Proton pump inhibitors and potassium competitive acid blockers are widely used therapeutically to inhibit acid secretion. In addition to their unique ability to secrete gastric acid, parietal cells also play an important role in gastric mucosal homeostasis through the secretion of multiple growth factor molecules. The gastric parietal cell therefore plays multiple roles in gastric secretion and protection as well as coordination of physiological repair. Keywords: acid secretion; growth factors; mucosal homeostasis; parietal cell; stomach.
A pH of less than 3 on any part of the distal half of the floss indicates that the stomach is secreting hydrochloric acid properly. A pH greater than 3 indicates hypochlorhydria, whereas a pH of 5 or above indicates achlorhydria. If you do have a low level of stomach acid, as proven by the Gastro-Test, then you should also then look to test for the presence of a bacterium called Helicobacter Pylori that can cause this, prior to commencing any hydrochloric acid supplements.
Helicobacter Pylori is the most common chronic bacterial pathogen in humans. It lowers stomach acid levels whilst damaging the mucosal protection within the stomach. It has been attributed as one of the prime causes of stomach and duodenal ulcers. Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium that can inhabit various areas of the stomach, particularly the antrum.
It causes a chronic low-level inflammation of the stomach lining and is strongly not only linked to the development of duodenal and gastric ulcers but also stomach cancer. The bacterium was initially named Campylobacter pyloridis, then renamed C. When 16S rRNA gene sequencing and other research showed in that the bacterium did not belong in the genus Campylobacter, it was placed in its own genus, Helicobacter. Infection is more prevalent in developing countries, and incidence is decreasing in Western countries.
Interest in understanding the role of bacteria in stomach diseases was rekindled in the s, with the visualization of bacteria in the stomach of gastric ulcer patients. The bacterium had also been observed in by Australian pathologist Robin Warren, who did further research on it with Australian physician Barry Marshall beginning in After numerous unsuccessful attempts at culturing the bacteria from the stomach, they finally succeeded in visualising colonies in , when they unintentionally left their Petri dishes incubating for 5 days over the Easter weekend.
In their original paper, Warren and Marshall contended that most stomach ulcers and gastritis were caused by infection by this bacterium and not by stress or spicy food, as had been assumed before. Marshall is well-known for proving that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is the cause of most peptic ulcers, reversing decades of medical doctrine which held that ulcers were caused by stress, spicy foods, and too much acid. If you took stomach acid and had H.
Pylori then this could produce unpleasant side effects, usually of a painful nature sore, burning gut lining , which is why it is so important to rule out its presence before proceeding with taking hydrochloric acid. Ask your doctor for a breath or stool antigen test the latter is more accurate as a marker of ongoing infection because the blood test cannot tell you whether you have successfully eradicated the bacterium, except after many months the antibodies remain in the bloodstream for months.
If you do have H. Pylori then follow the Anti-H. Pylori Plan see below , which needs to be taken for 6 weeks, or more in some cases. If you do, then you should also re-test your H.
Pylori to see if you are still positive. Finally, when you have eradicated the H. Pylori and you still have low levels of stomach acid you can consider HCl supplements and digestive enzymes. However, some patients will not be able to tolerate HCl for some time afterwards. An intramuscular vaccine against H. Its clinical usefulness requires further study. A study has found that green tea can prevent Helicobacter-related inflammation.
Even though further unsolved issues are awaited before phytoceuticals are accepted as a standard treatment for H. Comment: Nearly 20 years ago, it was discovered that bacteria known as Helicobacter pylori were responsible for stomach ulcers. Since then, antibiotics have become the primary therapy used to combat the H. But today the bacteria is growing increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Now a study led by scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre BIDMC and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrates that the amino acid glutamine, found in many foods as well as in dietary supplements, may prove beneficial in offsetting gastric damage caused by H.
Reported in the May issue of the Journal of Nutrition , the findings offer the possibility of an alternative to antibiotics for the treatment of stomach ulcers. Approximately 5. The possibility that an inexpensive, easy-to-use treatment could be used to modify the damaging effects of H. In a new study researchers from Clemson University found various grape extracts and their compounds to be effective at inhibiting Helicobacter pylori, one of the leading causes of gastritis in humans.
The antibacterial effects of extracts from red, white, black and muscadine grapes as well as the pure compounds resveratrol, ellagic acid, and myricetin were tested for anti-H.
Following 24 hour treatment, results showed that muscadine grape skin extract had the highest anti-H. Additionally, two of the three compounds, resveratrol and ellagic acid, also inhibited H. Calcium deficiency in the elderly is associated with low gastric acid secretion and bone loss. A new study linking defects in gastric acid secretion with bone destruction and impaired mineralisation bolsters the view that calcium supplements can prevent these bone defects-but do they all work.
This paper suggests that altered acidification of the stomach and specific gene deficiencies will dictate the form of calcium supplementation most suitable for the reduction and resolution of osteoporosis. HCl acid supplementation can prove to be extremely beneficial for a remarkably wide range of conditions, perhaps not surprisingly if it improves digestion.
It is something that I have used in clinical practice for 18 years and still do. Below is a list of conditions in which HCl acid may be of help:.
However, it is not for every patient. Whilst the vast majority of patients with stomach symptoms are candidates for HCl acid supplementation, not all can tolerate HCl, and it can elicit unpleasant heart burn symptoms, or even worse. This is rare, but it is definitely worth avoiding. Start patients on a single supplement in the middle of their lunch, not dinner lest there is a problem that keeps them up all night, and have them gradually increase their dose to the desired level over a number of days.
I also recommend that you ask patients to complete on a 2 weekly basis the symptom questionnaire shown above that relate to the low stomach acid, so that some form of monitoring can be in place. The use of HCl supplements is also a good example of why patients should NOT follow any supplement programme for more than a month or two without the specific recommendation of the practitioner.
The production of HCl acid is a very energetic one, and therefore anyone with any degree of fatigue is also a candidate for low HCl levels or a higher pH than ideal. At the other end of the spectrum, I have had a number of patients who can tolerate high doses mg of HCl per caps — with each meal up to 5 at a time! These patients would all have started on a lower dose and gradually titrated the dose upwards.
Stomach acid is essential to detoxification. An absence of stomach acid inhibits the liver from releasing bile, which compromises bile flow, which in turn may adversely affect the entire liver and lymphatic system from releasing stored toxins. IMS Health reports U. IMS Health. Effect of proton pump inhibitors on vitamins and iron.
Iatrogenic gastric acid suppression and the risk of nosocomial Clostridium difficile infection. Arch Intern Med ; — View Abstract. Increased incidence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth during proton pump inhibitor therapy.
Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol ; — Long-term proton pump inhibitor therapy and risk of hip fracture. JAMA ; — View Full Paper. Psychosocial-spiritual factors in patients with functional dyspepsia: a comparative study with normal individuals having the same endoscopic features.
Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. International journal of antimicrobial agents 33 5 : —, Journal of digestive diseases 9 3 : —39, Inflammation and foveolar hyperplasia are reduced by supplemental dietary glutamine during Helicobacter pylori infection in mice.
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