What is H.Pylori? I Signs and Symptoms I How to test for H.Pyrori? I Conventional treatment I 10 Natural treatments I
Did you know that H.Pylori is so common that by age 60, about half of people have been infected? (1)
Most people don't realize they have H. pylori infection, because they never get sick from it, as it's usually asymptomatic.
Now, should you worry about it? Should you start the treatment and eradicate it as fast as possible?
Here is where it gets tricky!
You see, there is A LOT of studies on H.Pylori. Some of them say it's linked to certain cancers, stomach ulcers, and other health problems. Other studies claim that it can be protective against gastric cancer.
We believe that the truth lies somewhere in between. In some cases, it requires treatment. In other, it does not require treatment and it's not even symptomatic.
How can you know if it requires treatment?
You can tell from your symptoms and from consulting a doctor.
What is H.Pylori?
Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative bacterium that causes chronic gastritis and plays important role in peptic ulcer disease, gastric carcinoma, and gastric lymphoma. H. pylori have been found in the stomachs of humans in all parts of the world. (2)
The “H” in the name is short for Helicobacter. “Helico” means spiral, which indicates the shape of the bacteria.
H. pylori are adapted to live in an acidic environment. They can change the acidic environment of the stomach and survive. The specific shape of H. pylori allows them to penetrate your stomach lining. When this happens, it can give you different stomach problems.
H. pylori can also interfere with your immune response and ensure that they’re not destroyed.
Signs and Symptoms
Usually, H.Pylori doesn't give any symptoms. (3)
Sometimes, it can give you the following symptoms:
- Bloating
- Belching
- Nausea
- Abdominal discomfort
- An ache or burning pain in your abdomen
- Abdominal pain that's worse when your stomach is empty
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue
- Heartburn
- Dark or tarry stools
- Peptic ulcers
- Diarrhea
- Bad breath
- Anemia
When should you test for H.Pylori?
If you suffer from chronic symptoms associated with H. pylori, like chronic heartburn, peptic or duodenal ulcers, and burning in your stomach.
How to test for H. pylori?
1. An H. pylori blood test - looks for antibodies to H. pylori. A positive result indicates present or past infection. Keep in mind that this test isn't very reliable.
2. The Urea Breath Test (UBT) - is one of the most important non-invasive methods for detecting Helicobacter pylori infection. It looks for the urease-virulence factor in your breath after ingesting a challenge solution. The test is a painless and non-invasive procedure that takes about 20 minutes. It is very accurate (95% sensitivity and specificity). (4)
3. Stool test - Labs use PCR-DNA tests to screen for H. pylori DNA in your stool sample. A stool antigen test can be a very good standard for diagnosing H. pylori infection. It has an accuracy of > 90%, making it very suitable for use in clinical practice.
4. A stomach biopsy during endoscopy - It's a conventional and quite invasive method. The doctor uses a thin, flexible, lighted viewing instrument (endoscope) to look down your throat and into your stomach. A tissue sample, called a biopsy, can be taken from the stomach lining. It's invasive but very accurate. If not needed, we recommend the abovementioned methods.
Conventional Treamtnet
Conventional, first-line antibiotic treatment of Helicobacter pylori is called “triple therapy”. Two triple-therapy regimens are considered to be first-line contain clarithromycin, a PPI (like omeprazole), and either amoxicillin or metronidazole. The therapy lasts 14 days. (5)
Becasue of the antibiotic resistance of the H. pylori strains, new therapies are currently being developed, for example the sequential therapy.
The sequential therapy is a simple dual therapy including a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) plus amoxicillin 1 g (both twice daily) given for the first 5 days followed by a triple therapy including a PPI, clarithromycin 500 mg, and tinidazole (all twice daily) for the remaining 5 days.
10 Natural Treatments For H.Pylori
Researchers have conducted a series of studies on natural approaches to treating H. pylori. Here are the ten best natural treatments:
1. Black Seed
Black seed (Nigella sativa) has been well-studied for Helicobacter pylori owing to its anti-inflammatory properties. (6)
In a clinical trial from Saudi Arabia in 2010, 2g of black seed per day achieved comparable results to a fortnight of triple therapy, giving a very high eradication rate.
Use 1250mg a day, first thing in the morning or before sleeping. Use for 6 weeks.
2. Turmeric, Ginger, MSM, CMO Formula
H-BOSS anti-inflammatory formula contains ingredients like Turmeric, Ginger, MSM, Berberine, and more.
Curcumin, diferuloylmethane from turmeric, has recently been shown to stop H. pylori growth. Ginger consumption accompanies H. pylori eradication rate. (7) (8)
MSM may assist in rebuilding the lining of the digestive tract. It also lowers inflammatory reactions to certain foods. It's useful for healing leaky gut syndrome since MSM improves the permeability of your intestinal tract.
Berberine protects against esophageal mucosal damage in reflux esophagitis by suppressing proinflammatory cytokines.
Recommended dose: 1 capsule 2 times a day
3. Green tea
Green tea is one of the healthiest and most widely consumed beverages in the world. It contains many antioxidants and nutrients. A 2009 study on mice showed that green tea may help kill and slow the growth of Helicobacter bacteria. (9)
Drink 1-2 cups a day.
4. Probiotics
Taking probiotics before or after standard H. pylori treatment may improve eradication rates. Antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria in your stomach. Probiotics help replenish good bacteria. (10)
There is many different probiotic strains, which have shown to be beneficial for for H.Pylori eradicaton.
Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus gasseri, L. acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, B. longum, and Bifidobacterium infants, Saccharomyces Boulardii, are exmaples of the ones which have been identified as effective for H. pylori eradication rates. The list can go on and on, but the truth is that in general, we can divide all the strains to only three different types of probiotics i.e.
Which ones should you use?
The answer is all of them because probiotics together are way more effective than a single-probiotic therapy*.
*The only exception is SIBO. If you have SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth), you will want to avoid many probiotics, particularly those with prebiotics. In this case, probiotic mixes are not good for you, as they will just make your symptoms worse. Soil-based probiotics are safe and effective for those with SIBO and S. boulardii yeast is usually safe as well.
How to you know if you suffer from SIBO?
You can read about it here.
How to use probiotics? 5 simple steps!
Do you have more questions about probiotics and prebiotics? Read about it here.
5. DGL licorice
Various flavonoids found in DGL have also been shown to be bactericidal toward H pylori. (11)
Studies showed that licorice is as effective as bismuth in H. pylori eradication; therefore, it's a great natural remedy for H.Pylori. I recommed to start with 400 mg a day.
6. Zinc-carnosine
Zinc-carnosine appears to inhibit the growth of H. pylori because of the interference of zinc with urease activity. H. pylori excretes urease to enhance its own proliferation in the acidic environment of the stomach. We recommed to start with low doses. Take 30 min before your meals, 1 a day. (12) (16)
7. Cabbage juice
Cabbage juice has historically been used to treat stomach ulcers and has significant inhibitory effects on H. pylori-induced gastritis. Cabbage juice, being rich in glutamine, can also help support gut healing. Put the cabbage in a juicer and drink four ounces of cabbage juice daily.
8. Garlic
Patients who ingested garlic had significantly lower H. pylori colonization rates than the group who did not. (13)
*Avoid garlic if you suffer from SIBO. Garlic is high in FODMAPs and can make your symptoms worse.
9. Cinnamon
In a clinical trial in patients with high H. pylori colonization, there was a decline in H. pylori following cinnamon ingestion. We recommend adding 1/3 tsp of cinnamon to your meals.
10. Propolis
Propolis is a resin-like material made by bees from the buds of poplar and cone-bearing trees.propolis extract was found to be a good inhibitor that can be used in H. pylori treatment to improve human health. We recommed 1500 mg of propolis a day. The best time to take it is right before bed.
Is it possible to eradicate H.Pylori only with the natural remedies?
We believe that when it comes to H.Pylori, it's not very easy to treat it using only natural treatments.
We think that you can start from the natural treatments, but if they don't work, you need to follow a conventional treatment and preferably combine it with natural treatments to speed up eradication, healing, and recovery from H.Pylori infection.
Questions? Comment Below!
Article Sources
(7)https://aac.asm.org/content/53/4/1592.abstract#:~:text=Curcumin%2C%20diferuloylmethane%20from%20turmeric%2C%20has,and%20during%20protection%20against%20H.
Published on May 7th, 2021