Surprising causes of heartburn, acid reflux, and ulcers

We have all had occasional heartburn or acid reflux after a meal. Sometimes stomach pain that wakes up in the night and just will NOT be soothed by Tums or antacids. Often it can be addressed by taking a Tums! What is causing it? Maybe this gets worse and a time doesn’t work anymore and you are beginning to suspect an ulcer. Or, you get the scary news that you have gastritis that is developing into gastric cancer. If this is you, please ask for an H. pylori test!

On its own, H. pylori rarely causes symptoms. However, it creates an environment for burning stomach pain, bloating, and nausea, sometimes accompanied by weight loss. This is something that doctors RARELY check for and instead of asking what is causing this and testing, they send you home with a list of PPI drugs, antacids, and a bland diet. This is NOT going to solve anything for you!

In a special issue of Open Exploration of Digestive Diseases, published April 16, 2024, it has been realized that H. pylori is not only responsible for peptic ulcers and chronic gastritis, but also is the main cause of gastric cancer. It may also have an effect on those with asthma and allergies or chronic gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease and Barrett’s esophagus. (1) Additionally, “The relationship between H. pylori and diseases unrelated to the digestive system is mainly due to the release of various proinflammatory agents such as cytokines, eicosanoids, and acute-phase proteins, in addition to the possibility of microbial antigens mimicking those of the host resulting in the activation of autoimmunity.” (2)

What is H. pylori? Helicobacter pylori is a helical, Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium that requires low concentrations of O2 and infects the epithelial lining of the stomach. (2) It is transmitted from human to human, and many individuals are infected during childhood. Roughly 1/2 of the world’s population has contracted it. For many people, it remains under control because their bodies are doing a great job of keeping it at a manageable level. However, when H. pylori is present, it restricts the ability of the body to produce stomach acid.

Let’s take a tiny detour here and talk about stomach acid. This is not a “bad guy” when it comes to digestion. It is actually our first line of defense! Our stomach acid should be acidic enough and in great enough volume to break down foods, more specifically to break apart proteins and begin preparing the way for the more complex breakdown of food in the small and large intestine. The second job of stomach acid is to kill invaders such as molds, bacteria, parasites, etc., that have come in with your food. (3) Guess what, H. pylori is a bacterium! If our stomach acid was not acidic enough or being secreted in the body with enough volume to kill the H. pylori bacteria at the time of infection, we now have a problem. If you would like to do some more reading about stomach acid, I highly suggest reading the book, Why Stomach Acid is Good For You by Jonathan V. Wright, MD, and Lane Lenard, Ph.D. In a nutshell, taking PPIs and anti-acids is actually making the terrain in your stomach worse, more vulnerable, and accelerating damage to the stomach lining.

How do we test for it?  This is a question I get all the time. There are several ways available, including breath tests and blood tests. However, the most reliable test I have found so far that not only tests for a positive or a negative but tells us the exact strains of H. pylori that are present, whether they are virulent or not, and whether they are antibiotic resistant or not, and what antibiotics will or will not work in treatment. It is the Gut Zoomer. This is the most comprehensive and reliable test I have found to date. As a result of our commitment to make advanced testing available to the public, you can order it for yourself here: https://autoimmunerecovery.wellproz.com/patient/product/46610. This is a full-spectrum digestive test and contains an extensive amount of information in addition to the H. pylori section. This is a pivotal test that we use for our clients and helps us to identify important imbalances in the gut that lead to disease resolution.

What do we do about H. pylori if we find it is present? I am so glad you asked. I’m going to outline my full protocol for you here as well as share a supplement protocol with you that may be very helpful.

Food:

1. I highly encourage you to do a thorough food sensitivity test to understand clearly what foods your body welcomes and can use nutritionally and what foods are causing inflammation. Each person’s sensitivity panel is unique. There is no “diet” that will be effective here. Simply eating a bland diet will NOT be sufficient to help you successfully address H. pylori. Here is the food sensitivity test that I recommend: https://autoimmunerecovery.wellproz.com/patient/product/48077

2. IF you do NOT have open ulcers, begin incorporating 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, first thing in the morning diluted in 4 oz of water into your day. Slowly build up to 1-2 tablespoons. Be sure the ACV you are using is organic and has the “mother” in it. This begins the process of increasing stomach acid production and helps to balance the pH. This can also be used before meals to prepare your stomach to receive food, or after a meal to combat acid reflux or heartburn.

3. Begin incorporating aloe vera juice into your diet. This can be found easily at a health food store or an organic grocery store. Please be sure it is organic! Follow the dosage on the bottle. This begins the work of coating the stomach lining, supporting recovery, assisting as well in balancing the stomach acid. This can be used as well to help calm symptoms.

Supplement protocol:

1. https://us.fullscript.com/plans/autoimmunerecovery-addressing-h-pylori-supplement-suggestions  It will likely be necessary to continue this supplement regimen for 3-4 months to find full resolution of H. pylori.

Please be willing to retest to be sure that you have successfully addressed H. pylori for yourself.

Fun side note: because H. pylori is spread from person to person via contact, when addressing H. pylori for one member of the family, the entire family should consider implementing support. If you have kiddos in your family and you want to help them with H. pylori, please contact us directly at info@autoimmunerecovery.org.

In conclusion, H. pylori is not fun! It is widespread. And you can do something about it!

(1) Kouroumalis E, Tsomidis I, Voumvouraki A. Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer: a critical approach to who really needs eradication. Explor Dig Dis. 2024;3:107–42. https://doi.org/10.37349/edd.2024.00043

(2) Costa LCMC, das Graças Carvalho M, La Guárdia Custódio Pereira AC, Teixeira Neto RG, Andrade Figueiredo LC, Barros-Pinheiro M. Diagnostic Methods for Helicobacter pylori. Med Princ Pract. 2024;33(3):173-184. doi: 10.1159/000538349. Epub 2024 Mar 14. PMID: 38484713; PMCID: PMC11175606.

(3) InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2006-. In brief: How does the stomach work? [Updated 2024 Aug 5]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279304/