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Stomach Acid Blockers Linked to Brain Damage and Kidney Disease

Medicine Watch

Stomach Acid Blockers Linked to Brain Damage and Kidney Disease

Increase the risk of Alzheimer’s by 50%? Kidney disease by up to 50%? Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the science suggests. Over the years, we’ve written extensively about the dangers of stomach acid drugs—conventional medicine’s completely wrongheaded answer to stomach pain and acid reflux. Scientists aren’t certain what causes acid reflux, but a leading hypothesis is that it’s caused by a stomach environment that is not acidic enough. The lack of acid in the stomach short-circuits the signal needed to close the pyloric valve. Stomach pain apart from acid reflux may also be caused by a lack of stomach acid. It sounds counterintuitive, but the lack of acid leads to poor digestion, causing undigested food to ferment in the gut. This leads to painful intestinal gas and other symptoms of “bad bacteria” (such as helicobacter bacteria) taking hold. Here, too, more acid, not less, will help. Despite this evidence, conventional medicine gives us proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to treat stomach pain and acid reflux, which work by eliminating acid production—thus making the problem even worse. Unfortunately, the bad news doesn’t stop there.

Heartburn Can Be Easily Eliminated Without Hazardous, Habit Forming Drugs

An estimated 15 to 20 million Americans use acid inhibiting drugs to treat heartburn. Indeed, PPIs are among the most widely prescribed drugs today, with annual sales of about $14 billion. This despite the fact that they were never intended to treat heartburn in the first place. Research clearly shows that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are severely overprescribed and misused, and do far more harm than good in the long run. If you suffer from frequent heartburn, rest assured there are many alternative treatment strategies that will help you eliminate this problem without serious side effects, which I'll review toward the end of this article.

Heartburn Pills Linked to Kidney Disease

Heartburn drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most commonly used drugs in the world. About 15 million Americans use PPIs, either in prescription or over-the-counter form. Brand names include Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium. The drugs have long been touted as a safe way to relieve heartburn, indigestion and acid reflux. They work by inhibiting the production of acid in your stomach, which helps to relieve symptoms but appears to have a number of unintended consequences as well, including for your kidneys. PPIs have previously been linked to a kidney disorder called acute interstitial nephritis. Now researchers have linked them to the risk of chronic kidney disease, prompting experts to call for more caution in their use.