The Real Truth About Heartburn Medication That Your Doctor Will Never Tell You

I have a confession to make. I find it hard to go hours without snacking on something spicy. I even try to fit a bit of organic hot sauce into my breakfast! You can quite literally say that hot sauce is the spice of my life. There are plenty of reasons to include spice into your meals, but it’s not without its problems. The biggest problem I encounter with spice is heartburn. If you haven’t experienced heartburn before, it’s exactly how it sounds.

Contrary to the name, heartburn has nothing to do with your heart. This awful burning feeling in your chest occurs when stomach acid rises into your esophagus. In this case, your stomach acid is allowed passage when a muscle is keeping your stomach “shut” is relaxed. Not only spicy foods, but heavy lifting, and obesity can cause heartburn too. But at its core, Heartburn is a form of acid reflux. This stomach acid does have a significant role to play in your health.

What Does Stomach Acid Do?

Stomach acid aids in the breakdown of food in the body. When broken down, the nutrients found in food are prepared to be taken in. Stomach acid is composed mainly of hydrochloric acid and pepsin. Hydrochloric acid is the primary acid in the digestive process. Hydrochloric acid also breaks down germs and bacteria responsible for infections. Pepsin is an enzyme which breaks down proteins. Needless to say, stomach acid is essential for the wellbeing of your body.

What is an Antacid?

When someone experiences heartburn, the common suggestion is taking an antacid. This makes antacid one of big pharma’s profit makers. An antacid is a substance taken to relieve indigestion. It does this by neutralizing stomach acid. The most potent form of antacid is proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs). These powerful drugs target the production process of stomach acid and significantly reduce acidity in the stomach.

However, a recent study shook the foundation of what we know about this popular drug. This study drew a clear link between the use of antacids and the incidence of dementia in senior citizens. This study is of great importance because heartburn occurs most frequently in the elderly.

Antacids Linked To Dementia

The Study

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a total of 73 679 people over the age of 75 without dementia participated. The study looked at the occurrence of dementia between two groups: one taking PPIs regularly, and one not receiving the antacid.

It was found that patients regularly taking the antacid had a significant increase in their risk of developing dementia. The study concluded that avoiding proton-pump inhibitors can prevent the development of dementia. But you can’t help but think that many cases of dementia could have been avoided had we known this sooner.

What This Means For You

Studies such as this one are part of a growing trend that calls us to question the status quo. If we’re only now discovering negative side effects of remedies we’ve used for centuries, it’s hard to trust where the real intentions of big pharma lie. With such a shocking result, it goes without saying that if you or anyone you know is taking antacids regularly you should look into healthy alternatives and take action.

One of the first things you should do is find out if an antacid is truly needed. It’s very common for doctors to prescribe an antacid when the underlying problem is actually the opposite case. As conventional doctors see it, hyperacidity or the presence of too much stomach acid is the primary cause of acid reflux. But in reality, most people experience acid reflux because of a lack of stomach acid.

When someone with already low levels of stomach acid takes an antacid, they deplete their body of this essential acid. This makes the breakdown of food less efficient, leading to nutritional deficiencies. For someone experiencing a lack of stomach acid, supplementing with betaine hydrochloric acid (HCL) is recommended. Betaine HCL is a natural chemical substance derived from beets which enhance stomach acids to optimize the breakdown of food. You can find betaine HCL in most health food stores.

But what if you’re not suffering from a low stomach acidity? Luckily, there are more natural remedies for acid reflux. But more importantly, we should emphasize a holistic approach to addressing acid reflux. More often we find ourselves taking treatments for illnesses that can be fully avoided with the right lifestyle and diet.