Acid Stomach (heartburn)
Should You Be Taking Vitamin Supplements?
Vitamins were among the most exciting discoveries of the early 20th century. Since then, however, doctors have been expressing a lot of skepticism about the value of taking vitamin supplements. Last y…
Show 1360: The Pros & Perils of OTC Drugs
In this broadcast, we answer listeners’ questions about over-the-counter drugs. If you have bought a medicine without a prescription, how do you use it wisely? Dr. Stefanie Ferreri, Distinguished Pr…
Will Apple Cider Vinegar Cure Your Heartburn?
Do you get uncomfortable after a big meal? A burning sensation under the breastbone after eating is common. If you have ever suffered from this type of indigestion, you may want to know how to cure yo…
PPIs and Kidney Damage | Nephrologist Spanks GI …
Many specialists live in silos. By that we mean they hang out with other experts just like themselves. They reinforce each other’s understanding of the world. These specialists may not spend a lot o…
How Can You Ease Heartburn Symptoms?
If you suffer from heartburn, you might describe it as a burning sensation under the breastbone. People with recurrent reflux can usually also talk about the types of foods that trigger their discomfo…
Do You Swallow a Spoonful of Mustard for Heartbu…
Do you suffer from heartburn? Many people do, judging from the popularity of acid-suppressing drugs such as esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or omeprazole (Prilosec). Antacids like Maalo…
Multiple Strategies Are Needed for Stopping Hear…
When your doctor hands you a prescription, do you ask about the exit strategy? Most people don't, but perhaps you should. Some drugs are very difficult to quit once you have been taking them for a whi…
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…
Show 1292: Natural Ways to Treat Heartburn (Arch…
Whether we call it indigestion, reflux, sour stomach or heartburn, this condition is painful. When acid from the stomach splashes up into the lower esophagus, it burns. Even though heartburn doesn’t…
Can You Get Off a PPI Without Suffering Heartbur…
Have you ever tried to get off a PPI like esomeprazole (Nexium) or lansoprazole (Prevacid)? If so, you might have experienced rebound heartburn. People who encounter this problem–and many do–may f…
Can Taking a Probiotic Product Help You Sleep Be…
If you have heard about taking a probiotic product, a pill or beverage containing millions or billions of beneficial bacteria, chances are you were thinking about digestive health. Some people take su…
Show 1316: Protecting Your Digestive Tract
This week on our nationally syndicated public radio show, we invite gastroenterologist Nicholas Shaheen into our studio to answer your questions about protecting your digestive tract. He is a national…
Be Prepared for Summer with The People’s P…
When was the last time you updated your first aid kit? Now that summer is in full swing, it is high time to make sure you are well equipped for any contingency. Besides all the normal equipment, we ar…
How to Help Acid Reflux Without a PPI
People with serious acid reflux face a terrible dilemma. To control their uncomfortable symptoms, their doctors prescribe a powerful acid-suppressing drug such as dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), pantopraz…
Are Heartburn Drugs (PPIs) Linked to Stomach Can…
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) such as esomeprazole, lansoprazole and omeprazole are extremely popular heartburn medicines. More than 110 million prescriptions for proton pump inhibitors are filled eac…
Can Treated Licorice (DGL) Ease IBS Symptoms?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has long been a mystery to doctors. Sufferers experience cramps, bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea and other digestive distress. Until recently gastroenterologists…
Are the Health Benefits of Buttermilk Like Those…
Do you consume dairy products, or do you try to avoid them? Many people find that the lactose in milk makes them uncomfortable. Scientists report, however, that probiotic products can reduce those sig…
Show 1224: What Is the Best Way to Manage Your H…
Bellyaches and heartburn are among the most common problems driving people to the pharmacy to seek relief. Heartburn, a burning sensation behind the sternum, happens when acid escapes from the stomach…
Dr. Marvin Singh Tells You How to Establish Heal…
Integrative gastroenterology combines the perspective of conventional allopathic medicine with a holistic approach to patients and their lives–mind, body and soul. Sometimes adjusting diet or lifest…
Show 1179: What Should You Do About Digestive Di…
Have you ever had horrible heartburn or a really bad bellyache? Most of us have experienced digestive distress at one time or another. When do you need to seek medical attention for your problem? What…
Is Zantac – Ranitidine and Cancer the Tip of t…
There was a time when Zantac (ranitidine) was the world’s most successful drug. This heartburn and anti-ulcer medicine hit the market in 1983. It was a cash cow for Glaxo, earning billions. We heard…
How Can You Take Control of Your Digestive Healt…
The conventional view of the digestive system was that it took care of digestion and wasn’t involved very much with the rest of the body’s systems. Now, though, science has shown that the gut and …
Can You Use D-Limonene to Overcome Heartburn?
Have you suffered from heartburn? Many people report that they feel a characteristic burning sensation under the sternum sometimes. Others experience this problem more frequently. You can manage occas…
How Does Baking Soda in Water Fight Swelling?
A half teaspoon of baking soda in water is a time-honored simple home remedy for indigestion. Many people with occasional heartburn find that this inexpensive approach works well. We have also heard f…
What Are Downsides to New Secret Weapon for Hear…
If you frequently suffer from indigestion or "acid stomach," you might wish for a new secret weapon for heartburn. One reader was excited to discover a "new" drug, not realizing that it is far from ne…
Could Famotidine Have a Surprising New Use?
Scientists and physicians have been scrambling to find drugs that could help alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19. To date, there is no medicine that has been approved to treat this pandemic disease, an…
Can You Relieve Heartburn With Vinegar?
Some household products turn up time after time in remedies. People have been extremely inventive in finding multiple uses for Vicks VapoRub, Noxzema and Milk of Magnesia. But perhaps no item has been…
How a Little Girl Overcame Her Constipation
Digestive woes such as heartburn and constipation are tricky enough to manage when an adult suffers from them. When the person suffering is a child, the situation becomes even more serious. A mother d…
Show 1191: What Are Your Favorite Home Remedies?
For centuries, people have been using home remedies as their first treatment for common ailments. With easy access to over-the-counter drugs, though, people have turned away from home remedies in the …
Apple Cider Vinegar Is a Weird Remedy for Heartb…
Do you have a favorite remedy for heartburn? Some people rely on drugstore antacids such as Tums or Maalox. Others take medication such as cimetidine (Tagamet) or omeprazole (Prilosec). But plenty of …
Can Prelief Prevent Indigestion from Coffee?
Like our reader below we are coffee lovers. There is nothing like a hot cup of Joe on a cold morning. Fortunately, we do not suffer indigestion from coffee, but this person does. Is there anything tha…
What Are the Risks of PPIs for Children?
Doctors love proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Acid suppressing drugs like esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid), omeprazole (Prilosec) and pantoprazole (Protonix) are widely to prescribed to ad…
Will Intermittent Fasting Give You Heartburn?
If you have trouble with acid reflux, you probably try to avoid foods, beverages and situations that can trigger heartburn symptoms. Stretching out on the sofa after enjoying Thanksgiving dinner might…
Show 1187: Are Supplements Really a Waste of Tim…
Last summer, a major review of research on supplements to improve heart health concluded that most do nothing to prevent heart attacks, strokes or premature death from cardiovascular causes (Annals of…
Could Soft Drinks Be Killing You?
People who consume a lot of soft drinks may be putting themselves at risk. That's the conclusion from a large study not in the US but in Europe (JAMA, Sept. 3, 2019). The EPIC study stands for Europea…
Must You Take Acid Blockers For the Rest of Your…
Many people discover that it can be challenging to stop proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). That’s because powerful acid-suppressing drugs can trigger rebound hyperacidity when they are stopped suddenly.…
Do PPI-Type Acid-Suppressing Drugs Cause Allergi…
Most animals make strong stomach acid (hydrochloric acid or HCl). Sharks make stomach acid. So do snakes, camels, cows and hamsters. Of course, humans also make stomach acid. Was it all a big mistake?…
Thyroid Trouble Was Behind Stomach Problems
Doctors often attribute stomach problems like indigestion or discomfort after eating to excess stomach acid. Usually, they prescribe a PPI such as esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or ome…
Falling Asleep with Zolpidem | Waking up with He…
What do you do when you are caught on the horns of a dilemma? We describe such situations a couple of ways: “Between the devil and the deep blue sea” is one. A similar saying goes: “between a ro…
Does Your Microbiota Change When You Take Nexium…
The "royal we" may be more accurate than we imagine, and not only for individuals of noble descent. All of us might practice thinking of ourselves a a collective. That is because each of us contains m…