Results: Nearly HALF of the Nexium subjects said they experienced heartburn and other similar symptoms over the final month of the study. Of course, they were unaware of the switch. The placebo was taken for 12 weeks, while the Nexium subjects received the drug for eight weeks, then were given the placebo for the remaining four weeks. The Copenhagen team divided 120 healthy people into two groups to receive either Nexium or a placebo. Spreen’s acid- suppression chain of events. Spreen: “So look what’s happening – the short term ‘fix’ assures that the problem will continue (and even worsen).”Īnd now, researchers at Copenhagen University have kindly conducted a study that illustrates Dr. The GE junction relaxes, allowing more acid to slip past and irritate the esophagus.ĭr. Spreen explains that the body reacts logically by saving the energy required to protect the esophagus from acid. And when the acid is neutralized or suppressed, the burning stops. Problems arise when acid goes where it shouldn’t go – that is, when it slips upwards, past the entrance to the stomach (the gastroesophageal junction) and irritates the esophagus.

After all, you couldn’t digest food without it. In previous e-Alerts, HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., has noted that gastric acid is not your enemy. If you were a drug salesperson, imagine how successful you might be if the drug you were selling was very well known, backed up by massive advertising campaigns, had a reputation for effectiveness, and – frosting on the cake – tended to actually CAUSE the very symptoms your drug was supposed to treat.Īnd how much is a boatload? One out of every 20 people in the developed world is taking Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, or one of the other proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) that are supposed to curb heartburn.

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