Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)—such as Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid—are the go-to treatment for a variety of digestive issues including acid reflux, GERD, indigestion, heartburn, and ulcers.
With annual sales of over $10 billion, drug manufacturers certainly want to maintain that status and keep their cash cow producing revenue.
PPIs “work” (and I mean that in the loosest sense of the word) by raising your stomach’s pH and shutting down its acid production. With less acid in the stomach to shoot up in your throat, you feel relief from reflux and other digestive symptoms.
What could possibly go wrong?
A lot.
What many people don’t realize is that acid reducers are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, opening you up to serious health issues as well as increasing your risk of DEATH in several ways.
Here’s what I mean:
The many ways PPIs can kill you
Crippling your stomach’s ability to produce acid like it should can have these deadly consequences:
1- Chronic kidney disease
PPIs can cause kidney inflammation (called acute interstitial nephritis) which can progress to chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease and ultimately kidney failure.
Which means you’re pushing up daisies.
2- Heart attack
In addition to reducing acid in your stomach, PPIs also reduce the acid activity of lysosomes—cells that breakdown proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. They also impact cellular functions, including those related to blood clotting. And they damage the inner lining of your arteries.
All of which raises your risk of heart attack.
Better hope you’re not among the one out of three that will die if it happens to you.
3- Weakened immune function
PPIs cause poor digestion (because stomach acid is needed to properly digest proteins—imagine that!), which leads to imbalances in your gut microbiome.
Since your gut houses 80 percent of your immune system, unhealthy changes in the makeup of the microbiome can lead to weakened immune function.
And guess what? Your immune system protects you against dangerous infections, viruses and even cancer!
Are you willing to play Russian Roulette with your immune system?
4- Dementia and Alzheimer’s
In the course of thwarting your digestion and absorption of nutrients, PPIs also increase your risk of dementia and Alzhemier’s due to reduced absorption of essential brain nutrients (especially Vitamin B12).
In addtion, PPIs have been shown in studies to increase the brain’s concentration of amyloid-beta—an amino acid that is the main component of the characteristic amyloid “plaques” found in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the US. One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s, and it kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
5- Overall death risk
A study conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine and published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) showed that long-term use of PPIs increases overall death risk by a whopping 50 percent.
Senior researcher Ziyad Al-Aly, MD stated, “No matter how we sliced and diced the data…we saw the same thing: There’s an increased risk of death among PPI users.”
Note that the average PPI user DOES use them long-term, even though they have only been tested and designed for short-term use!
But…there’s more?
Over and above the ways PPIs can kill you, they also cause gas, bloating and constipation (because of ruined digestion), increase your risk of fractures (due to reduced absorption of bone-building vitamins and minerals) lead to low energy levels and metabolism (a result of impaired Vitamin B12 absorption), and make you more susceptible to food poisoning (since stomach acid kills many dangerous microbes in your food).
Stop digestive issues NATURALLY!
If you take PPIs, it’s time to talk with your doctor about other alternatives.
If he asks why, show him this blog.
And DO YOUR PART to help stop digestive issues before they happen by addressing the most common root causes:
Cause #1: Food
It never ceases to amaze me how people eat fast food, junk food, or smorgasbord-type meals, then wonder why they have a 4-alarm fire in their chest every night.
If you have digestive problems, it's time to face facts--YOUR DIET is the main cause of your misery.
Accept it, stop making excuses and do something about it. Change your diet to include more nutritious REAL foods—stuff that doesn’t come with a bar code and ingredients you can’t pronounce. Lay off the soda too while you’re at it.
And make your meals easier for your system to tackle by pairing the right foods together that require complementary enzymes. The Great Taste No Pain system while show you how to do this, while still enjoying delicious foods that you love.
Cause #2: Enzymes
If you've eaten a typical modern diet for a while, chances are excellent that you have expended far more digestive enzymes to break down your meals than Nature intended you to.
As a result, your body's ability to produce enough enzymes may be diminished...and this can be a major contributing factor to poor digestion!
Plus, as we age, our bodies' ability to produce enzymes naturally decreases.
If you suspect low enzymes are a concern for you, or have been told you're low in stomach acid, then a natural plant-derived enzyme supplement like Digestizol Max can give you the enzyme boost you desperately need.
Cause #3: Stress
Digestion is a parasympathetic process, meaning your body must be in a relaxed, non-stressed state for it to be accomplished.
But if you instead eat when your sympathetic nervous system is in gear (such as when you're working, driving, emotionally upset, stressed, rushing, etc.) that can have a devastating impact on your digestion.
So slow down and relax! Make time for meals and don't eat on the run.
Cause #4: Smoking
Nothing obliterates your digestion like smoking.
So add this to the list of reasons that you should put that deadly habit behind you for good. There are many stop smoking aids and programs out there—get the help you need.
Help your body bounce back too!
If you’ve been a long-term PPI user, chances are excellent you’ve got a degree of imbalanced intestinal flora going on and/or may be running low in Vitamin B12.
If you’ve been noticing you get one cold or bug after another, you’re frequently bloated or you drive people out of the room with your gas, trust me, your gut microbiome is probably waving the white flag of defeat!
To help support a healthier gut microbiome, which in turn helps encourage sound nutrient absorption, less gas and strong immune function, a full-spectrum multi-strain probiotic formula like Super Shield is your ticket.
And if you’re B12 deficient (your doctor can do a simple test to find out), then a sublingual vitamin B12 formula like Hydroxaden 2.5 can help ensure your body has health-supporting levels of this crucial heart, immune and brain health nutrient.
Get going now to battle digestive issues naturally at their root causes and help your body recover!
You may just live longer as a result.
To your health,
Sherry Brescia
Hello Ruth!
Thank you for your comment. We do recommend that you consider following Sherry’s food combining program (Great Taste No Pain) to help reduce excess acid that can easily rise up due to the hernia. We do also recommend that you consider a digestive enzyme supplement at mealtime as well. It can help you break down y our foods better and encourage less excess acid also. We do offer a powerful blend called Digestizol Max.
It is our understanding that hiatal hernia cannot be completely repaired without surgery, but the symptoms of it can be drastically reduced or completely eliminated by eating a properly combined alkaline diet.
When you eat lots of alkaline foods and properly combine your foods, digestion is easy and efficient. That means there is no excess acid to go rising up back into the esophagus. The food passes through into the intestines to complete digestion instead of sitting in the stomach, soaking in acid and coming back up (especially at night) through the “swinging door” created by a hiatal hernia.
Moreover, hiatal hernia is aggravated by overeating and stuffing the stomach. When you eat the Great Taste No Pain way, you get the benefit of the nutrients from your food (because of the decreased acid), so you feel full with less food overall. Therefore, you’re less likely to overeat and exacerbate a hiatal hernia.
Here is a fantastic article that Sherry wrote on the subject:
https://www.holisticblends.com/blogs/holistic-blends-blog/is-this-sly-illness-lurking-in-you
We hope this helps! If you have any other questions, please feel free to let us know.
I too take Nexium and sort of have what Mack posted on 11/14/2018 . Dr. says I can get off because he feels the hernia a have is the real culprit. If I get off of the ppi what does that do for the Barrett’s problem. Your input would be great. Thank you.
My mom had several strokes and was expected to live a few months, but due to several years of taking PPI’S she lasted a month and died of kidney failure. As she lay dying the doctor had her taking them. She suffered the last few years of her life with paranoid delusions which I now contribute to this because she was not getting enough B12, and she had constant bladder and kidney infections. I wish I could have put it together a few years earlier.
I’m 64, have Barrett’s Esophagus; was diagnosed with low-med level dysplasia, as well. RF Ablation treatments(s) have knocked out the dysplasia. As you know, further digression would probably end up with esophageal cancer (typically a 17% survival rate). With all of this going on, my PCP says that my PPIs are a better choice than the alternative. What say you?
I was on zantac and then PPI’s for many years , too many years . I have A.S,. , Indomethacin damaged my digestive system , causing ulcerative colitis , they will never admit that I know . I no longer take medication , it’s been 5 years now , but I can’t fix my digestion , I’m pretty sure I now have gall bladder issues . I’m 62 , so I’m grateful to be still alive , even though it’s not much of a life . I will not go to the M.D. again because I know very well what will happen if I do , they have no real answers .