From: Bill Lucy 

Out of darkness, Randy H says...
> Here's what Dr. Weil says:
>
> (From "Natural Health, Natural Medicine", Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D.)
>
> If you are prone to ulcers, you must take the following actions:
>
> Strictly avoid all coffee, decaffeinated coffee, other sources of caffeine,
> alcohol, and tobacco.
>
> - Strictly avoid all aspirin and other salicylates and all nonsteroidal
> anti-inflammatory drugs. If you need a pain reliever, use acetaminophen
> (Tylenol). Do not take any steroids.

It's not necessarily true that *all* NSAIDS are verboten. And after my
linings heal, I can still take an occasional IB.

> - Drink peppermint tea frequently. It soothes the lining of the digestive
> tract.

This is where "alternative" health and studies differ. Peppermint
is quite good for
colic and other spasmatic disorders. But it weakens the lower esophageal sphincter.
I tend to go with the regular medics.

> - Eat smaller amounts of food more frequently. Do not let your stomach go
> empty for long periods.

One of my bigger problems. I usually go long periods of time without eating
(sometimes more than 24 hours), then eat a lot.

> - Use a natural product called deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) to protect
> the lining of the stomach and duodenum. Licorice has excellent soothing and
> healing properties in cases of ulcer, but whole licorice contains a fraction
> (glycyrrhizin) that can raise blood pressure. This is removed to make DGL
> extract (see Appendix B for sources). The dose is two tablets of DGL extract
> chewed slowly before meals or between meals, or one half teaspoon of the
> powder swallowed at the same times. You can stay on this remedy as long as
> symptoms are present. (Enzymatic Therapy makes a Chewable DGL tablet; you
> can find
> this at Health Food stores. )

There were two studies done in the 80s which showed some promise. One was in the
Iranian Medical Journal!

And DGL is actually an anti-inflammatory, according to some sites I've read. Kind
of goes against the NSAIDS advise above.



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