Acid Stomach (heartburn)
Why Papaya for Heartburn Is Surprisingly Helpful
Papaya was once considered an exotic fruit. You had to visit a tropical country to find it. Now, fresh papaya can be found in most food markets. You can purchase papaya enzymes in tablet form in healt…
How to Manage Your Heartburn Without Drugs
The American diet seems designed to create digestive problems. We love fast food, which is low in fiber and high in processed carbs and fat. We also eat on the run. As a result, many people suffer fro…
How to Avoid Trouble at the Pharmacy Checkout
In one of the first scenes of the returning show, Roseanne, Roseanne is sitting at the kitchen table when her husband walks through the door, prescription bag in hand. “Oooh! My favorite! Drugs!” …
Skimping on Magnesium May Mean Trouble Sleeping
How often does a treatment for one problem lead to another problem? We suspect it may be more common than anyone could imagine. Who would guess that low magnesium levels resulting from a heartburn med…
Can Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) Blow A Hole…
People have been using a natural antacid (sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda) for a very long time. It is cheap and surprisingly effective for easing symptoms of indigestion. But too much of a good t…
Are Heartburn Drugs (PPIs) Linked to Stomach Can…
According to our calculation (based on the most recent data available), more than 110 million prescriptions for proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are filled each year. That does not count the tens of mill…
How To Choose Safe and Effective Over-The-Counte…
Americans love to play doctor. And the FDA has made it easy. That’s because the agency has allowed Pharma companies to switch many Rx drugs to OTC in a big way. We spend $33 billion on over-the-coun…
Do Mothers with Heartburn Have Babies with Asthm…
Heartburn is a common symptom during pregnancy. New research suggests, however, that pregnant women who relieve their reflux with potent acid-suppressing drugs may precipitate unexpected complications…
Why Do Cough Lozenges Ease Indigestion?
Heartburn is hardly a new phenomenon. Humans have probably had to contend with indigestion for as long as the species has existed. Still, it often seems as though 21st century Americans suffer more of…
Will Your Heartburn Drug Cause Depression?
Proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, are widely used for a range of digestive tract difficulties. These popular pills, including esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid), omeprazole (Prilosec) and p…
Will Enteric-Coated Peppermint Oil Help Your Dig…
When you learn that an herbal medicine is helpful for some type of health condition, it may be a little tricky to sort out just which problems it helps. One reader found this especially troublesome wi…
A Pharmacist Remembers a Link Between Omeprazole…
On November 1, 2017 we sent out a People's Pharmacy Special Health Alert asking the question: "Do Acid-Suppressing Drugs Cause Cancer?" This article was based on new research from Hong Kong (Gut, onli…
Do Acid-Suppressing Drugs Cause Cancer?
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most popular drugs in the pharmacy. Physicians prescribe them to 15 million people every year for ulcers, acid reflux, heartburn and Barrett's esophagus. Th…
PPI Side Effects Continue to Scare Us To Death
Have you ever met people who have a hard time admitting they might have made a mistake? Such individuals defend their decisions and actions no matter what the consequences. It feels to us as if the Fo…
What Do You Do When Your Specialists Disagree?
Let's face it. We used to be at the mercy of our doctors. If a specialist said "jump," they expected us to inquire "how high?" If a medication was prescribed, we were expected to take it. The fewer qu…
Will Home Made Ginger Ale Ease Heartburn?
Every family has at least a few simple remedies that can help in managing everyday problems, from hangnails to heartburn. Which ones did you learn while you were growing up? One reader learned to make…
Turmeric in Milk Prevents Stomach Upset
Have you considered taking turmeric for its anti-inflammatory properties? Perhaps you've considered it as a way to ease psoriasis instead. Researchers have suggested that turmeric or its principal com…
PPIs and Death: Why Are These Acid-Suppressors s…
PPIs (aka proton pump inhibitors) remain incredibly popular. These acid-suppressing drugs help heal ulcers. That's a really good thing. For short term use, they're terrific! The trouble is that they a…
What Are the Risks of Pepcid Complete?
Managing acid reflux can be challenging. You might take a proton pump inhibitor like omeprazole (Prilosec), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or esomeprazole (Nexium). Chances are, within a few weeks your sympt…
Will a Gluten-Free Diet Help Your Heartburn Symp…
Judging from the popularity of medicines like esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) and omeprazole (Prilosec), heartburn symptoms are extremely common. Is there a better way to prevent the re…
How Breastfeeding Helps Babies Establish Good Di…
Why should new mothers consider breastfeeding? Pediatricians have been recommending that babies be breastfed exclusively for the first six months if possible. One benefit of breastfeeding is that it …
Should You Worry About Kidney Damage with PPI He…
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) are incredibly popular. By one estimate, nearly 8% of adults took a prescription drug like esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or omeprazole (Prilosec) in the …
How to Help Your Heartburn with Persimmon Tea
Heartburn is an ongoing problem for many people. Gastroenterologists may prescribe a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) such as dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), lansoprazole (Prevacid), omeprazole (Prilosec) or p…
Does Ranitidine Have the Same Risks as a PPI?
Americans must suffer from an awful lot of heartburn, because drugs to treat this painful condition have been best-sellers for a number of decades. The current favorites are proton pump inhibitors (PP…
Do People on PPIs Have More Infectious Diarrhea?
Is it smart to block the production of stomach acid with powerful proton pump inhibitor drugs (PPIs)? Millions of people take these drugs to control acid reflux, ulcers or gastroesophageal reflux dis…
How to Overcome Heartburn with Probiotics
The medications doctors prescribe most frequently for digestive problems may lead to serious side effects. As a consequence, many people would prefer to find natural ways to overcome heartburn. One co…
Can You Treat Heartburn in Pregnancy without Har…
Over the last several decades, acid-suppressing drugs have become extremely popular. Medicines like Tagamet, Pepcid, Prilosec and Nexium 24HR are available over the counter, and many people use them f…
Is It Safe to Drink Sparkling Water for Acid Ref…
Heartburn, indigestion or acid reflux all describe a similar type of discomfort: a burning pain behind the breastbone. There are numerous prescription drugs for this problem, including Nexium and Pri…
How to Help Acid Reflux Without a PPI
People with serious acid reflux are trapped in a terrible dilemma. To control their uncomfortable symptoms, their doctors prescribe a powerful acid-suppressing drug such as dexlansoprazole (Dexilant),…
Add Strokes to the Scary List of PPI Side Effect…
Proton pump inhibitors like esomeprazole, lansoprazole or omeprazole are the most popular treatments for heartburn and reflux disease. It is estimated that 15 million Americans spend $10 billion on su…
Will Heartburn Drugs Raise Risk for Dementia?
Will powerful proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) that are widely taken my millions of people every day affect the brain? Do such drugs pose a risk for dementia? This reader asks a disturbing question? Q. …
How to Prevent Heartburn with Green Tea
Many Americans take a lot of medications. Wouldn't it be wonderful to find ways to manage some common health problems with simple non-drug approaches? One reader found a way to prevent heartburn with …
Can You Fight Heartburn with Yogurt for Breakfas…
Acid-suppressing drugs like esomeprazole (Nexium) and lansoprazole (Prevacid) are popular because so many Americans have a big problem with heartburn. Although such drugs are frequently effective fo…
When Is It Best to Take Nexium?
If you are a conscientious patient, you pay attention to the instructions you may be provided on how to take your medication. Should it be taken with food or on an empty stomach? At equally spaced int…
How to Stop Prilosec by Taking Papaya
Popular heartburn medicines called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) can be great for alleviating symptoms. If a person decides it is time to stop taking one of these PPIs, however, the withdrawal can t…
Why Are Americans Now Worried About New PPI Side…
Powerful acid suppressing drugs (proton pump inhibitors or PPIs) have been a gold mine for drug companies for decades. But a new report from Germany has a lot of people nervous about a connection betw…
Should Doctors Worry About Heartburn Drug Danger…
When powerful acid-suppressing drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) were first introduced in 1989 they were promoted as highly effective and extremely safe. Doctors embraced drugs like Prilosec,…
Are Your Kidneys in Danger from Heartburn Drugs?
Here we go again. America's favorite heartburn drugs are in trouble because of a new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine (online, January 11, 2016). The research suggests that regula…
Heartburn Drugs Upset Bacterial Balance in the G…
Proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs for short, have become a mainstay as heartburn drugs. Once available only by prescription, powerful acid-suppressing drugs such as omeprazole (Prilosec), lansoprazole …
Heartburn Drugs Don’t Protect Intestines f…
Warning: This is a man bites dog story. In other words, it contradicts conventional wisdom. Physicians have long recognized that popular pain relievers like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen can harm th…