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H pylori and stomach acid
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1- the length of time depends on the severity of H Pylori infection or how symptomatic a person was.
Regarding testing after antimicrobials, there’s an additional step that’s very important but not often talked about, and that is to create an environment that doesn’t allow reinfection / overgrowth. This is why I often recommend Matula tea for partners – because it’s very contagious.
So one way to create the right environment is to decrease the pH of the stomach by taking betaine HCL. H Pylori bacteria thrives in a more alkaline environment. Reducing stress, addressing thyroid hypofunction and all the other root cause factors that can lead to low stomach acid or higher pH should be addressed at the same time. Here’s a video on that if you need a refresher from the Gut Health Masterclass.
I often recommend the introduction of betaine after antimicrobials to help prevent reinfection/overgrowth until it’s time to retest.
If the results come back positive, then yes, continue or change the antimicrobial strategy while also continuing to work on the root cause factors for low stomach acid.
2- from what I recall, you have up to 45 days to retest. I don’t believe it needs to be done immediately. Please correct me if I’m mistaken.
3- Breath test is considered the gold standard test but I have often seen false negatives. I also prefer a quantitative test that shows the actual value and virulence factors instead of just positive or negative. Someone’s results could have improved a lot but still show positive which would make it appear that it didn’t work. Hope that makes sense.
And FYI – the community site was down for a short while. I couldn’t log in until late last night. Perhaps that had something to do with it.
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thank you B. Yes I felt there is some technical issue. I got what you’re saying 100% thyroid can be affected by pylori right? So treating pylori should get thyroid better if it was the cause. Actually I did breath test and I was able to see actual numbers and not only positive and negative.
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yes absolutely. It’s actually a revolving door between stomach acid/h pylori and thyroid function; one can perpetuate the other positively and negatively. Therefore, it’s important to be addressing both to gain positive momentum forward.
For example, many important nutrients for proper thyroid function such as zinc, magnesium, and iron for example, require good strong stomach acid for absorption, so with an H Pylori overgrowth leading to a reduction of stomach acid, nutrient absorption can become compromised, which can have an impact on thyroid function. So the opposite is true too. Supporting thyroid function will improve everything metabolic, including stomach acid production, digestion, motility, immunity, cellular metabolism, etc. It can be a real catch-22 situation, which is why so often simply focusing on “killing” the bacteria will fail or return if the root cause is unaddressed. The same applies to SIBO.
H pylori is endemic and has been shown to have protective effects. SIBO is simply bacteria in the wrong place. What created the overgrowth however, is what needs to be addressed in order to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Hope that makes sense.
And glad to know you have a quantitative measurement for tracking purposes.
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thank you for explaining further B. You’re a gem. When supporting stomach acid after the pylori would you wait after 45 days until retesting?
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I usually wait 45 days after H Pylori treatment to retest. The introduction of stomach acid support is not factored into the decision to retest or not.
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my understand since it’s better not to boost stomach acid while h pylori still there so it’s better to wait until retesting to make sure it’s gone.
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I use symptoms to guide the process until retesting. So if a person’s symptoms are improving during the H Pylori antimicrobials, it’s likely safe to add in stomach acid support to prevent an H Pylori reinfection.
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would you consider anything else than HCL supplement? bitters have same function?
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split up mastic gum – away from food. And bitters aren’t likely strong enough, so it wouldn’t be my choice to support stomach acid.
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but mastic gum has nothing to do with HCL, right? Any document or posts you shared about stomach acid?
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correct – mastic gum is known to work against H. pylori by inhibiting its growth, reducing inflammation, strengthening the stomach lining, and promoting mucin production. Therefore, its effect on stomach acid production is more indirect. Since mastic gum helps combat H Pylori overgrowth, stomach acid production should improve on its own over time.
You can watch the entire section on “How Digestion Works” in the Gut Health Masterclass or simply the video on stomach/stomach acid for a better understanding of how it works.
I also explain how digestive dysfunctions in the stomach… you can watch those videos in the section “How Dysfunction Happens”. Worth taking the time to watch both sections for a much better understanding. Hope it helps clarify things for you.
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you’re a star and giving from heart is what makes this community standing out and shining provided by your knowledge. Thank you
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❤️❤️
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