Salmonella Poisoning Outbreak Aggravated by Antacids, Bottom Line’s Daily Health News Reports

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The mysterious and yet unsolved outbreak of Salmonella poisoning, this summer, still tentatively attributed to the consumption of raw tomatoes and certain hot peppers, could have posed less of a scare if the use of acid suppressing medications such as proton pump inhibitors (PPI) by both adults and children wasn’t so prevalent.

According to the August 5^th issue of the online newsletter, Bottom Line’s Daily Health News (www.bottomlinesdailyhealthnews.com), published by Bottom Line Publications (www.bottomlinesecrets.com), people who pop antacids like candy increase their susceptibility to food-borne infection. While too much stomach acid can be unpleasant, an adequate level is necessary to “kill the germs unavoidably in the food and drink that we all consume,” according to Leo Galland, MD, quoted in the article, “Acid Lowering Drugs Can Increase Risk of Food Poisoning.” Galland is an internist in private practice and director of the Foundation for Integrated Medicine in New York City

Galland explains that, “Using drugs that take away the acid can weaken our defenses against acquiring a food-borne intestinal infection.” Ironically, suppressing the stomach’s naturally-generated acid may accelerate the growth of yeast and bacteria, aggravating symptoms like bloating, belching or heartburn. It also notes that links have been made between the use of acid-suppressors and other medical conditions, including an increase in community-acquired pneumonia and a significant occurrence of hip fractures among people taking a PPI for longer than one year. To read the entire article, go to www.bottomlinesecrets.com/salmonella.

“Most consumers are probably not aware of this link between a greater incidence of harmful Salmonella poisoning and the prevalent use of antacids, or that there are several natural stomach-soothing substances that Dr. Galland recommends as an alternative to either over-the-counter or prescription antacids,” said Marty Edelston, founder and CEO of Boardroom, Inc., Bottom Line Publications’ parent company.

The Daily Health News article advises people who are dependent upon acid-suppressing drugs to seek their doctor’s advice about slowly weaning themselves off their prescriptions. It lists several natural stomach-soothing substances that are readily available in popular vitamin and health food stores. For a free online subscription to Daily Health News go to www.bottomlinesdailyhealthnews.com.