What's the Diff?

[Guest guest]

" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <hsiresearch

HSI e-Alert - What's the Diff?

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 06:50:00 -0500

 

 

 

 

HSI e-Alert - What's the Diff?

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

****************************************************

February 02, 2006

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

With any luck, you have a chronic case of eupepsia.

 

" Eupepsia " means good digestion, the opposite of dyspepsia. But

eupepsia may be an elusive condition for some patients who treat

heartburn or acid reflux with one of the popular drugs now on the market.

 

-----------

Acid at your service

-----------

 

If you believe the commercials, gastric acid is bad. And if you suffer

from chronic heartburn, you probably agree. But as HSI Panelist Allan

Spreen, M.D., has pointed out in several e-Alerts, gastric acid is

indispensable: you can't digest food without it. Problems arise when

this acid makes its way into the esophagus, triggering heartburn, acid

reflux and similar conditions.

 

But gastric acid isn't just a digestive tool; it also protects the

stomach from a bacterium called Clostridium difficile (abbreviated as

" C-diff " ), which can trigger digestive inflammation and diarrhea so

severe that some cases result in death.

 

Suppress gastric acid, and the stage is set for C-diff to flourish.

 

A recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association

carries a study from Montreal's McGill University. Using information

from the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database, The McGill

team identified more than 1,600 cases of C-diff and matched each case

against ten control subjects.

 

Results showed that people who used a class of drugs known as H2

receptor antagonists (such as Zantac and Pepcid) had twice the risk of

C-diff infection compared to nonusers. And the results were even more

worrying for users of proton pump inhibitor drugs (such as Prevacid

and Prilosec): They were three times more likely to experience a

C-diff infection compared to those who used no heartburn medication.

 

Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was also

associated with an increased risk of C-diff infection. Overuse of

antibiotics is already a known factor in the alarming rise in the

number of C-diff cases.

 

And here's the kicker: If you don't use antibiotics or any of the

popular heartburn medications, you're not out of the woods. A

Washington Post article about C-diff offers this disturbing note: " It

spreads easily through contact with contaminated people, clothing or

surfaces. "

 

-----------

Sweet relief

-----------

 

In an interview with the Associated Press, lead author of the McGill

study, Sandra Dial, M.D., noted that heartburn can often be treated

with less potent drugs. She could have added that heartburn can be

treated without using any drugs at all.

 

In the e-Alert " Sweet Relief " (11/11/04), Dr. Spreen shared details

about an effective natural therapy he's used for years to treat

heartburn, acid reflux and indigestion. " Ridiculously simple and

cheap " is how he describes a protocol that consists primarily of

acidophilus and digestive enzymes.

 

Dr. Spreen: " Acidophilus supplements (powder form, the liquid tastes

awful) protect the esophagus without killing acid (while killing the

pain almost immediately). The hassle is, you have to keep it handy and

take it often if you don't solve the whole problem, which involves

tightening the gastro esophageal sphincter.

 

" That can be done using the English herbs (Potter's Acidosis) or by

improving the environment of the stomach, which then tightens the

junction on its own but requires a bit more effort. "

 

 

 

****************************************************

 

....and another thing

 

Onions to the rescue?

 

Well...maybe. An HSI member named PB writes: " Can you please give me

the information on using onions for curing tinnitus (noise in the ears)? "

 

According to Holistic Online, onion juice is a folk remedy that calls

for one drop of the juice in each ear, three times a week until the

ringing in the ears is relieved. I have no idea if this works (perhaps

PB can try it and get back to us with a report), but I do know that

onion juice is not the only natural treatment for this very annoying

condition.

 

In a 2002 ginkgo biloba study conducted in Germany, patients who

received 200 mg of ginkgo daily generally reported marked reduction in

tinnitus.

 

A deficiency of zinc may be at the root of some tinnitus cases. Foods

that contain zinc include spinach, oysters, beef, papaya, asparagus

and prunes.

 

Tinnitus is a common topic in the HSI Healthier Talk community forums.

One HSI member with an " extreme case " of tinnitus notes that CoQ10

supplements combined with a low carbohydrate diet helped enormously.

And another member found relief with chiropractic treatments.

 

If you've used an effective method to reduce tinnitus, please send us

an e-mail and tell us what worked for you.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

 

 

Sources:

 

" Use of Gastric Acid-Suppressive Agents and the Risk of

Community-Acquired Clostridium difficile-Associated Disease " Journal

of the American Medical Association, Vol. 294, No. 23, 12/21/05,

jama.ama-assn.org

" Heartburn Drugs Linked to Diarrhea " Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press,

12/20/05, apnews.myway.com

" Stomach Bug Mutates Into Medical Mystery " Rob Stein, Washington Post,

12/30/05, washingtonpost.com

" Alternative Medicine for Tinnitus " Holistic Online, holistic-online.com