Apple cider vinegar helped reverse nighttime reflux
Q: I took prescription meds for GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) for 10 years. Finally, I tried apple cider vinegar after my evening meal. Although it seemed counterintuitive, it worked!
I also sleep with the head of my bed raised. I use the things they sell to raise all bed legs for underbed storage, but only put them under the headboard feet.
I’m happy to be medfree so I don’t need to worry about side effects. I didn’t go cold turkey with the meds but weaned off them gradually. We have stomach acid for a reason — to digest our food. If we don’t digest it properly, we can’t absorb the nutrients in it.
A: Thanks for sharing your story. Apple cider vinegar is a popular remedy for acid reflux. Although it has not been studied in a clinical trial, doctors are beginning to take notice of its use (Current Gastroenterology Reports, July 10, 2019). Naturopaths have adopted the use of apple cider vinegar and deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) to treat reflux (Integrative Medicine, August 2018).
Not everyone benefits from this treatment. Occasionally, people report that vinegar makes their heartburn worse.
However, people with heartburn may often be able to relieve their symptoms without using drugs.
To learn how, you may wish to consult our Guide to Digestive Disorders. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (70 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. G-3, P.O. Box 52027, Durham,
NC 27717-2027. It can also be downloaded from our website: peoplespharmacy.com.
Q: Because of constant pain, I was diagnosed with severe arthritis of the lower back. Before agreeing to invasive treatments, I tried using the supplement SAM-e. For the past six months, I have been in no pain whatsoever!
A: SAM-e, or S-adenosylmethionine, is not a standard treatment for arthritis pain. However, family physicians occasionally recommend it for knee pain because it appears to offer some benefit with little downside (American Family Physician, June 1, 2011). One study appeared to show that after two months it was about as effective as celecoxib (Celebrex) to alleviate knee arthritis pain (BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, Feb. 26, 2004).
Q: I read that pycnogenol could help heal eczema. I’d been struggling with this skin condition for months, so I bought some and started taking it. Within a couple of months, my eczema was gone. Do you know if I need to keep taking it every day, or only when I have another flare-up?
A: We appreciate your report. Pycnogenol is a compound derived from French maritime pine bark with antioxidant and antiinflammatory activities.
We could find no clinical trials of pycnogenol for eczema, but scientists have confirmed that it calms inflammation in skin cells called keratinocytes (Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Jan. 15, 2000). Investigators have determined that this dietary supplement can improve skin barrier function (Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, February 2016).
Usually, more robust barrier function means less eczema. Unfortunately, however, we don’t have an answer to your question. If you experiment on yourself, please let us know what you learn.