CLINICAL DYSPEPSIA™

While many supplements have been proposed as beneficial in the management of various causes of dyspepsia (a “treatment” claim), few if any of the proposed remedies have been shown or are known to be consistently effective. The same arguments may apply to ethical and over the counter (OTC) digestive aids where many such agents are used in “off-label” circumstances.

The Natural Clinician must distinguish between frank, acidpeptic disease, with its inflammatory components (often associated with Helicobacter pylori injection) and the many causes of functional dyspepsia. On the one hand, conventional medicine has approached dyspepsia by an almost universal application of drugs that neutralize or inhibit gastric acid secretion, whereas on the other hand natural medicine has cried foul of acid lowering treatments (with limited evidence that harm occurs as a consequence of the control of hyperacidity).

A common and widespread cause of upper digestive symptoms and peptic ulcer is the widespread use or misuse of non-steroidal drugs (NSAID, including aspirin). In many cases, the management of upper digestive upset involves the removal of dyspepsia-causing or ulcerogenic NSAID. In some clinical circumstances, complementary nutritional or natural options for bone and joint health may be valuable in reducing NSAIDS needs. (see CLINICAL ADVANCED JOINT CARE™ and CLINICAL OSTEOPOROSIS SUPPORT™). These are not treatments Natural approaches to digestive relief have often been quite naïve. Simple heartburn and GERD (an acid-related disease) have complex causes, which are due often to poor dietary habits or adverse lifestyle. Many peer-reviewed medical articles relate acid reflux into the esophagus as the cause of heartburn.
The notion of “acid supplementation” is not evidence-based in most circumstances of “reflux” or heartburn management.

Valuable first line options for upper digestive problems involve simple gentle natural nutritional approaches with positive lifestyle change, provided that serious disease has been excluded e.g. severe esophagitis with premalignant potential, peptic ulceration and cancer. Dietary supplement approaches to provide nutritional support for upper digestive functions can involve the use of synergistic combinations of natural substances.

Clinical Dyspepsia™ is a patent-pending dietary supplement formulation, which combines key initiatives to modify upper gastrointestinal structures and functions. This nutraceutical composition includes effective amounts of: an antioxidant (with putative gastric proton pump inhibiting effects in animals); an acid neutralizer; and an agent that may be complementary (but not primary treatment) in approved drug treatment programs to eradicate Helicobacter pylori. Dietary supplements are not treatments. Helicobacter eradication can only result in a predictable manner with drug treatments.

Clinical Dyspepsia™ contains a proprietary blend of ellagic acid (putative proton-pump inhibiting effect), green tea with turmeric, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and zinc (antioxidant and other effects). Immediate acid neutralization is achieved by fava bean flower combined with modest amounts of calcium and magnesium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Mastic gum may have variable effects on microflora and lethicin combined with apple pectin and gastric mucin are “soothing agents”.

The supplement Clinical Dyspepsia™ is designed to have a putative, bimodal action with initial and immediate acid neutralization followed by more (putative) prolonged anti-acid actions, combined with nutritional support for upper digestive linings. Research in humans is limited with natural agents. In animal studies, the degree of acid inhibition with antioxidants that interfere with gastric proton pumps is much less than achieved with benzimidazole drugs PPIs, such as omeprazole. H. pylori causes structural damage to the upper digestive tract by free radical generation. The use of powerful antioxidants (e.g. ellagic acid) in upper digestive support has implications for the maintenance of normal tissue structures. It is important to note that Clinical Dyspepsia™ carries no treatment claims and it has not been subjected to the rigorous clinical studies that have been used to support the medicinal use of H-2 blockers or PPIs or antibiotics etc. for the management of upper digestive disorders.