Listen to Your Innards

 

Do you recall the commercial about the wife cooking something on the stove when the husband comes in behind her. She explains she made his favorite meal, and he moans that it always gives him heartburn. So she, smilingly, holds up a box of some type of antacid and tells him the solution to his problem with food, is a drug.

Does this make sense to you?

Drug companies and doctors are telling us that since they have tested these drugs for a few weeks or months in the lab, that they are now safe for us to take them, each day, of each week, of each month, of each year.

Does this make sense to you?

Well, it does not make medical sense to me, though I can see it makes economic sense to the drug companies. When Pepcid ad Tagamet went to over the counter sales in 1995 the antacid sales jumped 15% (1995).  The overall category of antacids which includes many types of drugs is worth Billions each year in sales and are some of the most popular drugs sold.

Acid is a necessary part of our digestion and insufficient acid is being investigated for its association with vitamin B12 deficiencies and cancer rates.

From a large study in Britain we know that brain size is correlated with vitamin B12 levels. It was found that lower vitamin B12 levels (even within the normal range) were associated with more shrinkage of the brain.

There is also an association of vitamin B12 and pain.

So my advice is to find out which (preferably healthy, unprocessed) foods agree with your particular digestion.  Avoid the ones which give you heartburn. It is reasonable if you need to take medication for an occasional indiscretion, but the regular use of a medication to support poor eating habits is not a good idea.