Hello,
I have Parietal Cell antibodies and I am concerned about Cancer, so I have been reading up about eating better to increase stomach acid.
Can anyone let me know if you can influence the production of stomach acid by changing your diet even if you have Parietal Cell anitbodies?
Perhaps stomach acid levels can only be influenced internally if intrinsic factor antibodies or parietal cell antibodies are present?
Can anyone help?
Many Thanks.
I would suggest eating probiotic foods like sauerkraut, kimchi , and real yoghurt and kefir .These foods nourish the good stomach bacteria thus keeping the bad bacteria in check . Bad stomach bacteria can rob you of nutrition -vitamins and minerals . Also cause pain .Bad bacteria thrive in a stomach that has low stomach acid .
if you have seriously low or no stomach acid ( Achlorhydria) Betaine Hydrochloric acid with pepsin capsules can help , taken with a meal . It would be wise to consult a nutritionist about dosage .
Obviously acidic drinks can also help eg Diluted Organic cider apple vinegar with mother. , taken before a meal.( especially a protein meal .
Best wishes
A have read a number of clinical medical papers (I don’t have the references now) which suggest that is a difficult thing to achieve. You are trying to raise acid to such a level that it works with pancreatic enzymes to create a chyme which allows absorption of vitamins and minerals. Stomach acid is so strong it would burn a hole through a wooden table! Food however acidic can’t hope to compete with that. I use 1300mg of Betaine HCL with each meal to aid digestion. Even that is shown through clinical trials (Google ncbi) to stay in the stomach for only an hour to 90 minutes but sufficient enough (in my own view) to do its job.
It kind of depends on how advanced or how far your Autoimmune Gastritis has progressed. Usually by the time you've been diagnosed with PA then it is quite advanced and many or most parietal cells are destroyed. No acid producing foods are going to really help get your gastric acid levels down to around a PH of 2. I have had my Gastric PH measured and it was a PH of 6 meaning neutral or pretty much zero stomach acid. Since then I too take Betaine HCL 1.3 mg along with digestive enzyme tablets. I take these about 5 to 10 minutes before each meal and they have worked marvelously for me.
I also concur with taking care to feed your gut microbiome with fermented foods as Wedgewood says. Taking a probiotic is good but you must feed those little buggers! Another thing I found is Japanese plum balls. These are fermented plums and you can buy them on Amazon.
Regarding cancer... the cancer caused by parietal cell destruction is that the PCs are replaced by what I call imposter cells or cells that look like they belong in the small intestine (complete) or large intestine (incomplete). I have had cancer of the Fundus where most of the parietal cells reside. The important thing here is to have a Gastroscopy (UK term) or Upper GI Endoscopy (US term) with Gastric mapping with biopsies per the Sydney Protocol. (note: I think UK uses a European protocol for this). This mapping, along with your family history will help determine your individual cancer risk and your unique cancer surveillance plan or how often you need to have Gastroscopy cancer screening. Typically anywhere from every 1 to 3 years depending on your risk. Mine happens to be every six months.
Something to try any reduce chance of cancer are eating low salt foods, limit red meats, and avoid any foods that you have a sensitivity to which cause inflammation. The big three are gluten, dairy, and sugar. Most everyone is sensitive to these whether they know it or not.
OK that's my diatribe. Hope is is helpful.
Best Wishes, Rex
Rexz, i'm curious. Have you had better b12 absorption since you started taking Betaine?
I really don't know the 100% answer to that. My original B12 level was 70 pg/mL so that is extremely low. Since I've started injecting my levels are regularly maxed at 2,000 pg/mL which is normal while injecting. I will say that I did do an experiment on myself several months ago where I completely stopped injecting for six weeks. All my PA symptoms all started to return. I must note that I inject with Methylcobalamin so that does not stay in the blood as long as Hydroxocobalamin. I guess that would be an indicator that my absorption of B12 had not improved since I was taking HCL at the time. It also makes since that since parietal cells are destroyed then low/no stomach acid and no IF there can be no absorption of B12 in the Ileum. There is some info out that suggests that subjingual supplementation bypasses the digestive process but I also take sublingual B12 and Folate daily. I do that primarily to get the folate. The B12 supplementation via sublingual did not help me.
There are two things that I cannot absorb that are confirmed. B12 due to no IF and iron due to no/low stomach acid. Betaine HCL does not seem to help with iron absorption. I do get regular IV iron infusions to replenish my iron. That is very closely monitored as unlike B12 where you cannot overdoes, too much iron can be toxic and your body has no real mechanizm to get rid of excess iron. Other than to bleed or donate blood.
Thanks @Rexz. Note there is no nationally agreed cancer screening program for PA patients in the U.K. I specifically asked my private gastroenterologist this.
I'm not so sure that your Gastroenterologist is correct. Of course I am no expert on UK NHS guidelines but I believe there are guidelines that anyone in UK that has been diagnosed with Pernicious Anemia should have a Initial Gastroscopy to 1) verify the presence of Autoimmune Gastritis and 2) perform a Gastric Mapping risk assessment in accordance with European MAPS II Guidelines. Here are a couple of references.
coventryrugbygpgateway.nhs....
nhs.uk/conditions/stomach-c...
I would recommend that anyone with PA press to have this screening done. Especially if you have gastric cancer in your family history. Just to be sure the risk is still low for Gastric Cancer even at 3 to 7 times higher for those with PA. But one thing you may not want to do is become a statistic of the one that has it. That was me, they found it early, and it literally saved my life.
Please excuse my spelling of Anemia. Us Yanks just can't spell! 😂
I wish you the best, Rex
I think that’s the point. Once the original gastroscope is done if the findings are unremarkable, as they were in my case, then there is no further screening. I have a top quality gastroenterologist and he is well versed in the rules. I agree that if they found something then I’m pretty certain that would be different. I don’t want people in the U.K. to think or believe they can insist on something that isn’t available where there gastroscopy is ‘unremarkable’, which, gladly, is the vast majority. You can of course pay for one, at a cost of about £1800 if you remain concerned. I did this 3 Years after the first one and, thankfully, no change. I’d be interested if other U.K. members have a different experience.
thank you, very helpful!
I absolutely agree with you if you had an initial screening tat was unremarkable and then a second one at 3 years with the same results. Just a note of which I'm sure you already know is that PA or the cause of PA autoimmune gastritis is a progressive disease. My personal preference would be to have it looked at periodically the frequency who knows, there's no standards. Obviously you trust your NHS as most everyone else on this forum does.
Best wishes
Yes I agree which is why I paid for a further test 3 years later. I suspect, but don’t know for sure, that the incidence of progression to cancer is rare enough compared to the cost of invasive tests for the NHS not to have a screening programme. So it’s every one for themselves!
I use Betaine HCI too. 480mg or twice that depending on size of meal. I’m gluten intolerant. And for some reason, pepsin doesn’t suit either, if added to Betaine. Trial and error as always. Probiotics help and fibre and coconut kefir. (Lactose intolerant)
Although not specific to stomach acid this is a good general diet guide:
hsph.harvard.edu/nutritions...
Mainly whole foods, pro and prebiotics, miso + sauerkraut, as others mentioned, can help rebuild damaged gut microbiome. More legumes/whole grains, dark leafy greens, berries, handful of nuts/seeds, cruciferous veg, herbs and spices, orange foods in most meals and rotate most foods for variety can all help nutritionally and for gut health.
Adding a vitamin D supplement is a good idea over the darker months.
Digestive Bitters work well to increase saliva and digestive juices when taken right before a meal. They have been helping me with my GERD. Also bromelain found in a ripe pinapple core and fermented foods. Homemade Sour Kraut, etc. provide lots of probiotics and goods for the tummy. I've been making something called "curtido" very yummy and easy to ferment in a covered jar in the cabinet and a great topper for eggs and tacos. You can find recipes online.
I think I replied to Wedgewood but all the same. See my reply there.
Just one more note regarding stomach cancer. it is perfectly 100% curable if you are being surveilled and they find it early enough. They just excise it during the Gastroscopy when it is found. The important thing is to make sure they assess your risk and determine an appropriate Gastroscopy interval.
Best wishes
Thank you so much everyone for all your help, its been so userful! I am new to all of this so I am just so glad I can get so much help!
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