If you’re about to reach for that bottle of antacids after the Christmas blow-out - think again. New research suggests that the world’s most popular drugs, used for heartburn and indigestion, can double the risk of pneumonia.
This is because these drugs suppress gastric acids, thereby allowing viruses and bacteria in the upper gastrointestinal tract to migrate up into the respiratory tract. read the whole study.
Alex says: Antacids do a whole lot more than increase the potential for infection. They block the breakdown of proteins and inhibit mineral absorption (not good if you have osteoporosis). There are other ways to handle reflux that get at the root of the inflammatory problem without just symptomatically covering up the problem
