Heartburn Meds and Your Kidneys

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the most widely prescribed class of medications in the United States, and they account for >$10 billion in annual health care costs. PPIs are frequently prescribed for heartburn symptoms associated with gastric acid reflux disease (GERD). Back in December of 2013, a study showing how PPIs inhibit absorption of vitamin b-12 compelled me to write about my thoughts on drug treatment for heartburn.

In summary, I wrote heartburn is caused by damaging foods eaten by the typical American. Any drug that alleviates heartburn allows a person to continue to eat damaging foods. These foods will eventually cause diseases even worse than GERD.

Americans eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) loaded with highly processed foods and animal products are at high risk for developing chronic diseases such as coronary artery disease (CAD) type II diabetes, autoimmune diseases, various cancers and chronic kidney disease (CKD).   It turns out that in addition to inhibiting vit B-12 absorption, PPIs may increase the risk of CKD above and beyond the risk caused by an unhealthy diet. This is just another case of a treatment for a chronic disease causing a problem elsewhere in the body.  Craziness is defined as spending 10 billion dollars a year on a drug that may increase someone’s risk to eventually need kidney dialysis.

Adopting a whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet is likely to help anyone suffering from GERD. It is also likely that following a WFPB diet will result in your physician reducing or even eliminating your PPI.   This would be a good development, regardless of what Larry the Cable Guy has to say.