The bad news about these acid-suppressing meds just keeps on coming
For years I’ve been warning you about the dangers of proton pump inhibitors. Drugs like Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid.
People pop them daily to treat heartburn and block stomach acid. And they’ve been linked to everything from infections to broken bones to kidney damage.
But now, researchers from three large institutes have proven that these meds block more than stomach acid. They’re able to take special cells that protect our blood vessels and basically disable them
So if you’re treating heartburn with these drugs, you could also be putting yourself on the fast track to a heart attack or stroke.
When these PPI drugs went OTC, the FDA opened a Pandora’s Box.
You’d never believe it when you walk through the “acid” aisle in a store now, but not too long ago it took a doctor’s visit to get your hands on one of these meds like the “Purple Pill.”
Now, not only are they available everywhere we turn, but we’re bombarded with TV ads like the ones with Larry the Cable Guy who says he takes Prilosec every day.
Well, I hope Larry has a good health insurance plan, because more bad news about these PPI drugs is coming out all the time.
Just a few months ago I told you how they’ve been linked to an especially deadly kind of esophageal cancer. Before that, I warned about the connection between PPIs and dementia and Alzheimer’s. Of course, there’s also bone and kidney damage, and life-threatening infections.
If that wasn’t enough to have you toss these meds out of your medicine cabinet and into the trash, this latest finding will hopefully be the last straw.
Because now we know the risk is even worse than we thought – if that’s possible.
Researchers from Scripps, Baylor and the Houston Methodist Research Institute have found that PPI drugs can mess with some very important cells in our blood vessels.
You see, the stomach isn’t the only place where acid is produced. Special cells in blood vessels, called lysosomes, also produce acid. And that acid clears waste products and keeps things running smoothly.
When exposed to a PPI drug in the laboratory, these special cells started aging rapidly and could no longer do their job.
“They start to convert from Teflon to something more like Velcro,” said study head Dr. John Cooke. And that’s when the inside of our blood vessels can get as sticky as a toddler’s fingers holding cotton candy.
The doses of Nexium that the researchers used on these cell cultures wasn’t some gigantic amount, either. It was exactly the same as what millions of Americans take every single day.
As soon as Dr. Cooke’s study was released, pharma-friendly doctors jumped in saying that while the research is an important “first step” they need to know more before they advise patients to stop taking these drugs.
Seriously? Don’t we know enough already? I mean how many warnings are going to have to come out about these meds before doctors start taking action. It’s unbelievable for them to keep acting like a bunch of ostriches.
But if by now you’re ready to kick these drugs for good, there’s something important you need to know: Don’t stop cold turkey, as you can get “rebound acid hypersecretion.” That translates to the worst acid you’ve ever had. Taper your dose down slowly and surely.
And to keep the acid under control once you do get off them, try:
- Taking probiotics,
- Cutting down on high-acid beverages, such as coffee,
- Not eating too close to bedtime,
- Sleeping with your head higher, and
- Drinking a glass of water each day with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I know that might sound crazy, but it works!
Sources:
“Heartburn drugs age blood vessels: Study” HealthDay, May 11, 2016, newsmax.com
