The Great Acid Reflux Scam. Why Stomach Acid Is Critical For Health. By A Midwestern Doctor (10/08/24)
This is an abridged version of a previous article, making it highly readable and shareable.
Story at a Glance:
Patients receive many medications despite the risks often outweighing the benefits.
Acid-suppressing drugs (e.g., PPIs) are among the worst offenders
A lack of understanding about the crucial role of stomach acid throughout the body or that acid reflux is due to too little stomach acid leads to overuse of acid-suppressing drugs.
The stomach acid of digestion gives the stomach’s opening a signal to seal and not let any more food in.
Deficient stomach acid causes many chronic health problems, such as:
macular degeneration;
autoimmune disorders such as asthma;
common diseases of the ears, nose, and throat such as allergies, coughs, and sinusitis.
Serious side effect of acid blocking medications include:
increased risk of death
increase in cardiac events, kidney or liver disease
numerous infections
bone damage.
Many safe natural treatments can effectively address acid reflux and complications of a chronic stomach acid deficiency.
NOTE: Over the years, AMD has asked holistic docs which widely prescribed drugs are the most unnecessary and dangerous. Most commonly cited are:
Statins (described in a linked article)
NSAID painkillers (described in a linked article)
SSRI antidepressants (described in a linked article)
Stomach acid blocking PPIs (proton pump inhibiters, described in this article)
Key Topics:
Acid Reflux
Why Stomach Acid Is Essential for Your Health
The Problems with PPIs
Conditions Linked to Impaired Stomach Acidity
What Causes Acid Reflux?
Managing Stomach Acidity
Conclusion
AMD’s Conclusion:
Despite my extensive understanding of the politics behind medicine, I still find it hard to accept that medical science has largely ignored the critical role of stomach acid. This situation highlights how modern medicine often prioritizes sales over scientific evidence.
(Fortunately, the patents for PPIs are expiring, so perhaps the financial incentive to overlook their harms has diminished.)
