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Can prebiotics help with GERD?

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Posted 10/9/2013 3:20 PM (GMT 0)
After eating breakfast this morning I started to get a little bit of acid reflux. This normally doesn't happen so I thought about what was different as I eat the same thing every morning and I remembered that I had forgotten to take my prebiotic, which I have been doing after each meal. Once I took it, the heartburn went away and it's been 2 hours and hasn't come back. I wonder if he prebiotic is helping with breaking down the food or something to help with acid reflux. Does anyone else have thoughts on this or take a prebiotic supplement and have noticed any results?
Posted 10/10/2013 1:14 PM (GMT 0)
Javery, what's the difference between prebiotics and probiotics? Thanks.
Posted 10/10/2013 2:05 PM (GMT 0)
I've just begun taking probiotics for my heartburn, but did not realize that maybe I should have bought a prebiotic instead.I sort of thought they did the same thing, that is, create an environment for healthy bacteria to live in your body. All I know is that prebiotics are the food for probiotics, but not more than that. Even though I am trying probiotics, I was under the impression that they were more helpful for IBS than for gerd.
Posted 10/10/2013 2:41 PM (GMT 0)
As far as I can tell, probiotics are active strains of good bacteria where prebiotics help with the growth of bacteria in the digestive system. I am taking both probiotics (on an empty stomach) and prebiotics (after I eat). The way I see it is that by taking the probiotics I am helping my digestive system by giving it the bacteria needed for better digestion while the prebiotics helps keep the good bacteria healthy. From what I've read, prebiotics is not only food for the good bacteria, but also bad bacteria, but when taking both together, I would think that like in any situation, the side with the larger amounts of numbers win, so when taking probiotics as well, you are swaying the scales in hopes of the good bacteria overpowering the bad bacteria.

I have also read that when there is too much of a bad bacteria buildup in your digestive system that it can affect how your LES functions and by getting rid of the bad bacteria, it is helpful for strengthening your LES. I'm not sure if this is true or not as I have not seen any studies on this. I see it as though every part of your digestive system works like a puzzle or a machine, if one piece isn't operating correctly, it can affect the other parts so you need to make sure that each part works correctly regardless of what symptoms you have. I started out with just GERD symptoms that transitioned to some IBS symptoms and now things seem to be calming down and working correctly. I am taking supplements to treat many problems though and eating to treat different problems as well. I am taking DGL, Mastic Gum, probiotics, prebiotics, multi-vitamin, eating more fruits, vegetables, chicken, and fish, staying on a low carb diet, eating smaller meals multiple times a day and drinking nothing but water. Prior to this I ate a lot of red meat, pastas, and took no suplements while taking protonix and eating very little vegetables and fruits a couple times a month. The only thing I was doing prior that I am doing now is drinking nothing but water. I stopped my protonix cold turkey about 3 weeks ago and have noticed a huge difference in energy levels as well as slowly seeing the acid reflux go down from the rebound that I am experiencing.

I hope this information helps. I am just wondering why after taking a prebiotic tablet that the heartburn goes away. Is it just me or is this something that others experience as well?
Posted 10/11/2013 2:37 PM (GMT 0)
Javery,

I agree with you as well with regards to the whole digestive system being a machine. Like you, I got my GERD symptoms under control and then developed some IBS symptoms. I am weening off my OTC PPI onto an H2 Blocker. I have been doing this for a few months as well as eating low fiber, high ph, low fermantation potential (fast track), gluten free, low lactose. My system does not seem to be able to tolerate raw vegetables right now as well as uncooked fruits, so I am taking a break from them for now. My GI thinks the PPI contributed to my IBS symptoms and wants me on an H2 Blocker. I tried to stop cold turkey last year but became ill, so this time I am weening off slowly. Next week I will start a half of the OTC Omeprazole tablet with pepcid at night. The pains I am dealing with now are trapped gas and bloating which can be painful.

Posted 10/11/2013 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
I'm also starting to get IBS symptoms too. Never had that before I was put on PPIs.

Are the H2 blockers better in this regard, and less likely to cause IBS?
Posted 10/11/2013 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
I have a few partly formed thoughts and ideas about pre. and pro-biotics and the gut biome.

The problem is where to begin? This is in note form and no particular order.

We all host an ever changing mix of good and bad bacteria in our large intestine. The good normally keeps the bad under control.

It's generally known that long term ppi use has an effect on the gut biome.

This is partly due to lower acidity in the upper gi changing the biome of the lower gi.

For example acidophilus, a known friendly bacteria prefers a slightly acidic environment. [the name ACIDophilus is a clue!]

Lower acidity in the colon offers unfriendly bacteria  more room to prosper.  

It is not just ppi's that reduce the acidity of our colons, h2's or even simple tums/calcium could have the same result.

One pre-biotic that I use from time to time is Lactulose. This both feeds good bacteria and increases acidity in the colon. Use with care as it is also laxative. [I have used this to successfully expel lower gi infections]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactulose

Re, IBS, ppi's have made my IBS-D more controllable.

Hope of some use.

phil

edit added, note that increasing the acidity of the gut helps increase absorbtion of some of the minerals that ppis are sometimes accused of inhibiting, such as calcium and magnesium.

further links for info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bifidobacteria

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactobacillus_acidophilus

Post Edited (phil-uk) : 10/11/2013 2:40:35 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/11/2013 8:45 PM (GMT 0)
I have seen this topic a few times on the forum now.

Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that stimulate the growth and/or activity of bacteria in the digestive system in ways claimed to be beneficial to health.

The prebiotic definition does not emphasize a specific bacterial group. Generally, however, it is assumed that a prebiotic should increase the number and/or activity of bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria. The importance of the bifidobacteria and the lactic acid bacteria (LABs) is that these groups of bacteria may have several beneficial effects on the host, especially in terms of improving digestion (including enhancing mineral absorption) and the effectiveness and intrinsic strength of the immune system. A product that stimulates bifidobacteria is considered a bifidogenic factor. Some prebiotics may thus also act as a bifidogenic factor and vice versa, but the two concepts are not identical.

You can buy prebiotics at your local health-food store. They can be found either with a probiotic product or separately. The two most common prebiotics are inulin and “fructooligosaccharides” (FOS). Both FOS and inulin are food for the probiotics. Sometimes, these two prebiotics can be purchased separately, in which case you can take them together.

This is FYI only as I am not a Dr. and cannot recommend any products.  Always check with your Dr. before adding something new to your regime.

Posted 10/12/2013 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
Kitt, that's a very good, concise answer.

I wanted to add that pre and pro-biotics are mainly active in the lower intestine rather than the stomach and small intestine. In my view, it is unlikely that they will have a significant direct effect on reflux.

The main benefits seem to be focussed on reducing some of the unwanted side-effects of long term acid suppression.

Posted 6/10/2014 11:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hello I am new to this site and came here specifically about this subject post.
I had stomach ulcers and ibs and then problems that seemed to be silent acid reflux. I also noticed that whenever the stomach stuff was bad it affected my nose/head/ears and I would get glue ear (where it is blocked up and painful and feels as though it is full). Mydoctor would say try this and that but he was clueless really and I had to come online and research and tell him what I thought was the next best thing to try. I also believe that because he gave me lots of antibiotics and steroids for years that started the problem in the first place. Everything said above makes a lot of sense but I believe we must also make sure we get a lot of vitamins and mnerals, less salt, no sugar etc for it to work. And this is not just about this illness but any illness. If anyone would like to discuss the subject with me they can email me at [email protected]
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