Chronic Case of Eupepsia 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. 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." 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." For further details, you can easily find the e-Alert "Sweet Relief" on our web site at hsibaltimore.com. 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 | 
