect cannot be made.

 

“Patient safety is an important priority for AstraZeneca and we believe all of our PPI medicines are generally safe and effective when used in accordance with the label,” the drug maker said.

 

However, many people aren’t using PPIs in accordance with FDA guidelines, which in Nexium’s case would limit them to a four-week course of treatment three times a year, Cooke said.

 

“They are being used ubiquitously, for long periods of time. They aren’t being used as originally approved,” Cooke said.

 

Dr. P.K. Shah, director of the Oppenheimer Atherosclerosis Research Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said these study results provide a reasonable explanation for how PPIs might affect the heart health of long-term users.

 

“We have clinical data that raises a suspicion that they might be bad if used long-term, and we have now experimental data that suggests a potential mechanism,” Shah said. “But we still have unanswered questions.”

 

For this study, Cooke and his colleagues cultured the cells that line the walls of blood vessels, which are called endothelial cells.

 

These cell cultures were exposed every day to doses of Nexium “similar to what a patient would receive” for an extended period of time, Cooke said.

 

Protective endothelial cells produce substances that relax the blood vessel, and create a slick “Teflon” coating inside the vessel that prevents plaques or blood clots from sticking, Cooke said.

 

PPIs treat heartburn by blocking acid-producing cells in the lining of the stomach, Cooke said. But researchers now suspect PPIs might also interfere with acid-producing cells elsewhere in the body.

 

In the case of blood vessel cells, researchers found that long-term PPI exposure impaired acid production by the lysosomes in the cells. Lysosomes typically clear waste products, but exposed to PPIs they didn’t produce enough acid to clear waste.

 

The waste buildup caused endothelial cells to age rapidly, Cooke said, which could hamper their ability to protect blood vessels.

 

“They start to convert from Teflon to something more like Velcro,” he said. “Things begin to stick.”

 

Another prominent class of heartburn medications, H2 blockers, did not have the same aging effect on blood vessel cells, the study found. H2 blockers include Tagamet (cimetidine), Pepcid (famotidine) and Zantac (ranitidine).

 

Dr. Mark Creager, president of the American Heart Association, added that a lab study like this cannot prove a direct link between PPI use and increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

 

“It certainly raises the question. But now the question, once raised, needs to be answered in a well-designed clinical trial, which hasn’t taken place yet,” said Creager, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “I would not advise clinicians to jump from this important basic science study to recommendations they would provide to their patients.”

 

Another expert said PPIs should be used with caution due to possible harms “that have nothing to do with the digestive system.”

 

“Much more work needs to be done before we can draw a line with confidence from this class of drugs to some of these potential side effects, but these researchers are taking an important first step,” said Dr. David Robbins, interim chief of gastroenterology at Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City.

 

“Bottom line: If you take a daily PPI, which can save lives in the right scenario, check with your doctor and see if you really need it,” Robbins said.

 

Please share with family and loved ones.  If you suffer from heart burn, call us and we will help you detect the cause.  Yes, there are many different causes.

 

Health and Wellness Associates

Archived

312-972-WELL