By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

May 11, 2012

• Finding the bug hiding in your gut before it becomes cancer
• Maybe your ulcer isn’t from stress
• Supporting your body during antibiotic and radiation therapy

I recently got a letter from a reader who was diagnosed with a common stomach bacteria – one that over 50% of the population has as well – but with a sad twist.

It wasn’t caught in time. So it turned into cancer.

A completely avoidable cancer, I might add.

I’ll address his specific question in a minute. But first, I want to make sure you are aware of these bacteria, as well.

For years stress was flagged as the primary cause of stomach problems. And if you were diagnosed with an ulcer, you drank milk by the gallon and tried to relax. Often to no avail.

But now we know that although stress may contribute, it’s not the cause, of most stomach problems. Rather it is most often a gut bacteria called Heliobacter pylori (h. pylori). And here’s what you need to know to about it…

H. pylori lives in the lining of the stomach and is the cause of most ulcers and many cases of stomach inflammation (chronic gastritis). About 80% of the people with h. pylori have no symptoms.

In fact, h. pylori is a bacteria that likely finds a home in your gut as a child. And you could live out your natural lives together in perfect harmony. Just like we do with most of the bacteria we encounter in our lives.

But when symptoms and discomfort crop up, such as stomach pains, nausea, bloating, belching and sometimes vomiting, it’s time for the bacteria to move out. Or at least, to get back under control.

The sooner you identify an overgrowth of h. pylori, the better. Antibiotics can kill it, or at least, cut it back to a proportion that your system will be able to handle.

Then, of course, after the antibiotic treatment is done, you can re-establish your beneficial gut flora. End of story. However, if left completely untreated, even when it becomes symptomatic, h. pylori can cause stomach cancer, and may even be a factor in pancreatic cancer.

You see, stomach cancer is the seventh-leading cause of cancer deaths in the country – and considering that h. pylori is the leading cause of stomach cancer, I consider this an extremely avoidable cancer. But it does take some effort and awareness to make sure you handle h.pylori before you get into the danger zone.

First, if you aren’t having any stomach problems, and you want to keep it that way, consider incorporating some of the foods that prevent h. pylori from colonizing, such as: green tea, red wine, broccoli sprouts, garlic, probiotics (in food or as supplements) and flavonoid-rich fruits and vegetables.

If h.pylori has been found in your system as part of a routine GI evaluation, but you have no related stomach issues, you can approach it naturally, and take precautions to make sure you don’t end up with a problem. Here is the regimen I recommend to create a less hospitable environment for h.pylori to thrive and grow:

• Licorice: Comes in standardized tablets of 400-450mg, take twice a day
• Mastic gum: 500 mg twice a day
• Ginger: I recommend raw ginger or pickled ginger from the Asian supermarket, served with meals and/or brewed into tea. Take with every meal.
• Zinc Carnosine: I recommend Zinlori 75, 75 mg. twice a day

However, if you have been struggling with chronic stomach problems, and have never been tested for h. pylori, you’ll want to see your doctor and get tested as soon as possible. If it is, indeed, your problem, you’ll want to address it as quickly as possible to avoid stomach cancer.

I do support convention treatment with antibiotics in this case – because the option of developing stomach cancer is worse than the side effects of the treatment. But do make an effort to replace the good bacteria in your gut when the treatment is done. (Choosing a Probiotic)

And if you are undergoing treatment for h. pylori – or worse, for resulting stomach cancer, I recommend the following protocol to help support your system in recovering and rebounding as quickly as possible…

The reader who inspired this issue shared that he is undergoing treatment for h. pylori. But after taking antibiotics for two weeks, he was found to have MALT lymphoma – a common cancerous complication of h. pylori. He wrote to tell me that he didn’t want to have radiation, but wanted to resolve the condition naturally, and asked if there was anything he could do.

While I also try to use conventional methods as a last resort, you do always need to weigh the pros and cons of every form of available treatment for a problem.

In this case, without knowing all the history or specific details, I would probably recommend going forward with the radiation. The only alternative after that is surgery, which is much more invasive and carries a greater risk of complications and infection. But I would need to see this reader as a patient before making that conclusion.

That said, this supportive daily regimen will help the rest of your body if you follow it just before and after the treatment:

• COQ10 (as ubiquinol) 200-300 mg
• Glutamine in powder or capsule form, 6-10 gms
• Vitamins A 5-10,000 IU daily
• Vitamin D 2,000 IU daily (higher if tested levels are 30 or below
• Vitamin C 3-6000 mg daily in divided doses
• Vitamin E 800-1200 IU (as a mixed tocopherol/tocotrienol).

Also if you can find a doctor to administer glutathione in an IV, that would be great. If not, begin N-acetyl cysteine 1200 mg in two divided doses, 600 mg twice a day with alpha-lipoic acid 100mg twice a day.

If your doctor doesn’t want you to take these before the procedure, you can take them after the procedure for 7 days and then stop. By then, your gut lining mucosa should be restored. Also, if you can, avoid barbecued red meats and preserved red meats (meaning anything with nitrates, which convert to cancer-causing nitrosamines) and you will have taken a major cancer instigator out of your diet. (Cancer and Eggs for Breakfast)

In the next issue, I’ll discuss some other actions you can take to improve your gut health. I think you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel when your gut is in good working order.

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References:

1. Shadi Sadeghi Yarandi, et. al., Overlapping gastroesophageal reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome: Increased dysfunctional symptoms, World J Gastroenterol. 2010 March 14; 16(10): 1232–1238. Published online 2010 March 14.
2. Lee, S.et. al., Phytoceuticals: mighty but ignored weapons against Helicobacter pylori infection