Statins for kids? The very idea is insane, yet millions of children are already taking these “adult” meds — and a new set of guidelines aims to give these drugs to millions more, including kids still in elementary school.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says every child between the ages of 9 and 11 should be screened for cholesterol, even if they’re in perfect health and have no family history of high cholesterol or heart problems.

Forget that there’s no evidence high cholesterol is even harmful to a child. And don’t even think about the fact that supposedly high LDL levels in kids usually normalize on their own over time.

Nope, none of that matters any more. All that matters now are the numbers on the blood test. And if your kid’s number comes up, he needs to be “treated.”

That’s code for those cholesterol meds, especially the statins that make up some of the best-selling drugs in the world despite side effects such as debilitating muscle pain, kidney and liver damage, cataracts and even a higher risk of diabetes.

If there’s one group of doctors out there who should be standing in the way of this, it’s the doctors who supposedly know children best — like the members of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

But that organization actually helped to create the new guidelines — and, in fact, last year called for giving statins to kids as young as 8 years old. (Read about that here.)

This failure to protect our children from over-medication is not a surprising one. Just last month, this very same group called for giving ADHD meds to children barely out of diapers. (Read the full story here.)

You might say they can’t keep their hands away from their prescription pads — because even without these new guidelines, they’ve been busily passing out adult meds to children for years now.

In 2009 alone, pediatricians wrote nearly 3 million prescriptions for cholesterol meds for kids, including 2.3 million statin prescriptions. So many kids are on these meds that Pfizer even created a chewable Lipitor just for children — and it’s already been approved in Europe.

Thanks to the new guidelines, you can bet we’ll be seeing it here at some point, too.

Statins aren’t the only adult drugs aimed at kids. Millions of children are already hooked on painkillers, antidepressants, BP meds, diabetes drugs and more.

But all of these conditions, up to and including high cholesterol, can be treated and defeated without a single med.

Now, you just have to find a doctor who still knows how to do it.

May 2008 PDF

SPECIAL EDITION

Drug-free in 90 days

You may feel like you’re sentenced to a lifetime of dependency on a pile of prescription meds, but think again. Just 90 days from today, you could be off your drugs for good.

If I’ve proven one thing in my years of practice, it’s that I can help my patients finally be well again—without resorting to a prescription pad.

And if your mainstream doc hasn’t devised a plan to get you off drugs, blame it on the company he’s keeping. A barrage of drug reps and a dogmatic medical association have convinced him (wore him down) into believing that drugs are the answer—the only answer.

Let’s start with cholesterol, hypertension and GERD. For each of these conditions, I am offering you here the general guidance that will help you to free yourself from medications that you don’t truly need. Keep in mind that some recommendations will overlap, because, as I frequently tell you, your body is a wondrous, interconnected creation. And that’s why mainstream medicine fails. It looks at you as a heart, a blood vessel, or—God forbid—just a number on one of those slippery, sliding scales that were created by drug company medicine.

The first thing you need to do is to have a conversation with your doctor. Tell him that you have a goal of being medication-free. He may look as if he has been struck, protest loudly, and may even say “Absolutely not!” Stick to your guns. Let him know that you’re not deserting him, but have come to enlist his help on your journey back to wellness.

If he tells you that it can’t work or that he won’t work with you, find a new doctor.

It can work. I’ve seen it work with my own patients. It might not work the way some doctors practice medicine, but I treat people—not their symptoms.

Once I have a handle on a patient’s lifestyle, family history and interests, I recommend a course of action to get them back in balance—and to wean them off drugs. And just as often, I’m greeted with an incredulous look as if I’d suggested something scandalous.

If getting people off drugs is considered scandalous, well then, I’m happy to be guilty as charged. I get to know my patients face-to-face, not chart-to-chart—and you deserve a doctor who does the same.

Get off cholesterol drugs before the kids get back to school

The biggest gun on the market is statins. If your doc put you on one, you probably thought, “That’s it. I’m now a statin-lifer!” At least, that’s what all the TV commercials and magazine ads would have you believing.

Cholesterol is the main building block for all of your sex and stress hormones. It also helps maintain the integrity and function of every cell in your body. For starters, it’s a repair molecule. If you get a rip in the inner lining of one of your coronary arteries, maybe due to damage caused by high blood pressure, cholesterol leaps into action to plug up the wound. Think of it as your body’s self-produced glue, manufactured by your liver. You need adequate amounts of cholesterol to run your body. So it flies in the face of common sense and good science to aggressively scrape your body clean of every drop of it. But mainstream medicine doesn’t let these pesky facts get in its way.

Statins are criminally overused—up to twice as much as they are needed, and to the tune of $22 billion per year. We’ve become a nation cuckoo over cholesterol.

If you don’t already have heart disease or multiple risk factors, including a parent or sibling with heart disease at a young age (under 60), the studies clearly show statin drugs are of minimal benefit.

Big Pharma and its M.D.s-for-hire have taken a complex issue and slapped an oversimplified (but profitable) drug “solution” on it based on very faulty science.

Cholesterol has become the most maligned and poorly understood element of the human body. High cholesterol has been targeted as the cause of heart disease—a misconception that shows a grotesque ignorance and distortion of the medical science. As I discuss in a moment, cholesterol particle size and type are much more important than cholesterol levels.

Skip a cure that’s worse than the disease

About half of all first heart attacks occur in folks with so-called “normal” cholesterol levels. That blows any idea of “normal” right out of the water! It’s just an arbitrary guideline. And yet, this guideline is what most docs still rely on to “treat” your cholesterol condition.

Statins lower levels of coenzyme Q10. This would make me laugh at the irony if the problem weren’t so deadly serious. CoQ10 is a key player in energy production, and your heart requires a ton of it. This is why so many patients on statins suffer from muscle weakness and breakdown and why —irony of ironies—there’s increasing concern over heart failure from these drugs.

Also, dropping your cholesterol levels too low and too fast can cause a host of problems, such as memory loss, erectile dysfunction (ED), and nerve damage, and may even increase the risk of cancer.

So the idea that you need a statin drug in order to be healthier just because your numbers are high is absurd. It’s a classic example of brilliant marketing combined with incomplete—and rigged—science.

Foundations first

You probably think that if you eat a plate of cholesterol-rich scrambled eggs, your cholesterol levels will go through the roof. Not so. If you’re like most people, the amount of dietary cholesterol you ingest has little impact on your body’s natural cholesterol levels. Your liver makes production adjustments up or down based on what you eat. However, that’s not a license to eat whatever is put in front of you. Practice moderation and smart selections to improve all aspects of your health—not just your heart health. To reach and maintain ideal cholesterol levels, reject America’s standard anti-food diet that includes fast-food hamburgers, ice cream, highly processed baked goods and sugar-laden sodas. Vegetables should cover half your plate, with protein and starches getting a quarter each.

Here’s a little more guidance to help you decide what to put on your plate:

• Keep your selections simple.
  
• Choose vegetables of all colors. Steam them lightly for optimal taste and nutrient retention.
  
• Satisfy your cravings for a sweet treat by eating moderate amounts of fruit. It’s plenty sweet enough to have as a dessert—your taste buds just need to be recalibrated.
  
• Stick to a moderate intake of protein, avoiding anything that has been shot full of hormones and antibiotics. Fish, free-range chicken (leave the skin on—you need some fat), and beef—preferably from organically raised cattle and from a local source. That’s the best way to ensure that you’re eating the healthiest steak and burgers possible.
  
• Eat eggs every day if you want to, cooked with butter or olive oil. The anti-egg propaganda is nothing more than an offshoot of the marketing of cholesterol as heart enemy #1.
  
• If you like soy, use only the fermented kinds (miso and tempeh). Skip those big globs of tofu, soy powders, bars and soy milk, which for the most part are nutrient-robbing anti-foods.
  
• For your starches, choose minimally processed whole grains and starchy vegetables like potatoes (I didn’t say french fries), sweet potatoes, and winter squash (in moderation).
  
• Don’t even think about eating anything promoted as “low-fat.” That’s just shorthand for “high-sugar.” And a low-fat diet may actually contribute to heart problems. Nothing promotes undesirable, risk-heightening, small and dense LDL particles more than highly refined and processed carbs (such as cookies, cakes, crackers, and chips) and anything else with wheat and high fructose corn syrup.
  
• You need fat, plain and simple. Natural fats are perfect, derived from such sources as fish, healthy meats, nuts and nut butters, avocados, real butter (no margarine), and olive oil. You can even include small amounts of full-fat cheese and yogurt if you like. Trans fats (aka hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats) found in solid margarines and packaged baked and frozen goods should not be eaten, period.
  

Get off your La-Z-Boy

Studies show that just as eating well can help to reduce blood-cholesterol levels, exercise can do so as well. Even the drugmakers say you need to increase your level of exercise and fix your diet. (Of course, that message gets trampled in the mad rush to sell pills.)

The best exercise is the one you’ll do. Get a pedometer, because people who use one tend to walk more. Build up to 10,000 steps per day. And if you’re really serious, add some strength training. Use weights, weight machines, elastic bands, or even your own body weight as resistance. (You might try yoga, for example.)

Keep in mind that I’m giving you 90 days to build up your activity level, so you don’t have to head out tomorrow and try to run a marathon. That’s not necessary—but getting more active is. Don’t wait for tomorrow—start today. Keep up the momentum, just as soon as you’re done reading this issue!

Other forms of exercise you can try include gardening, dancing, chopping wood, bicycling and swimming. Hike on a local trail. Turn on the radio and dance in your living room. Give your tennis arm some practice. Have fun—exercise isn’t supposed to be so deadly serious. In the process, you’ll live longer and happier while making a meaningful dent in your risk of heart disease.

A positive outlet will bring you a positive cholesterol level

Do you want to know what’ll kill you faster than bad food, a sedentary lifestyle and cigarettes combined? Stress. It will increase your cholesterol level: When your body perceives a threat, it uses up more cholesterol in order to support its stress response. More important, stress provokes inflammation and magnifies your risk of heart disease and an early death.

I’m not telling you to perform a miracle and have zero stress. As a rule, stress is one of those givens —like death and taxes (and the bumbling of the FDA). However, you need to deal with it by becoming its manager instead of its victim. Your foundation has already been laid with real food and regular physical activity, which will build physical hardiness. The emotional stuff’s a horse of a different color. If you focus on the negatives, guess what happens: It becomes your world. And so starts that vicious, disease-inducing cycle that will literally wring the life right out of you.

I can’t emphasize enough the health-promoting, stress-evaporating power of time spent in a worship group, in a social club, and with friends and family members. Proven practices like deep breathing, prayer, meditation, and biofeedback can also help you manage your stress reaction. I recommend a form of biofeedback called Heartmath, which is being used successfully all over the world. You can purchase what’s called an Em Wave (for about $200) at www.emwave.com. You’ll quickly learn relaxation techniques with this excellent tool.

Nutraceuticals for lower cholesterol

There are natural supplements you can take that, along with your positive eating plan, will promote all-around good health while getting your cholesterol levels back in balance:

• Multivitamin: It’s a must as a blanket insurance policy. I recommend a food-form multivitamin from New Chapter, Megafood, or Garden of Life, because your body can handle them better. Men, choose one without iron. Ladies, be sure to get some extra calcium and magnesium, and men—just extra magnesium. You can take just plain old calcium and magnesium citrate, 600 to 1,200 mg of calcium and 400 to 800 mg of magnesium daily.
  
• Fish oil: This potent anti-inflammatory can protect against sudden death from abnormal heart rhythms, bring down high triglyceride levels and promote the desirable large, buoyant LDL particles. It may also boost good HDL cholesterol. Take 2,000 mg total EPA and DHA (the active form of omega-3s, as spelled out on the label). If your triglyceride level is above 150 (the ideal is below 100), take up to 3,000 mg daily.
  
• Vitamin D: Another anti-inflammatory, vitamin D protects against heart disease. Take 1,000 to 2,000 IUs daily. Ask your doctor to check your vitamin D level. (The optimum blood level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D is between 50 and 60 ng/ml.)
  
• Probiotics: They will promote healthy bacteria in your gut, balance your immune system, and, most importantly, normalize your cholesterol level. Take 10 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) daily to keep your gut “colonized” with good bacteria.
  
• Red yeast rice: I’m talking about a natural statin, which is why I caution you to treat it pretty much like a drug. It’ll improve your cholesterol and reduce inflammation. Red yeast rice behaves in a more balanced way in the body and causes fewer side effects than prescription forms. More and more cardiologists are using it—especially for people who can’t tolerate or simply refuse to take prescription statin drugs. It contains monacolins, which are the active ingredient, and it’s chemically identical to one of the first classes of statins, lovastatin. I recommend 400 to 600 mg per day, with the approval of your doctor.
  
• Antioxidants: I recommend Zyflamend from New Chapter or Vitanox from Medi-Herb. If you take extra vitamin E, choose a mixed tocopherol form (preferably one that also includes the four tocotrienols). Gamma tocopherol, not alpha tocopherol, protects LDL cholesterol from harmful oxidation. Don’t take over 400 units per day, and let your doctor know what you’re taking, because vitamin E has mild blood-thinning effects.

Here are additional options to round out your tool kit, based on your individual need:

• Plant sterols: They reduce absorption of cholesterol, lower levels 5 to 15 percent, and may confer some anti-inflammatory benefits.
  
• Tocotrienols: Part of the vitamin E family, this powerful anti-oxidant lowers LDL cholesterol and may protect against stroke and cancer.
  
• Sytrinol: Derived from citrus fruits, it lowers LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels while promoting favorable large and fluffy LDL-particle size. Take 150 mg twice daily.
  
• Pantethine: It lowers LDL cholesterol, boosts HDL and brings down triglycerides. Take 300 mg three times per day with meals.
  
• Niacin: The RDA for this B-complex vitamin (B3) is 20 mg daily. But prescription doses of up to 2,000 mg per day are used to boost HDL and bring down triglycerides (a pattern typically found in people with, or at risk for, diabetes). It’s effective, but it causes unpleasant flushing. Regular old off-the-shelf niacin will do if it’s taken with meals. Start at 250 mg per day with dinner. That dose can then be increased by 250 mg per week. This needs professional supervision, as liver and blood sugar tests need to be followed.

A primo blood test

I’m assuming your doctor is looking at a basic blood-cholesterol test: total, LDL, HDL and triglycerides, and hopefully a C-reactive protein that measures inflammation and is a strong predictor, when high, of heart-disease risk. (Ideally you want it below 1.0). I recommend you ask for the VAP test from Atherotec or a similar test from Berkeley Heart Labs or Spectra Cell. They all supply similarly fine details that allow a more accurate assessment of risk.

Focus on these two numbers

If you’re numbers-oriented and want to reduce your heart-disease risk, work on boosting your HDL to over 50 and reducing your triglycerides (TG’s) to below 100. These lower heart-disease risk more than worrying about lowering your LDL. Low TG’s favor a desirable, large and fluffy LDL particle type. Statins don’t budge either of these very much.

Boost HDL by up to 50 percent and lower TG’s:

• Niacin (Up to 2,000 mg a day)
• High dose fish oil (3,000 mg EPA+DHA daily)
• Exercise
• Cut back on carbohydrates, and cut out entirely the highly-processed stuff

Lower your blood pressure without beta blockers

If you were diagnosed with high blood pressure, your doctor probably made a notation on your chart that you have essential hypertension. That’s what over 90 percent of cases are called, and it means “cause unknown.”

Nonsense. If you can normalize high blood pressure with real food, exercise, appropriate weight loss and good stress management, the causes are fake food, inactivity, overweight, and poor stress-handling skills. Plain and simple.

But the term essential hypertension is a cop-out that results in the overuse of drugs. And as it turns out, two common drugs used to treat high blood pressure, hydrochlorothiazide and beta blockers, hasten the onset of diabetes. Many doctors are unaware of this not-so-little secret. And many who do know about it hem and haw on the subject. After all, those drugs lower blood pressure! But why choose the lesser of two evils, when there are solutions that don’t involve putting you at risk for the devastation of diabetes.

Smart changes will bring you smart results

Salt gets a lot of blame for hypertension. And in some cases, it’s true. Excess salt intake in salt-sensitive individuals equals increased blood pressure. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. Excess salt causes the retention of fluid and actually triggers a mild surge of your stress hormones. If your blood pressure is creeping up, cut back on the salt. Also knock it off with buying those nasty processed foods—they’re overloaded with sodium.

If you must have salt, use the right kind. Plain old table salt is a processed chemical that’s foreign to your body. A bit of sea salt is okay, however, as it has a full complement of health-supporting trace minerals—like the sea water you’re made of. You can also fill your saltshaker with Mrs. Dash, a salt-free spice mix—or create your own. You may initially struggle with salt cravings, but they’ll disappear in about two weeks.

If you drink alcohol, cut back. More than a drink or two per day can increase your blood pressure and also lead to weight gain due to empty calories, which can be another factor in your escalating blood pressure.

Even if you’re 50 to 100 pounds overweight, losing just 10 to 20 pounds can make a difference. But don’t try to lose all that in just a week or two. More than two pounds per week will be mostly water, not fat, and won’t improve your health. Cutting 200 carbohydrate calories per day adds up to a 25-pound weight loss in a year. That’s about two light beers right there. That weight difference will help send your blood-pressure number south, where it belongs.

Clean up your stuff

The cornerstone of your blood-pressure-lowering campaign consists of real food, exercise and stress management. It’s what I call “cleaning up your stuff,” and this trio is many times more powerful —and ultimately a lot cheaper—than any pills you can take. And taking supplements can help move things along while you fix the underlying problem. Again, you have 90 days to make changes. I recommend the slow-and-steady approach, because that’s the one that will stick for the long haul.

• Fruits and vegetables: Bump up your intake. They’re rich in potassium and magnesium—minerals that relax your blood vessels and lower your blood pressure.
  
• Skip these: Heavily processed, salt-laden, alien-to-God’s-creation foods.
  
• Breathe: No, I’m not being a smart-aleck. While you may do it every day, there are a variety of ways to breathe. Check out RESPERATE (www.resperate.com), a clever device that will guide you toward a healthy breathing pattern and lower your blood pressure. It’s supported by solid research and is recommended by major institutions like the Mayo Clinic.

Get this key blood test

Ask your doctor to test your vitamin D status. Here’s why: Vitamin D performs a lot of key functions in your body. One task is regulating the action of your renin-angiotensin system, which is your hormone system responsible for regulating your blood pressure. If this system is inappropriately activated, your body will retain salt and fluid, increasing your blood pressure. This could be an important factor in your high blood pressure —as it is for many people. Vitamin D works at the fundamental level of the cell nucleus to regulate genes that influence plasma renin. Over half the population is deficient in vitamin D. Correcting this deficiency helps normalize blood pressure by normalizing renin activity, in addition to conferring a whole host of other important health benefits.

The renin-angiotensin system is the target of two types of drugs, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). These drugs will no doubt drop your blood pressure, but they also carry side effects. Vitamin D3 works similarly, but safely at a more fundamental level.

In my own practice, I’ve found that correcting vitamin D deficiencies with 1,000 to 2,000 IUs daily is all that’s needed to normalize some patients’ blood pressure. It makes more sense to give the body what it’s missing before you start chasing after high blood pressure with a drug hammer. That’s good medicine. If your 25-hydroxy vitamin D level is too low (<30 nanograms/milliliter), get it up to the 50 to 60 range and see where your pressure goes—it just may solve the problem.

To a regimen of vitamin D, I recommend adding:

• 4 Fish oil: Omega-3 fats from fish oil loosen up your blood vessels and lower blood pressure, but over 90 percent of the population doesn’t get enough. Fish oil protects against heart disease, diabetes, dementia and cancer while supporting joint health and a healthy mood. The best natural sources are cold-water fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines and herring. If you opt for a supplement form, shoot for 2,000 milligrams total EPA plus DHA—the active forms.
  
• 4 Magnesium: Deficiencies of this key mineral are rampant thanks to the Standard American Diet, with over 50 percent of the population not getting enough. It has mild “calcium-channel-blocker” effects, which means it’ll help to relax tight, narrow blood vessels and reduce blood pressure. Magnesium is found in fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains. Add 400 to 600 mg from food-form vitamins or up to 1,200 mg of the widely available magnesium citrate capsules.

There are several well-designed blood-pressure remedies to consider that drop blood pressure and support general good health. I’ve seen great results with “Blood Pressure Take Care” from New Chapter, an innovative company in Bennington, Vermont. Its premium products are available at retail stores and on the Internet (www.newchapter.com). I have no financial ties with the company—I’ve just witnessed the positive effects its products have had on my own patients.

This particular formulation includes specific probiotics, grape-seed extract and hawthorn. These work safely in combination on multiple pathways to help reduce blood pressure. They also supply antioxidant support and help maintain healthy levels of HDL “good” cholesterol. Also, check out Vasotensin, a unique formulation that’s derived from bonito fish and is made by Metagenics (www.metagenics.com). It helps prevent blood vessels from narrowing.

Freedom from GERD medications in 90 days

Got heartburn? The drug companies salivate at the thought, and mainstream medicine has turned this very treatable problem into a chronic medical condition. It’s not. Most people get heartburn now and then. A regular occurrence could be a problem, but let’s separate fact from fiction before we jump on the purple-pill bandwagon.

A regular occurrence of heartburn is called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which occurs when stomach-acid backflow (reflux) erodes the lining of your esophagus. This can worsen to Barrett’s esophagus, which increases your risk of esophageal cancer. The reason why doctors worry over heartburn and tend to jump the gun is due to statistics: Nearly 16,000 people will be diagnosed with esophageal cancer this year, and 13,000 will die from it.

You can often get rid of heartburn by taking an acid-blocking drug—either an OTC H2 blocker like Pepsid, Zantac or Tagamet or a much more powerful proton-pump inhibitor like Medium, Proton, Propose or Prefaced. Indeed, you can use any of these drugs now and then to kill heartburn without risking a lot of damage to your health. They can also be used short-term to help you heal ulcers or esophageal erosions.

But it’s a very bad idea for you to take them long term and certainly not every single day. As you age, you make less stomach acid—but your need for it doesn’t decrease. Also, as you age, the protective mucosal lining of your stomach and your intestine may thin out. The regular use of NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin, or even inadequate nutrition, can cause this. Another big cause of a thinned-out lining is prolonged stress, which can occur if you’ve handled a lot of emotional or physical stress poorly over many years. Cortisol will actually gnaw away at this lining over time.

Reduced stomach acid with or without a thinned-out GI mucosal layer can cause the symptoms of GERD. In short, your digestive system just isn’t working as well as it should. It’s estimated that up to 90 percent of all cases of GERD may be due to either of these problems—not too much stomach acid, as the Nexium pushers want you to believe. So the regular use of any acid-blocking medication is less than ideal (read “bad medicine”).

Don’t settle for feeling better temporarily—we can fix the problem permanently. The following non-drug measures will control symptoms of GERD, because for the most part, with this condition, when you get rid of the symptoms, you get rid of the problem.

Here are the basics to start with:

• Drop five to 10 pounds: Losing just this small amount may make the difference—even if it doesn’t bring you back to your normal body weight. Excess weight around the middle only serves to push stomach acid back up into your esophagus.
  
• Avoid tight clothes and belts: Literally loosen up, or you’ll be helping to push acid back up into your esophagus.
  
• Eat smaller meals: Overeating causes stress on your system. Finish up three to four hours before bedtime. And what you do eat, chew thoroughly.
  
• Kick butts: Smoking aggravates heartburn problems. (Though if you keep smoking, heartburn may be the least of your worries.)
  
• Raise your bed: Lift the head of your bed four to six inches or sleep in a recliner to help get rid of symptoms. Obviously it won’t fix the underlying problem, but it’s another tool that will help provide relief.
  
• Watch for food triggers: Pay attention to and minimize likely food-type instigators. Caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, hot spices and peppers, tomatoes, mint, and peppermint are common culprits.
  
• Protect your GI mucosal lining: Clamp down on cortisol, or it’ll continue to wear down your lining. A stress-reduction program will maximize your chances of long-term healing. Talk therapy, prayer, meditation and long hikes are just some of the ways to release the steam from the cortisol pressure cooker.
  
• Cut out NSAID’s: It’s bad enough that they kill 15,000 people per year. There’s no point in taking a chance on thinning out the mucosal lining of your stomach and intestines. A highly effective and safe botanical anti-inflammatory is Zyflamend made by New Chapter (www.newchapter.com).

The next level

To improve your gut function, the following will help you pull out all the stops:

• Probiotics: They provide general gut support and anti-inflammatory protection. Take at least 10 billion colony-forming units daily. This usually amounts to two capsules twice daily, and preferably with food. If you don’t like to take a lot of supplements at once, feel free to take one in the morning and the other one before bedtime.
  
• Fish oil supplement: 2,000 milligrams total EPA and DHA daily to help tune up your gut function.
  
• Digestive enzymes: Take these before a meal as part of an overall treatment plan for improving your digestion and relieving symptoms. Jarrow-Zymes Plus by Jarrow Formulas is a quality, widely available product.
  
• The Heidelberg test: Ask your doctor to determine whether or not you have too little stomach acid by ordering this test. It involves your swallowing a small capsule and waiting for 40 minutes.
  
• Betaine hydrochloride: You can also diagnose and treat low stomach acid with betaine hydrochloride, which will promote higher stomach acid levels. Do this only under supervision of an experienced practitioner.
  
• Bitters: These stimulate the digestive juices (aka stomach acid), a fact well known for centuries. Folks used to drink bitter aperitif beverages before meals. Swedish bitters (without alcohol) are widely available in stores and on the Internet. (Just type “Swedish bitters” into www.google.com to locate sources.) Try it before your meals.

Pump up your GI mucosa

There are several things you can use to build a thinned-out GI mucosal layer, whatever the cause. Mallow root (marshmallow), deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL), aloe vera gel, zinc carnosine, the amino acid glutamate and mastic gum are all known for their gut-healing properties. There are a number of top-line supplement companies that combine all of these healing agents into one convenient formulation so you don’t have to swallow a hundred pills per day. One such product is GI Revive from Designs for Health. Another useful product is Seavive, a fish protein derivative that helps heal the GI tract. It’s made by Proper Nutrition (www.propernutrition.com). You may need to take these products for three to 12 months to build up your GI mucosa.

Mark your calendar…

By the end of this summer, you could be off your drugs for good. I want you to look back on 2008 as the year you made your personal turnaround in terms of wellness. And when this natural regimen works for you, think of how many people you can influence to get off of their own crippling drug prescriptions and onto a new way of actually feeling healthy for the first time in years.

Drugs can intensify GERD symptoms

According to the National Institutes of Health, the following drugs and drug categories are associated with GERD:

• Calcium-channel blockers for high blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms (ex. Norvasc, Diltiazem and Procardia)
• Tricyclic antidepressants (ex. Elavil)
• Sedatives for insomnia and anxiety (ex. Ativan, Valium and Klonopin)
• Beta blockers
• Bronchodilators for asthma (ex. Albuterol)

A hidden cause of GERD

If you have developed a hiatal hernia (HH), that may explain your GERD. It’s caused by a weakness in the tight band of tissue, called the lower esophageal sphincter, between your esophagus and your stomach. A barium swallow test can diagnose it, as can an esphophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD)—a mouthful that basically means a slender tube with a camera is inserted down into the stomach. It’s a safe, well-tolerated procedure, and it’s done under sedation.

Some chiropractors can pop a HH back into place with brief finger pressure. This may hold for weeks or months. There are also several newer, minimally invasive procedures performed at larger medical centers that can correct the problem and get you off drugs (see www.mayoclinic.org/minimally-invasive-surgery).

Also, make the changes I’m recommending here for GERD relief without drugs.