Anti-Acid Medication
I was prompted to think about this topic again when recently, a new coaching client with irregular eating habits casually told me that he takes Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) to help with his reflux and heartburn.
Serendipitously, one of my favourite health gurus Dr Gil-Yoseph Shachar posted a short video on this very topic. Don’t you love it when you think or talk about something and there in your inbox is an article about it?
PPIs are amongst the most prescribed classes of drugs and are commonly used to treat acid reflux, indigestion, and peptic ulcers. Dr Shachar mentioned a meta-study published by the NIH in January 2024, which concluded that there was an association between the use of PPIs and development of gastrointestinal cancer. It also revealed an association between PPI use and the risk of esophageal, gastric, liver and pancreatic cancer. This risk was also observed in individuals who used the PPIs for less than a year. The study found that the use of these drugs increased the users’ chances of developing cancer between 78%-140% compared to those who did not use them.
Moreover, PPIs have numerous other bad side effects including an altered gut environment, impaired nutrient absorption, an increased risk for cardiovascular events, kidney disease and dementia.
The gastric hydrogen potassium ATPase is the proton pump of the stomach. It is the enzyme primarily responsible for the acidification of the stomach contents and the activation of the digestive enzyme pepsin necessary for the digestion of the food we eat. It is found in the parietal cells located in the inner cell lining of the stomach called the gastric mucosa. As Chris Kresser explains: The theory is that heartburn and GERD are caused by excess production of stomach acid by these cells, so inhibiting this proton pump will reduce the acidity of the stomach and alleviate the burning sensation of acid reflux. But proton pumps aren’t limited to the stomach; they are present in just about every cell in the body.
With the exception of red blood cells, all cells have mitochondria that allow the body to metabolize carbohydrates and fat to produce energy. They do this by pumping protons across the membrane to generate a source of electric potential that can be harnessed to form ATP, the body’s main storage form of energy. Without an efficient proton-pumping system, the body must rely on anaerobic systems for energy production, leading to rapid fatigue.
The above sources show that inhibiting stomach acid production creates far more problems than solutions and is detrimental to our health. Paradoxically, acid reflux is usually caused by too little acid and not too much of it.
Please consult your medical practitioner for advice. Here are some simple steps you can take to alleviate reflux and acidity problems:
Eat smaller portions. Overloading your stomach with food will create discomfort and poor breakdown of the food. It is essential for good digestion that we let the stomach acid break down the food very well before it passes into the small intestine.
Eat slowly. Chew your food very well. Our teeth were designed to shred the food and the saliva in the mouth helps in its breakdown as well. It should be well masticated before it is swallowed.
Don’t mix too many types of food in one meal. Keep your portions simple. Include a raw salad with every cooked meal, the live enzymes in the raw food aid digestion. One course per meal is enough.
Avoid refined carbohydrates and processed food. Eat whole food.
Don’t eat on the go. Sit down, relax, clear your mind, and focus on the food you are eating.
Don’t eat and drink at the same time. Drink a glass of water 10 minutes before the meal. This will hydrate you and make you less hungry. Drinking with the meal causes a dilution of the stomach acid and therefore poor digestion, resulting in reflux.
Don’t go to bed on a full stomach. Your last meal should be at least 3 hours before you go to sleep.
Don’t eat in the night. Make sure to have a nutritious meal in the evening to last you until the following morning. Let your stomach rest for at least 12 hours.
As we age, we produce less stomach acid. Taking a supplement of HCL and/or digestive enzymes with the meal can be very helpful.