Question: Could my proton-pump inhibitor (Zegerid) contribute to lower GI tract problems, possibly including small intestine bacterial overgrowth?
Dr. Blaylock's Answer:
These drugs, in my estimation, are drastically overused and can make the problem for which they were intended even worse. Stomach acid serves many purposes. For one, it is necessary for the function of stomach’s digestive enzymes, which cannot work when the stomach loses this acidity. Then, the acidity kills bacteria that exist in all food. The bacteria can enter the intestine and colon, resulting in disease.
So-called acid reflux is not, in most cases, due to the stomach having too much acid. Instead, it is secondary to too much pressure in the stomach following meals. Ironically, this condition results when what little acid that is in the stomach flows back into the lower esophagus.
The answer is to improve digestion and this means increasing acid in the stomach, not lowering it. By using betaine HCL and digestive enzymes with each meal, you can improve digestion, which lowers the pressure in the stomach and ends the regurgitation of acid into the esophagus. Another way to reduce stomach irritation is to use DGL between meals.
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