<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Doctors are finally starting to get the message that antacids are NOT the solution to heartburn. The following Sept 10, 2003 Reuters Health article acknowledges that stomach acid is absolutely necessary to properly digest proteins, and using antacids to reduce stomach acid has its consequences (you may need to register (free) with Medscape to read this article): ---------- New Study Links Antacids With Increased Risk of Food Allergy http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461298 ---------- Of course, it has been pointed out on this List in the past that LOW stomach acid, hypochlorhydria, is a common problem in celiacs, heartburn sufferers, and in people over age 40, in general. For the last 30 years Dr. Jonathan V. Wright has been making this point, and he has described it well in his book, "Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You" (including a discussion of food allergy risk caused by low stomach acid.) The point that Dr. Jonathan V. Wright makes is that LOW stomach acid, not HIGH stomach acid, is almost always present in people with heartburn problems. The "cure" is NOT JUST to AVOID antacids, but to SUPPLEMENT meals with acid, like betaine HCL, so that the contents of the stomach digest properly and don't backup causing the heartburn symptoms. Dr. Wright also theorizes the additional acid may generate a feedback signal directing the lower esophageal sphincter valve at the bottom of the esophagus to close so that the stomach contents do not backup. There are some natural supplements which can ease heartburn symptoms as well which have also been discussed in the past on this List. So those undigested proteins in your low acid stomach cause food allergies after passing through your leaky, permeable intestines. And intestinal permeability, "leaky gut", is a VERY REAL problem in celiacs as this recent abstract reveals. Mix antacids with celiac disease and enjoy your food allergies! (Don't say you haven't been warned....) ---------- Clin Chem Lab Med. 2003 Aug;41(8):1056-63. Assessment of hypolactasia and site-specific intestinal permeability by differential sugar absorption of raffinose, lactose, sucrose and mannitol. Hessels J, Eidhof HH, Steggink J, Roeloffzen WW, Wu K, Tan G, van de Stadt J, van Bergeijk L. Clinical Laboratory, Twenteborg Hospital, Almelo, The Netherlands. [log in to unmask] The sugar absorption test is a non-invasive test for investigating intestinal permeability by simultaneous measurement of four probe sugars. In this study, we evaluated the utility of raffinose, lactose, sucrose and mannitol as probe sugars and calculated their urinary recovery as a percentage of ingested dose (mol/mol) and the recovery ratios of raffinose/mannitol, lactose/ raffinose and sucrose/raffinose. The reference ranges for these ratios, established from 39 healthy volunteers, are 0.005- 0.015, 0.13-0.63 and 0.09-0.47, respectively. This sugar absorption test was performed in three patient groups. i) In 109 patients with aspecific gastrointestinal symptoms of whom intestinal histology was studied by duodenal biopsies: the urinary raffinose/mannitol recovery ratio highly correlated with gradation of duodenal damage; the sensitivity and specificity of the raffinose/mannitol ratio for detection of intestinal damage were 93% and 91%, respectively, using a cut-off level of 0.020. ii) In 70 patients in whom intestinal lactase activity was investigated by the lactose tolerance test: the urinary lactose/raffinose recovery ratio provided high diagnostic accuracy for hypolactasia (sensitivity 81% and specificity 89% at a cut-off level of 0.70). In analogy with the lactose/raffinose ratio, we suppose that the sucrose/raffinose ratio can be used as a marker of hyposucrasia. iii) In 40 patients with localized small intestinal damage, Crohn's disease of the ileum (n = 21) and celiac disease with histologically proven duodenal damage (n = 19): the raffinose/mannitol recovery ratio was increased in 100% of patients with celiac disease and in 81% of patients with Crohn's disease; increased lactose/raffinose recovery ratio (hypolactasia) and increased sucrose/raffinose (hyposucrasia) were present in 89% and 95% of celiac patients and 19% and 0% of Crohn's disease patients, respectively. The combination of the raffinose/mannitol ratio and sucrose/raffinose ratio appears to be an indication of the distribution of intestinal damage. * * * *Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the CELIAC List*