<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Listmates, I certainly did open a can of worms with this post.  I told of
my recovery from candida & horrid GI problems using stomach acid
replacement to lend support & credibility to Ron's position about the
relationship between low stomach acid and food allergies.  I ended up
receiving a flood of inquiries about the many details of my treatment,
recovery, product information, dosage, etc.  I'd like to refer you to
many of my past posts on this topic. I'll bridfly summarize here:
        I mentioned that I developed many food allergies in recent years
because
I had also developed hypochlorhydria or low stomach production, a
condition very common to celiacs & others who have GI disease.  I told
that I use Thorne BIO-GEST.  Thorne BIO-GEST contains HCl (hydrochloric
acid) to replace stomach acid and a complete combination of digestive
enzymes.  IT'S VERY STRONG MEDICINE & MUST BE TAKEN WITH CARE.  If not
done correctly, it can cause more problems than it solves.  I strongly
encourage all who have troubling GI symptoms such as heartburn, bloating,
indigestion, food allergies, irritable bowel, etc. to approach this
treatment with care and be armed with information.  Please read WHY
STOMACH ACID IS GOOD FOR YOU by Jonathan Wright MD.  He explains the
protocol much better than I can.   If you can, see a naturopath or
holistic physician to help guide you through this. Below is a summary of
my recovery:
 (1) Specific carbohydrate diet.  This is a difficult to follow, starch
free, sugar free diet.  It was essential, though, during the first six
months of my recovery.  My gut was very inflammed & I could hardly
tolerate any but the mildest foods.  It's initiated with very soft cooked
foods then gradually advances to "normal" cooked & raw foods.  I no
longer need to follow this diet to exactness.  But I still avoid sugars
except for my once a week brownie splurge. ( I recently posted my recipe
-- EZ One-pan brownies.)
(2) Get allergy tested (I got IgE RAST and IgG ELISA blood test.  There's
a newer one out there now.  I think it's called ALCAT or something like
that.)  Diligently eliminate EVERY reactive food from your diet for the
first six months.  After that you can slowly begin to re-introduce one
food at a time to see if you are still reactive.
Don't skip this step.  You can not get well as long as you're eating
foods that irritate the gut.  Food allergies often cause the insides of
the esophagus and stomach to be raw & excoriated.  Food allergies also
cause the stomach contents to reflux into the esophagus causing painful
heartburn.  This is contrary to what we've been taught by the
manufacturers of antacids.  We've all be taught that heartburn is caused
by greasy spicey foods cause over production of stomach acid leading to
heartburn and that acid reduction is the cure.  But this is not true.
Acid reduction only creates more problems.  Dr. Wright has proven in his
clinic that those with chronic heartburn actually produce below normal
levels of stomach acid and only fully recover when they replace stomach
acid.  I know this to be true based upon my personal experience.  I can
eat greasy, spicey meals without heartburn as long as that meal does not
contain any of my reactive foods.  But if I eat so much as ONE raspberry
or banana, I get heartburn for the next 24 hours.  Raspberries & bananas
are not spicey or greasy, but I am allergic to both and both give me
heartburn.
        As part of this step, you must also make a few lifestyle changes and
eliminate or reducing coffee, alcohol, irritating foods and any drugs
that irritate the stomach (such as aspirin, anti-inflammatories,
ibuprophen, ketoprophen, corticosteroids, prednisone, etc.  You'll have
to work with your doctor on this.)  Please refer to Dr. Wright's book for
various lifestyle changes that may be necessary to reduce reflux (GERD).
(3) Take good quality probiotics as found in unsweetened yogurt, kimchee,
raw saurkraut, raw pickles, kifer.  (Exclude yogurt & kefir if you're
allergic to milk.)  If none of these foods are available, you can use a
commercially prepared product that's found in the refrigerator section of
your local health food store.  There's some pretty good ones out there, I
like Primadophilis and Megadophilus.
(4)  NOW you are ready for the final step -- replacing the stomach acid &
digestive enzymes.  There are many stomach acid replacement products out
there.  Most are called HCl w/ pepsin.  They contain hydrochloric acid
(in the form of betaine hydrochloride or glutamic acid hydrochloride)
plus pepsin to breaks down proteins.  But, if you are like me, you'll
need more than these two ingredients.  I take Thorne BIO-GEST.  It
contains the acids, pepsin plus other digestive enzymes to break down
fats & starches as well.  Another thing, capsules are better tolerated
than tablets.
        START ACID REPLACEMENT VERY SLOWLY.  Your tummy is not used to normal
acidity & it will take it a while to readjust.  I started with one
capsule at each meal.  I was so excited with the results (no gas, slept
better at night, no indigestion, less constipation, etc), I quickly
increased my dose to two capsules per meal.  After a few days, I felt
like my insides were burning up.  I had to stop for a week, then start
again, very slowly.  I took one capsule in the middle of my dinner, then
added a second capsule to lunch.  After another few days, I added a third
capsule to breakfast.  I continued to gradually increase my dose.  Now
I'm up to four capsules per meal.  As long as I take my BIO-GEST, I have
no gas or bloating and rarely indigestion or heartburn.  I only have
trouble if I miss taking it a few meals or cheat on my diet too often.  I
can cheat about once or twice a week without problems.  The starch
digesting enzymes in BIO-GEST are very effective.  I can enjoy a large
baked potato without bloating now.  I used to have to avoid all starches.

        To take these capsules, first take a few bites of your meal.
Swallow a
capsule.  Eat a little more, then swallow another capsule.  NEVER take
the capsules on an empty stomach or at the end of the meal.  The acid
capsules must be well surrounded by food or it can irritate the inside of
the stomach.
        I will probably have to use acid replacement for the rest of my life.
Once stomach acid production is disturbed by disease (and age) it rarely
returns in adults.  Children with GI problems and asthma frequently
benefit from allergy elimination & acid replacement, too.  But, unlike
adults, chldren usually "out grow" the need & eventually recover normal
stomach acid production.

WHERE TO GET BIO-GEST:  It is available at some pharmacies & naturopathic
dispensaries as well as on-line.  You'll have to search your local area
for a pharmacy that carries Thorne products or you can go on-line.  Here
are a few where it can be purchased on-line:
http://www.drz.org/asp/store/DetailPage.asp?ProductID=379
http://www.pslchiro.com/index.asp?Google=Thorne
http://www.bayho.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=89400
7
http://www.illnessisoptional.com/shop/brands/thorne-research/thorne-a.asp

You can learn about the specific carbohydrate diet by searching on line,
or from the book, BREAKING THE VICIOUS CYCLE by Elaine Gottshall.  This
book and Dr. Wright's book are available at http://www.Amazon.com and
other book stores.

Valerie in Tacoma

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