Using S boulardii for Acid Reflux and Heartburn
There is a lot of information in this post about S boulardii and other things related to acid reflux and heartburn. I include cross references to sources you can check yourself. The quest for a cure for acid reflux and heartburn continues, but my stomach is improving!
High Carbohydrate Diet Associated with GERD
In a study of obese women, GERD is closely related to high dietary carbohydrate intake and insulin resistance. GERD symptoms were resolved on a high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet in 10 weeks!
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/apt.13784
This is very cool.
I have been on a low-carbohydrate / high-fat diet most of the time for 10 years, and have been really strict for the last 7 months. I still have acid reflux and heartburn. So the cause of my acid reflux is apparently more than just eating carbohydrates.
S boulardii may help
In my previous post http://www.alifeinharmony.me/diet/what-im-doing-about-acid-reflux-and-heartburn/ I mentioned that I would try lemon juice, bitters, and Saccharomyces boulardii, a probiotic that may help cure low stomach acid by killing H. pylori.
The S boulardii capsules I have contain 5 billion organisms per capsule. The maker recommends 1-2 capsules 2-3 times a day. I did 2 capsules on Monday, then did 2 capsules 3 times a day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. By Thursday, NO STOMACH PROBLEMS!!! But I had constipation, bloating, flatulence, and gas.
I sent searching for information on how much to take, side effects of S boulardii, and how long I would need to take it for the good effect on my stomach to be permanent.
Here is a terrific summary of scientific studies on Saccharomyces boulardii.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296087/
I found out that it takes 3 days for a particular dosage to reach full effect in your digestive tract. It takes 3-5 days for it to clear after you stop taking it. I also found out that constipation is a rare side effect of this yeast (S boulardii is a relative of brewer’s yeast). Lucky me.
One of the studies referenced was for killing H. pylori. It appears that S boulardii may not be effective by itself, but does make a standard triple therapy more effective (proton pump inhibitor plus 2 antibiotics for a week or two). This was a typical study for curing dyspepsia using that protocol:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199812243392601
The dosage of S boulardii was inconsistent between the various studies and so was the amount of time to take it.
On Friday, I decided to decrease the dosage to 2 capsules to see what would happen. By Sunday, the constipation, gas, etc. was still there, but greatly improved. But stomach acid problems were back, though they seem less now than before. Lemon juice and bitters remain effective.
My current plan is to try the lower amount of S boulardii for a week and see how I feel. If the constipation problems go away, then I will try gradually increasing the dosage. My thought is to see if I can tolerate the 6 capsules a day for a couple of weeks, then taper off and see if my stomach is cured.
Some suggestions from others who claim to have cured low stomach acid
Some good suggestions here for curing low stomach acid (though I note the doctor does not say how long to follow his protocol for it to be effective) and others for getting rid of H. pylori:
http://www.doctorschierling.com/blog/h-pylori-too-much-stomach-acid-or-too-little
And finally a post by a lady who claims to have cured low stomach acid after about a year. She used mindfulness, drinking very little fluid with meals (but plenty in between), and supporting digestion with bitters and apple cider vinegar. This lady also suggests making sure you are not deficient in some important vitamin or mineral. She was the first person to give me any idea of how long it might take to cure acid reflux and heartburn.
https://autoimmunewellness.com/3-ways-combat-low-stomach-acid-support-digestion-naturally/
Something else I learned is that if you have low stomach acid, you are probably also malnourished due to your food not being properly digested. All these years doctors have advised me against taking vitamins because “it is a waste of money”, even though they were prescribing various drugs for acid reflux! Well, maybe all these years of taking vitamins has been a good thing for me, even necessary.
And finally, fermented veggies! I am finally learning to make home made sauerkraut (which is completely different from store bought and oh so yummy). This has lots of probiotics to support good gut health.
So my protocol for improving acid reflux and heartburn for the next week is:
- Have lemon juice before meals
- Eat slowly and mindfully, appreciating the food as I eat it.
- Do not have drinks with meals
- Drink plenty of water in between meals
- Supplement with S boulardii (and continue my standard multi-vitamin, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D supplements)
- Use bitters between meals if I feel any discomfort
- Start a batch of sauerkraut fermenting
