Health and Wellness: You Have H. Pylori -- Now What?

Don't miss any of Bottom Line's Daily Health News. Add our address,
dailyhealthnews@news.bottomlinepublishing.com,
to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here.

April 19, 2011

In This Issue...

The Memory Miracle Your Doctor Doesn't Know About
You Have H. Pylori -- Now What?
Perfect Painkillers...
100-Inning Limit for Young Pitchers
Verbal Diarrhea

The Memory Miracle Your Doctor Doesn't Know About

Experts are alarmed by the sharp rise in the rates of cognitive decline in this country. If you plan on living into your 80s (which most of us do), then your chances of suffering from cognitive decline are as high as 50%. It doesn’t have to be this way. There’s a breakthrough solution that could change all the odds, keeping your mind sharp and your memories intact as you age.

Keep Reading...

You Have H. Pylori -- Now What?

You’ve been bothered by chronic indigestion, perhaps leading your doctor to order an endoscopy so he/she could look down your esophagus and into your stomach with a camera, and, give you some tests. The finding? For many, it’s that their digestive system is harboring the intestinal bacteria H. pylori... now what?

In 1982, when H. pylori was discovered to be at the root of stomach ulcers, the medical community celebrated, immediately deciding that the news meant ulcers could be cured by an intense course of antibiotics to kill off all those nasty bacteria. But now we know that a wise treatment path for people with H. pylori is not so straightforward. Yes, the bacteria are linked to a host of gastrointestinal (GI) problems, including ulcers and even gastric cancer. But many of us carry H. pylori around in our systems without ill effects, and doctors have found that eliminating it entirely is associated with other problems, including esophageal cancer.

Friend or Foe?

Should we kill H. pylori every time we detect it? Probably not, says Eric Yarnell, ND, a clinical supervisor at Bastyr University’s Center for Natural Health in Seattle. When he sees patients with H. pylori-related complaints, including inflammation, pain and other symptoms, his goal is to restore comfort by replenishing the stomach’s natural defenses against the bacteria overgrowth that has thrown the system out of balance... but he aims for full elimination of the particular bacterium itself only in cases of recurrent illness or associated cancers.

Should You Follow Doctors’ Orders?

Conventional medical treatment of H. pylori infection uses a 14-day course of an antibiotic (usually clarithromycin or amoxicillin) to remove H. pylori from the stomach... as well as the antimicrobial metronidazole (Flagyl)... and either a bismuth-salt preparation to blunt inflammation and soothe the tissue or (more likely) an antacid proton pump inhibitor (PPI), such as esomeprazole (Nexium), omeprazole (Prilosec) or lansoprazole (Prevacid). If this triple therapy fails to make your symptoms go away, your doctor will next try instead "quadruple therapy" -- tetracycline, metronidazole, a PPI and the bismuth compound for an additional 14 days. Many doctors also will prescribe the PPIs even longer, up to an additional three weeks.

Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND, disagrees with this approach. He warns that these regimens bring significant side effects. If you take a PPI for longer than two weeks, you reduce your stomach’s ability to produce adequate amounts of acid to digest food and also reduce its innate ability to protect you from dangerous pathogens. Antibiotics indiscriminately suppress many beneficial bacteria as well as the ones making you sick and as a result can lead to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of H. pylori, paradoxically placing you at greater risk for digestive disorders.

A Better Way: Natural Therapies

Rather than attempting to eradicate H. pylori, some doctors may seek to get it back in "balance" by first calming irritation and inflammation and then restoring proper stomach function, including adequate acid production to stabilize H. pylori and prevent its overgrowth.

Dr. Rubman says that this safe and natural approach may include...

Bismuth-based therapy. Bismuth salts, originally believed to simply coat ulcers and physically block erosive stomach acid, now are known to directly attack and impair H. pylori.

Digestive enzymes. Once irritation is resolved, hydrochloric acid (usually the supplement betaine hydrochloride) helps reestablish efficient acid production, which may have been interrupted by the infection but is necessary for normal digestion.

Manuka honey. Evidence supporting the use of this New Zealand honey is largely anecdotal, but you may find that taking some before meals and before bed, helps combat H. pylori. Discuss with your doctor how much to take if you want to try this therapy.

Mastic gum. This natural resin from the sap of the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus), which grows mainly on the Greek island of Chios, inhibits H. pylori growth, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine. Capsules can be found at iHerb.com and in health-food stores.

Broccoli sprouts. A small Japanese trial suggests that broccoli sprouts activate protective enzymes. Unlike mature heads, the sprouts contain high levels of sulforaphane, a potent natural weapon against H. pylori colonization. These can be eaten in salads or on sandwiches as a way to help keep H. pylori in check. (See Daily Health News, September 3, 2009, for more on broccoli sprouts.)

Bovine lactoferrin. Studies show that this protein from cows (consumed as a powder added to shakes and smoothies) improves the effectiveness of other therapies against H. pylori. It can be purchased at iHerb.com and in some health-food stores.

Rather than eradicating H. pylori entirely, a better approach is to tame the bacteria so it can play a healthful, not harmful, role in your digestive system, Dr. Rubman said. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience these symptoms: Vomit blood or what looks like coffee grounds... having bloody or tarry black stools... or experiencing sudden, severe and persistent abdominal pain.

While you may not be able to eliminate exposure to H. pylori, Dr. Rubman points out that people who maintain a healthy lifestyle -- a diet of nutrient-rich whole foods, no smoking, regular exercise, alcohol in moderation only, etc. -- are more likely to have robust immune systems and less likely to develop active infections or discomfort even if H. pylori is in their systems.

Source(s):

Andrew L. Rubman, ND, founder and director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. www.SouthburyClinic.com.

Eric Yarnell, ND, clinical supervisor, Bastyr Center for Natural Health, core faculty member, Bastyr University, Seattle. Dr. Yarnell is currently president of the Botanical Medicine Academy in Seattle, chief financial officer of Healing Mountain Publishing and vice president of Heron Botanicals, Inc. He has published and coauthored numerous books and articles.

Perfect Painkillers...

Work in seconds, cost 23 cents and heal your gut!

We're all trying alternatives now that painkilling drugs are proving so deadly. There's got to be a better way! And now there is, thanks to a brilliant physician named Dr. Mark Stengler. In a famous case that's making fellow doctors gasp in admiration, Dr. Stengler's patient, Todd, could barely believe how fast his arthritis agony disappeared after all those drugs had failed him.

Read on for more details...

100-Inning Limit for Young Pitchers

In past generations, overuse injuries from tennis, basketball, baseball and other sports were pretty much the province of professional athletes and aging men and women. Now, because of kids’ aggressive sports schedules, pediatricians and orthopedic physicians report that they are seeing "wear and tear" injuries in children of younger and younger ages, which is of great concern for those young bodies.

In fact, new research from the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) in Birmingham, Alabama, has found a direct correlation between the number of innings played by the pitchers in youth baseball and the likelihood of injury in years to come. Based on the findings, researchers hope that youth leagues will establish and enforce a 100-inning-per-year limit -- and I’ll weigh in here and say that I’d like to see similar, commonsense standards applied to other youth sports as well.

The Real Boys of Summer Play All Year

"Years ago, most youngsters played organized baseball only in Little League and school teams," says Glenn Fleisig, PhD, lead author of the pitching study and research director for ASMI. "But a sharp rise in travel teams is giving kids the opportunity to play organized baseball more months of the year." Today, a young pitcher might pitch 30 or 40 games a year (at six innings per game, that’s as many as 240 innings) -- compared with 10 games a year in previous generations -- which has led to an increased number of elbow and shoulder injuries. And these are kids in primary and secondary school!

The study participants included 481 boys between the ages of nine and 14 who were followed for a decade. They were asked, yearly, whether they had pitched... if so, how many innings... whether they had had an elbow or shoulder injury that resulted in surgery or retirement from baseball. Researchers found that boys who pitched more than 100 innings in a year were 3.5 times more likely to be injured. Playing pitcher and catcher in the same game also appeared to increase the risk for injury.

Little Pitchers

Pitching brings stress to the bones, tendons and ligaments of the elbows and shoulder at any age -- and there’s a reason why childhood and adolescence are called "the tender years." "Kids’ bones are still growing, with soft areas at the ends of their bones -- the so-called growth plates," said Dr. Fleisig. "Young pitchers are especially susceptible to injuries at the growth plates of the elbow and shoulder."

Most elbow injuries involve the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow, known as the Tommy John injury after the professional pitcher who tore this ligament in the 1970s and then made a very unlikely comeback after innovative surgery to replace it. Shoulder injuries usually involve the rotator cuff tendons or the shoulder capsule (the ligaments that wrap around the upper arm bone connecting it to the shoulder socket).

Safe Pitching

If you know and care about young pitchers (male or female), you’ll want to encourage them along with their coaches to consider these guidelines offered by Dr. Fleisig:

Stop when tired. Pitchers who end up needing surgery as a result of overuse tend to be the ones who kept pitching when they were fatigued.

Rest is important. Pitchers should avoid overhead throwing completely for at least two to three months a year -- although a four-month break from competitive baseball pitching every year is preferred.

Keep track of innings pitched. Learn and adhere to the recommended limits for pitch counts and days of rest (one to four days, depending on the number of pitches). You can find details on the ASMI Web site, http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/position_statement.htm.

Do not pitch on multiple teams with overlapping seasons unless you can keep to the guidelines above.

Learn and use good throwing mechanics (just as pro pitchers do). There are many young pitchers who are effective on the mound -- for now -- but whose pitching form is almost guaranteed to overstress their arms and shoulders. Working with a fitness coach and pitching coach/instructor is a good idea.

Avoid using radar guns to frequently measure the speed of young pitchers’ throws. This may lead them to focus too heavily on speed at the expense of protecting their arms.

Do not pitch and catch in the same game.

Don’t "push through" pain. If a pitcher complains of pain in his elbow or shoulder, get an evaluation from a sports medicine physician.

Encourage young pitchers to have fun playing a variety of sports so that they strengthen different combinations of muscle groups and avoid overuse.

"The issue of overuse comes largely from playing the same sport year-round," said Dr. Fleisig. "For children to be as healthy as possible, they need athletic activity, but they develop best if they engage in multiple activities using a variety of muscles rather than specializing in one sport or position."

Source(s):

Glenn S. Fleisig, PhD, research director, American Sports Medicine Institute, adjunct professor, department of biomedical engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and pitching safety consultant for Little League Baseball & Softball.

Verbal Diarrhea

"Don't tell me what it's 'like,' tell me what it is."

"That's the thought that goes through my head too many times a day during conversations and when listening to television and radio. I can't stand it when "like" peppers speech at inappropriate times, as in "I felt, like, very frustrated during this morning's meeting," or "do you want to, like, go out to lunch next Tuesday?" Ugh!

Health and Wellness

April 19, 2011

You Have H. Pylori -- Now What?

No comments:

Post a Comment

Mind Mart

Squidoo : Lenses by MindMart