Long-term, chronic use of prescription heartburn meds linked to dementia risk
Don’t CHOOSE between heartburn… and your precious memories!
It’s a multi-billion-dollar business…
And it’s one that Big Pharma isn’t giving up easily on… no matter how DIRE the warnings.
Remember in 2022, when the American Gastroenterological Association BACKPEDALED on its recommendations regarding the use of those heartburn meds known as PPIs?
The agency decided the risks were SO high… including heart disease, stroke, bone breaks, and chronic kidney disease… it would be better for docs to get their patients OFF the meds altogether…
Or, at the very least, to begin TAPERING DOWN the dosage.
But so far, the market for these meds… which are used to treat conditions like acid reflux and GERD… hasn’t shown any signs of SLOWING DOWN or STOPPING.
Well, maybe this latest news will be enough to make docs THINK TWICE about prescribing these acid-blocker meds…
And patients do a DOUBLE TAKE.
Because according to a just-out study published in the journal Neurology…
Long-term use of prescription PPIs is linked to a significant risk of dementia!
Friend, I know that having your dinner make a REAPPEARANCE in your throat is painful… and, quite frankly, pretty disgusting.
And make no mistake, that “reflux” of acid from your stomach shouldn’t be IGNORED… as it’s been linked to higher incidences of esophageal cancer.
But why should you have to SACRIFICE your precious memories… in order to SUPPRESS the acid burn?
Here’s the problem with those PPIs…
They were NEVER meant to be taken over a long period of time.
The official recommendation is for short-term use only – which means just a month or two.
But too often, patients START taking them… and KEEP taking them… for YEARS on end!
And some folks wind up taking them INDEFINITELY.
Some folks can’t EVER seem to quit PPIs… because of how bad the “rebound” reflux is once they stop.
Here’s a good reason to find your way off these acid-blocking drugs anyway, anyhow…
Study participants who took them for more than 4.4 years were 33% more likely to develop dementia than those who didn’t take them at all.
Now, that doesn’t prove that taking the drugs CAUSED the dementia…
But the correlation between the two things is just a little too close for my comfort.
If you’re experiencing acid that’s coming back to haunt you… work with a doc to figure out what the underlying cause is.
The assumption in mainstream medicine is that it’s TOO MUCH acid… but there’s some evidence indicating that reflux could be a sign of TOO LITTLE acid!
Our stomach acid levels actually tend to WANE as we get older…
And in that case, you’ll want to help balance out your gastric juices to make sure they STAY PUT…
And do the job they’re supposed to do… WHERE they’re supposed to do it.
One ingredient that helps support healthy stomach acid levels is betaine HCl… which you can take with the digestive enzyme pepsin.
There’s also some really exciting evidence that shows that taking melatonin can help your body make the stomach acid it needs to keep indigestion at bay.
In pursuit of the truth,
Dr. Marc Micozzi M.D., Ph.D.