A recent study determined that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), drugs used to treat chronic acid reflux, cause the constriction of blood vessels. The finding raises concern that long term use of PPI drugs such as omeprazole and lansoprazole will lead to high blood pressure and a weakened heart.
The drugs set in motion a series of enzyme driven reactions that reduce the level of nitric oxide that normally help the blood vessels relax. Using animal models and human tissue, researchers found that PPIs reduced the ability of blood vessels to relax by over 30%.
These findings potentially add to a growing list of health risks linked to PPIs which currently include pneumonia, C diff infection, bone fractures and dangerously low blood magnesium levels (also linked to cardiovascular risk). The science-based Fast Tract Diet is designed to vanish acid reflux through diet eliminating the need for either PPIs or H2 acid-blocking drugs.
Hi Norm;
With all the health risks associated with taking PPI medications, I will add heart disease. I’m motivated to get off them. I’ve been using them for over 10 years. Your site is my guide and I thank you for putting this info out. I’ve been following a low carb diet for 2 weeks, but still have reflux, not as bad as it was though. Rebound is what they call this I believe. My question is, How long does rebound last? Thanks again!
Hi DJ,
Glad you’re taking this big step. You very well may be experiencing some rebound. This should subside for the most part in a week or two. During this time, if your using the low carb approach (as opposed to the Fast Tract Diet), it’s important to try and eat as few carbs as possible. With well established bacterial overgrowth,it takes very few carbs (bacteria can produce 10 liters of gas from 30 grams of carbs). If you can keep it to under 20 grams for a couple of days, that would help a great deal. Also be careful on the LC diet to avoid sugar alcohols and fiber. After you reach a symptom-free baseline for a week, you can think about very gradually add back some carbs. The Fast Tract Diet is another option if you want to add back some less damaging carbs. Let us know how you progress.
Norm, Thanks for the quick response. I bought your book Fast Tract Digestion; Heartburn. I know it says to follow the menu exactly for first 2 weeks but my question is this. Having little time for cooking etc. is it Ok to repeat low or no FP meal for example bacon and eggs? Btw great book.
Thanks DJ! Yes, absolutely. As long as you keep FP low, you can pick and choose recipes or used low FP foods from the tables in the appendix to make your own recipes. The recommendation is mainly to help ensure people eat low FP foods and get results.