"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease."
Thomas A. Edison

Dear friend,

I hope this note finds you well.

Write to me with your comments and questions. I make every attempt to answer your e-mails as soon as my busy schedule allows. At times this may take a few days. Please understand and be patient.

Quotes for your life:

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real
tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."
Plato

"We cannot put off living until we are ready."
Jose Ortega Y Gasset

"We find greatest joy, not in getting, but in expressing what we are.
Men do not really live for honors or for pay; their gladness is not the taking and holding, but in doing, the striving, the building, the living.

It is a higher joy to teach than to be taught. It is good to get justice, but better to do it; fun to have things but more to make them.

The happy man is he who lives the life of love, not for the honors it may bring, but for the life itself."
R.J. Baughan

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
Norman MacEwen

"We must be willing to fail and to appreciate the truth that often Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived."
M. Scott Peck (The Different Drum)

In my last newsletter I told you that the vast majority of my local patients and of those who contact me over the internet share one common complaint:

Digestive Problems

Let us continue to look at this issue and address specifically heartburn and indigestion. You will see the absolute importance of a well functioning digestive system.

Heartburn and Indigestion - the Problem with Antacids and Acid Blockers

Heartburn - a wide spread complaint among American citizens.

If you watch American TV, you have probably noticed the constant onslaught of "Ask you doctor if Nexium is right for you" advertisements.

These ads seem to suggest that heartburn and acid reflux are actually due to a Nexium deficiency. These ads appear to imply that too much acid creates disease and that Nexium is the solution.

Nowhere do these ads address the question why you would have too much acid, and why you would experience heartburn.

I always chuckle - if I am to follow these ads' logic, God must have made a major error by not adding enough Nexium to our breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Here are some interesting statistics:

Nexium, approved by the FDA in 2001 as a treatment for severe acid reflux disease, is now so commonly prescribed for heartburn and indigestion that it has become one of the nation's best-selling drugs.

Forbes.com published an article on March 16, 2004 describing global drug industry sales estimates for the year 2003, and the American market percentage.

Global Nexium sales: $3.8 billion

American Nexium sales: $3.1 billion which translates into 81% of total sales.

AstraZeneca, a British-based pharmaceutical company - the maker of Nexium - spent nearly $260 million on television and other mass-media advertising aimed at Nexium users last year.

What does Nexium do in your body?

Nexium is part of a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors or PPIs.

PPI's block the chemical "pump" needed for stomach cells to make stomach acid. In other words, PPIs block the production of stomach acid.

Among other PPIs are Prilosec (called Losec in Europe), Prevacid, Protonix, Aciphex.

What is stomach acid - HCL - good for?

The HCL Story

Up until the late 1920's and early 1930's hydrochloric acid (HCL) was prescribed for many symptoms and conditions. After that time the medical establishment discontinued its common use. We are now beginning to understand the impact HCL can have on a person's health. Numerous studies have shown that HCL secretion declines with advancing age.

Once the stomach senses food, it secretes the hormone gastrin into the blood. Gastrin affects digestion in two ways:

• It stimulates the secretion of HCL
• It causes contraction of the muscles responsible for stomach motility.

The gastric secretions in the stomach consist of protective mucus, pepsinogen, and HCl. Pepsin is the enzyme that digests food proteins.

The functions of HCL:

• converts pepsinogen to pepsin, thus induces protein digestion
• keeps the stomach sterile against orally-ingested pathogens (parasites, bacteria, virus)
• prevents bacterial or fungal overgrowth of the small intestine
• stimulates the flow of bile and pancreatic enzymes
• facilitates the absorption of a variety of nutrients.

HCL plays an important role in the total digestive picture.

Here are typical signs and symptoms that are associated with decreased gastric secretion of stomach acid (HCL):

• soreness, burning, and dryness of the mouth
• a low tolerance for dentures
• heart burn
• indigestion
• excessive gas
• bloating or distention after eating
• diarrhea or constipation
• hair loss in women
• malaise
• multiple food allergies
• nausea
• prolonged sense of fullness after eating

Other signs of reduced HCL secretion are

• abnormal intestinal flora
• chronic candidiasis
• chronic intestinal parasites
• dilated capillaries in the cheeks and nose
• swollen and inflamed tongue
• iron deficiency
• post-adolescent acne
• undigested food in the stool
• weak, peeling and cracked fingernails.

With lowered HCL the normal sequence of digestion and nutrient absorption is disrupted. HCL is required for the best absorption of folic acid, ascorbic acid, beta carotene, iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc.

HCL supplements are especially important for the elderly who are not responding to nutrients such as B vitamins and minerals.

Asthma, alcoholism, chronic skin conditions, digestive disturbances, intestinal permeability, overgrowth by pathogenic bacteria or fungi, and evidence of parasites are all conditions which may indicate impaired ability to secrete adequate HCL and therefore may benefit from HCL supplementation. Diseases related to the pancreas or gallbladder also may benefit from HCL supplementation as these organs indirectly require stomach HCL to function properly.

Heartburn

Heartburn is considered by most people to be caused by too much stomach acid (HCL). Often the opposite is the case. With deficient or absent HCL, food is not digested properly, it ferments and putrefies instead. Fermentation acids are extremely corrosive. Heartburn, bloating, gas, and indigestion follow.

We then reach for the antacids and acid blockers, such as Tums, Zantac, Tagamet, and Nexium, etc. They may relieve the symptoms, but do not address the underlying cause. Antacids and acid blockers, by definition, interfere with normal digestion, because they neutralize stomach acid or block its production altogether.

They further can cause stomach, gallbladder, and pancreas malfunction, and can lead to malnutrition. Osteoporosis is another possible side effect. Calcium is not easily utilized by the body in an alkaline environment which is created by Tums, and other antacids.

Possible side-effects associated with the use of Zantac and Tagamet, as described in the 1997 edition of the Physician's Desk Reference (PDR) include:

• severe headaches
• confusion
• depression
• blurred vision
• constipation
• diarrhea
• nausea
• vomiting
• pancreatitis
• hepatitis
• rashes
• hair loss

Possible side effects of Nexium, as listed on http://www.rxlist.com

The most frequently occurring adverse events (>1%)was:

• headache
• diarrhea
• nausea
• flatulence
• abdominal pain
• constipation
• dry mouth

Additional adverse events that were reported as possibly or probably related to NEXIUM with an incidence < 1% are listed below by body system:

Body as a Whole: abdomen enlarged, allergic reaction, asthenia, back pain, chest pain, chest pain substernal, facial edema, peripheral edema, hot flushes, fatigue, fever, flu-like disorder, generalized edema, leg edema, malaise, pain, rigors

Cardiovascular: flushing, hypertension, tachycardia

Endocrine: goiter

Gastrointestinal: bowel irregularity, constipation aggravated, dyspepsia, dysphagia, dysplasia GI, epigastric pain, eructation, esophageal disorder, frequent stools, gastroenteritis, GI hemorrhage, GI symptoms not otherwise specified, hiccup, melena, mouth disorder, pharynx disorder, rectal disorder, serum gastrin increased, tongue disorder, tongue edema, ulcerative stomatitis, vomiting

Hearing: earache, tinnitus

Hematologic: anemia, anemia hypochromic, cervical lymphoadenopathy, epistaxis, leukocytosis, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia

Hepatic: bilirubinemia, hepatic function abnormal, SGOT increased, SGPT increased

Metabolic/Nutritional: glycosuria, hyperuricemia, hyponatremia, increased alkaline phosphatase, thirst, vitamin B12 deficiency, weight increase, weight decrease

Musculoskeletal: arthralgia, arthritis aggravated, arthropathy, cramps, fibromyalgia syndrome, hernia, polymyalgia rheumatica

Nervous System/Psychiatric: anorexia, apathy, appetite increased, confusion, depression aggravated, dizziness, hypertonia, nervousness, hypoesthesia, impotence, insomnia, migraine, migraine aggravated, paresthesia, sleep disorder, somnolence, tremor, vertigo, visual field defect

Reproductive: dysmenorrhea, menstrual disorder, vaginitis

Respiratory: asthma aggravated, coughing, dyspnea, larynx edema, pharyngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis

Skin and Appendages: acne, angioedema, dermatitis, pruritus, pruritus ani, rash, rash erythematous, rash maculo-papular, skin inflammation, sweating increased, urticaria

Special Senses: otitis media, parosmia, taste loss, taste perversion

Urogenital: abnormal urine, albuminuria, cystitis, dysuria, fungal infection, hematuria, micturition frequency, moniliasis, genital moniliasis, polyuria

Visual: conjunctivitis, vision abnormal.

• Dr. Z's comment: Why would you want to put any of these substances into your body?

The saga continues:

• The Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 292, No. 16, October 27, 2004

Risk of Community-Acquired Pneumonia and Use of Gastric Acid–Suppressive Drugs

Robert J. F. Laheij, PhD of the University Medical Center St. Radboud in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Miriam C. J. M. Sturkenboom, PhD ; Robert-Jan Hassing, MSc ; Jeanne Dieleman, PhD ; Bruno H. C. Stricker, MD, PhD ; Jan B. M. J. Jansen, MD, PhD

In the study, Dr. Robert J. F. and colleagues used information in a national primary care database to analyze pneumonia rates in individuals who did or did not use acid-suppressing drugs. The analysis included 364,683 Dutch subjects and 5551 first occurrences of pneumonia.

After factoring various adjustments, the team estimated that the risk of pneumonia was 89 percent higher for current users of PPIs and 63 percent higher for current users of H2-receptor antagonists, compared with past users of these agents.

• Dr. Z's comment:

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease."
Thomas A. Edison

• Thomas Edison hit the nail on the head - Heartburn - Indigestion are not due to antacid/acid blocker deficiency. On the contrary, they have a good probability of making your life more miserable and your overall health worse.
• You must always start with yourself, your life style, your diet, the health of your digestive system.
• You must educate yourself so that you are able to make intelligent choices.
• My primary job as a doctor is to teach my clients what is useful and what is not.
• I teach from my own experience, my family's experience and the experience of countless patients and clients from around the country and the world.
• It is your job to put my recommendations to the test - or not.
• It is your job to find out what works for you, so that you have more power in your life to lead a better and healthier life.

If you don't, you might become/remain slave to our medical system which typically adresses symptom only, and rarely - if ever - addresses the most basic life style questions such as

1. What types of foods do you eat?
2. Do you digest what you eat?
3. Do you absorb what you digest?
4. What do you drink? - coffee, soft drinks, alcohol
5. How much sugar do you consume?
6. How much sugar substitutes such as aspartame?
7. Are you/have you been on any medications that can/do interfere with your digestion, you brain function, your sexual function, your balance, your vision, your hearing, your breathing, your heart function.......?
8. Do you have mercury/amalgam fillings in your teeth?
9. Are you exposed to toxic subtances at work (hair dressers/stylists , etc)?
10. Are you...
11. Do you

If you don't, you might be stuck with having to take pharmaceutical medications for symptom suppression which in turn may present you with a multitude of new, unpredictable and seemingly intractable symptoms for which you will need new medications.

Don't think I am kidding you. I have had patients walk into my clinic - especially the elderly - who are on more than a dozen medications. And they wonder why they do not feel so good.

In these cases it becomes nearly impossible to decipher what is an "original complaint" and what symptoms are secondary to the side effects of the medications.

To my knowledge, there is not a single pharmaceutical man made medication that does not have any side effects. ALL side effects are undesirable.

How do you start?

You have to start somehow.

You may want to complete our on-line Self Evaluation

Please do so again even if you have done so already, especially in the more distant past.

The Self Evaluation addresses:

DDHC - Diet, Digestion, Hypoglycemia/Blood Sugar, Candida

These are part of my daily clinical work.

• It is important that you pay attention to your own answers.
• Consider the recommendations in light of what we discussed today.
• If you consider embarking on the Four Week Health Express - there are no short cuts

Client testimonials

Thorne Research has created a line of pet supplements using the same production/ingredient standards as in their "human line". Many "human" supplements are fully usable for pets, with different dosages. Please click on the image to visit our section for your dogs, cats and horses.

Sincerely

Visit our website.

DDHC - Diet, Digestion, Hypoglycemia/Blood Sugar, Candida

Contact Dr. Z at drz@drz.org

Review some of Dr. Z's Client Testimonials.