"Natural Remedies" that have been used with mixed results for H.

Pylori:
Manuka Honey: A 5% solution of "Manuka Honey" from New Zealand worked well in vitro to kill the bug, with several studies backing up the claims, however I have yet to see a single patient ending up with an actual "cure" after taking Manuka Honey. There are also claims that pure Alcohol taken on an empty stomach early in the morning will kill H. Pylori. Only one of my patients tried that approach, and although the symptoms did indeed disappear for a while, they eventually returned as severe as before. Regular consumption of sulfur-containing remedies such as Garlic, Onions, or MSM is supposed to be helpful for H. Pylori symptoms according to some studies. Similar claims are made for regular intake of Licorice and Cinnamon, larger amounts of Vitamin C, as well as Coconut oil, or spicy foods, particularly the intake of capsaicin from Hot (Chili) Peppers. All had shown to somewhat inhibit Helicobacter Pylori in various trials, but again, none of these have really proven to be effective in actual clinical settings on a long-term basis. Probiotics (friendly bacteria culture) consisting of Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Bifidus - although not a cure in themselves - are an important addition to any therapy for H. Pylori infection to help inhibit the bug, and to counteract any headaches, early-morning nausea, or general dyspepsia associated with low stomach acid alone, or following antibiotic therapy, with the acidophilus being best taken at bedtime. Some patients only tolerate the lactobacillus acidophilus, without the bifidus, while others don't tolerate any probiotics at all. Bismuth: An optional adjunct remedy in the treatment of H. Pylori is Bismuth, which is also part of OTC products such as Pepto-Bismol. Bismuth and lithium levels routinely test below normal with low stomach acid levels, respectively to upper stomach involvement (bismuth), and lower stomach / duodenal involvement (lithium). The magnesium present in some bismuth-containing products generally worsens low acid levels with long-term use, while any aluminum that may be present in these same products may cause constipation. "Mastic" is another remedy that has made the news. It is derived from a tree resin (Pistacia lentiscus) that has been used as a food ingredient in the Mediterranean region for thousands of years, and which is dried and sold in capsules. Using 1 - 2 g a day, there are reports of H. Pylori symptoms clearing in 90% of patients, and stool samples being H. Pylori-free in 80% of patients after only two weeks. In vitro studies have shown Mastic Gum to be effective against at least seven strains of Helicobacter Pylori, and an increasing number of human trials show similar results, backed by urea breath tests coming back negative.

A number of scientific studies around the world are currently underway, including trials to find out if killing H. Pylori in the oral cavity by chewing mastic gum - not just in the stomach alone would more permanently eradicate the bug. Unfortunately, as is the case with many therapies and remedies, mastic (mastica) is not tolerated well by some patients, who reported side effects such as stomach upsets similar to, or even worse than the discomfort experienced from the H. Pylori bacteria itself. Other patients reported no problems during the two week mastic treatment, however despite the promising results of some of these studies, there have been other clinical trials conducted with mastic / mastica that showed no efficacy whatsoever. Sulforaphane is a compound that is reported to inhibit extracellular, intracellular, and antibiotic-resistant strains of Helicobacter Pylori. This effect was identified by scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore while investigating sulforaphane for its protective effect against cancer.47 Sulforaphane is found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage, with broccoli sprouts containing anywhere from 30x - 50x the concentration of the chemicals contained in the mature plants. According to the Johns Hopkins study, "The dual actions of sulforaphane in inhibiting H. Pylori infections and blocking gastric tumor formation offer hope that these mechanisms might function synergistically to provide diet-based protection against gastric cancer in humans." Subsequent research showed that while consuming a daily dose of (fresh) broccoli sprouts reduced the levels of Helicobacter Pylori by more than 40%, they returned to pre-treatment levels 2 months after stopping the broccoli sprouts, suggesting that H. Pylori activity is reduced, but the bacteria is not eradicated.42 It is unclear though whether A) a sulforaphane compound made from myrosinaseactive broccoli sprouts - not from a sulforaphane glucosinolate extract, which does not provide the same therapeutic effect - would be more permanently protective, B) whether sulforaphane amounts in the 2 mg per day range (provided by a typical supplement), would be sufficient, or C) whether closer to the 50 mg/kg range administered in the clinical evaluation study of sulforaphane against cancer would be required. * * *

Most patients who don't produce enough stomach acid will continue to experience problems, even if antibiotic

treatments - or any "natural remedies" - have successfully killed the bug, but not everyone necessarily always suffers from "heartburn"- like symptoms, or bloating. Low Stomach Acid - independent of H. Pylori infection - can be a factor with headaches, chronic fatigue, allergies, asthma, non-specific aches and pains, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and other calcium metabolismimpaired problems -- all the way to various cancers. Many of these complaints are rectifiable by normalizing stomach acid, and from personal clinical observation, I am convinced that even several non-gastric types of cancers could be prevented, since they never seem to develop in the presence of normal acid levels.