As you probably know, a pathogen is something that causes a disease. Here’s what the scientists believe about the so-called “stomach ulcer bacteria” Helicobacter pylori.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a globally widespread bacterial pathogen, typically colonizes the stomach lining. This infection primarily induces chronic active inflammation, which can progress to chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer diseases. Furthermore, it significantly increases the risk of gastric cancer. Because of its carcinogenic potential, the World Health Organization has classified H. pylori as a Group 1 carcinogen, with a global prevalence estimated at approximately 50%. The infection rates of H. pylori vary across different demographics and geographical regions, with higher incidence rates observed in developing countries than in developed ones. Nationally, the H. pylori infection rate is 44.2%, affecting approximately 589 million individuals in China. This prevalence increases with age, increasing from 28.0% among children and adolescents to 46.1% in adults.
Recent progress in medical and health standards has resulted in a decreasing trend in the overall prevalence of H. pylori in China. Most infected individuals are asymptomatic carriers. However, almost all H. pylori-infected persons, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, exhibit histologically chronic active inflammation in their gastric mucosa. H. pylori continues to pose a significant global health risk and disease burden due to the lack of effective vaccines, emerging antibiotic resistance, and the impact of this persistent infection on cancer incidence. Therefore, it is essential to research H. pylori infection to enhance the effectiveness of current and future local health prevention and control strategies.
https://www.biomedcentral.com/epdf/10.1186/s13027-024-00632-0
Convincing stuff!!
At one time I would have just accepted all that without question. So what’s wrong with it? Dr Sam Bailey explains.
Koch’s postulate = If you can’t take a fluid sample from a sick person, isolate a microbe from the sample and then give another person the same symptoms by exposing them to the microbe, then the microbe is not a pathogen.
This summary from Wikipedia provides more facts
Helicobacter pylori, previously known as Campylobacter pylori, is a bacterium that was first identified as the cause of gastric ulcers in 1983 by the Australian doctors Barry Marshall and Robin Warren. Infection of the stomach with Helicobacter pylori does not necessarily cause illness. In 2023, it was estimated that HP is found in about two-thirds of the world’s population. Some studies suggest that HP plays an important role in the natural stomach ecology by influencing the type of bacteria that colonize the gastrointestinal tract. Other studies suggest that non-pathogenic strains of HP may beneficially normalize stomach acid secretion, and regulate appetite.
Problems linked to HP are being attributed to pathogenic strains of the bacterium. These problems tend to begin with chronic gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining). This can result in damage to the stomach lining, and the development of ulcers within the stomach itself or in the duodenum, the first section of the small intestine. The risk of developing gastric (stomach) cancer is also high.
Helicobacter pylori is found to be present in 89 per cent of all gastric cancers. It is the only bacterium thought to cause cancer. On the other hand the presence of HP seems to have a positive protective effect against many disorders including asthma, esophageal cancer, ulcerative colitis, GERD and Crohn’s disease.
Adapted from Wikipedia
I agree with Dr Bailey, it simply doesn’t make sense to say that on the one hand H. pylori is good for you and on the other hand it isn’t. “Thought to” cause cancer simply isn’t good enough. Being found in the presence of stomach cancer does not mean it caused the cancer. Bacteria do nothing other than break down dead stuff, just like the bacteria in your rubbish bin. That’s their job. Cancer itself destroys stomach tissue. Here are the main causes of stomach cancer, ranked from most common to least common:
Most Common to Least Common Causes of Stomach Cancer
1. Tobacco use/Smoking
Individuals who smoke have a higher risk of stomach cancer than those who don’t smoke.
2. Dietary factors
High-fat, high-salt and high-protein diets are significant risk factors. Diets high in salt and processed meats can exacerbate the risk.
3. Age (60+ years)
Most patients diagnosed with stomach cancer are age 60 or older, making advanced age a major risk factor.
4. Genetic factors and family history
Genetic factors play a role, though they appear less common.
5. Pre-existing stomach conditions
Pre-malignant stomach lesions can lead to cancer development.
6. Geographic/ethnic factors
Stomach cancer is more common in East Asia, Eastern Europe, and South and Central America, suggesting environmental or genetic population-specific factors.
One thing we do know for sure: finding Helicobacter is a jolly good excuse to load you with antibiotics. And because they often don’t work, you can give them again and again and again. While they are busy killing off your essential intestinal microbiome, antibiotics do have a mild anti-inflammatory effect, which could account for the temporary relief of symptoms.
Here’s a question that needs to be answered. Are there any non-antibiotic treatments that are effective in combating the symptoms attributed to Helicobacter?
If the answer is yes, then we have two reasons for Helicobacter being an innocent bystander.
The symptoms persist despite treatments to kill Helicobacter.
The symptoms can be relieved without using a treatment that kills Helicobacter.
Let’s deep dive into this with a forum thread started some years ago by one of my students.
Question from Marta
Can an intestinal healing program be used to get rid of Helicobacter pylori? My husband was diagnosed with this bacteria long ago. His symptoms are indigestion, stomach pain, constant spitting, acid feeling in the throat. He was given antibiotics and Omeprazole by the doctor. He took the full dose for some weeks. He felt better. After a few weeks all symptoms returned. Doctor put him back on antibiotics and Omeprazole. What’s more, the doctor suggested that he got the illness back from me! That I probably have it as well (though I don’t have symptoms and am feeling very well) and because I was not treated for it, he says I keep reinfecting my husband! …
My comment: So much for “pathogenic strains” of HP. Truly pathogenic bacteria make everyone ill who is exposed to them.
… I don’t really believe in this theory. And besides, I don’t want to go on antibiotics for a bacteria which I may have but which does no harm to me.
I believe changing my husband’s diet and eating anti-microbial foods could help. He’s eating quite a lot of white bread, sugary foods, meat, and not much veg or fruit. But he’s sceptical about it and convinced I should go on antibiotics to get rid of Helicobacter.
I’m really desperate because I don’t know what to do and my husband’s symptoms are very bad some days, especially if he’s under stress at work.
Dr Leo Galland
Let’s examine what this well-known natural health expert does to treat the symptoms described by Marta’s husband.
"I am treating patients with dyspepsia and gastritis who also have helicobacter in the stool. I do not use synthetic antibiotics, just mastica (mastic gum—a flavouring ingredient used in Greek cookery). In my experience a dose of 500mg to 1,000mg twice a day for two weeks has produced a clearing of symptoms associated with the elimination of the Helicobacter antigen from the stool. Ninety per cent experience a clearing of symptoms, and 80 per cent an elimination of Helicobacter in the stool after only two weeks.”
Dr Galland refers to HP as an ANTIGEN. He believes that HP is merely causing an inflammatory reaction in the stomach lining — similar to how pollen causes hay fever.
But let’s recall the function of bacteria — to break down dead or damaged tissue. Perhaps the HP disappeared because it no longer had any dead or damaged tissue to deal with? Because the real causes of the stomach inflammation had been fixed with the mastic gum?
Research study on HP-linked problems successfully treated with mastic gum:
More information about mastic gum
More comments from our student forum
My husband developed the carbon 13 breath test machine. This is the test Marta’s husband should ask for if there’s doubt about the presence of HP. The carbon 13 breath test is the only test that can tell you if the bacteria is currently active. The immunological tests can only say that you have had the infection at some time in your life. It’s found in water supplies and can be passed from person to person. But salicylate allergy can also produce very similar symptoms. Wheat and dairy, coffee, the nightshade family—in fact a lot of food allergies—can cause reflux.
Forum member Anna B
Omeprazole, as a PPI will reduce stomach acid and thus help set up a low acid environment that encourages bacterial overgrowth. So it might not be so surprising that Marta’s husband’s symptoms were no better after the pharmaceuticals than before. The right conditions to allow HP to grow were created while attempting to kill it. Where there is a good level of hydrochloric acid there cannot be so many bacteria.
The symptoms of ‘underacidity’ and ‘overacidity’ are similar. So giving an acid reducer when the problem can be underacid in the first place also makes for further problems and will be one reason people stay on them for so long. They have not actually addressed the right issue.
Sugar and starch can be a big cause of that acid reflux, as Prof John Yudkin discovered decades ago. Stress will automatically reduce acid production. We are not supposed to eat when we are stressed. Juices and soups are probably a better way to go.
Forum member Linda S
I have personal experience of H. Pylori as it caused a stomach ulcer. My GP treated this with antibiotics and a PPI (Lansoprozole). However, the treatment was not successful and because I am a microbiologist I identified that the strain of H. Pylori which had caused the stomach ulcer may be antibiotic resistant. The antibiotics compromised my digestive system and I spent 10 years on PPI being advised by my GP to double the dose of PPI if the single 15mg dose didn’t get rid of heartburn, acid reflux etc. I read that PPIs should only be taken for 8 weeks and I read that long term use can cause “leaky gut” and as a result undigested protein was finding its way into my blood stream and setting up an inflammatory response. My body was completely out of balance and I felt awful. I stopped taking the PPIs. I healed my stomach taking Aloe vera juice with my breakfast juice. I took 1000mg of Mastic gum every night before bed on an empty stomach for 4 weeks reducing to 500mg as a maintenance dose. I drank ginger tea as I felt that I was suffering from low stomach acid. I try and eat as healthily as possible and I feel really fine and have lost weight as well. I put this down to my body now being able to absorb nutrients from food as my stomach has healed. It is wrong for a GP to suggest that another person is re-infecting when there is no proof. An individual can re-infect themselves as HP can exist in the Oral Cavity. Stay away from the antibiotics-they didn’t do me any good, I would like to point out that I am not a clinician and what worked for me may NOT work for another individual but I wish you and yours good health.
Forum member Lynne C
Being a microbiologist, Lynne C unfortunately believed what so many doctors and scientists believe: that Helicobacter MUST be the cause of the symptoms, and if antibiotics don’t work then it MUST be an antibiotic-resistant strain of the bacteria. Yet she herself identified the cause of her symptoms: low stomach acid. We must question everything we are told by conventional doctors.
LINKS
Here is an article which correctly blames low stomach acid for peptic ulcers but incorrectly asserts that this is because stomach acid somehow deactivates Helicobacter and prevents it from being pathogenic! However plausible this sounds, it’s nothing but assumption and guesswork. The presence of H. pylori is not necessary for these symptoms to exist.
On the other hand you will find researchers telling us that Helicobacter causes low stomach acid by inducing inflammation. Ask yourself how this can make sense, when most of the world’s population harbours HP without it causing any problems at all? If something doesn’t make sense, it’s not true!
The late Dr. Jonathan Wright agreed that many cases of gastric distress are due to too little stomach acid. In this book he suggests increasing your stomach acid to reduce heartburn and gastric reflux symptoms, and argues why antacids are a bad solution. The main supplement he recommends is Betaine HCl with pepsin, which provides hydrochloric acid to support digestion in people with low stomach acid production.
Be cautious with Betaine HCl if ulcers are involved. First investigate which foods aggravate the symptoms. Reduce inflammation with mastic gum or bismuth, plus soothing products (see below).
Other products
Bismuth (pepto bismol) has always been considered by holistic doctors to be the best and least harmful of the orthodox treatments for gastric inflammation and peptic ulcers. However, conventional doctors will only use it in combination with antibiotics. They still believe that its effectiveness stems from bismuth’s unique ability to overcome antibiotic resistance patterns that have made traditional therapies less effective against H. pylori.
So bismuth somehow “makes antibiotics work”? Wake up and smell the coffee!
Slippery elm and aloe vera are helpful soothing agents for gastric problems. You can search for these, as well as Pepto bismol and mastic gum capsules on amazon.com or amazon.co.uk.
Conclusion
It is not proven that Helicobacter pylori is the cause of gastritis and related conditions. An inflamed stomach lining may be caused by other triggers, and HP may simply be doing what bacteria always do: consuming debris from cells damaged by inflammation. This would explain an increase in the numbers of HP in the presence of gastritis.
The fact that antibiotics are designed to kill H. pylori and antibiotics sometimes appear to control gastric symptoms, is not proof that HP is the cause of these symptoms. Antibiotics can have a direct anti-inflammatory action, thus providing temporary symptom relief.
Health Tip
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for gastric reflux and gastritis focuses on cooling, soothing, and strengthening the digestive system. These are the recommended foods:
Cooling and Soothing Foods:
Congee (rice porridge) - considered the most healing food for the stomach, easy to digest and nourishing
Millet - cooling and gentle on the stomach
White radish - moves qi and reduces bloating
Cabbage - cooling and healing for the stomach lining
Potato - neutralizes stomach acid in TCM theory
Papaya - aids digestion and reduces stomach heat
Gentle Proteins:
Fish (especially white fish) - easy to digest
Tofu - cooling and gentle
Beneficial Herbs and Spices:
Fresh ginger (in small amounts) - warms the stomach and prevents nausea
Fennel - reduces gas and stomach discomfort
Licorice root - harmonizes the stomach and reduces inflammation
Fruits:
Pears - cooling and moistening
Apples (cooked) - gentle and healing
Bananas - cooling and easy to digest
Foods to Avoid:
Spicy, greasy or fried foods, alcohol, coffee, citrus fruits, and foods that are too hot in temperature are generally avoided. TCM emphasizes eating warm, cooked foods at regular times, chewing thoroughly, and eating in a calm environment to support proper digestion and prevent these conditions.
YouTube recipe for basic brown rice congee
YouTube recipe for brown rice congee with mushrooms and flavourings
(If you are allergic to soy you can use a stock cube or bouillon powder mixed with some water instead of miso. If you don’t have sesame oil you can leave it out.)
Linda Lazarides is a reknowned naturopathic expert and author of A Textbook of Modern Naturopathy. Her in-depth health articles are now being published in the Health Learners Club. All are welcome to join and read weekly expert articles. You will also have access to a chat lounge where you can find more information, ask questions and post requests and suggestions.