Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR) and Treatment Options |
Author: S Kannapiran |
Category: Health: Diseases and Conditions |
Conventionally, general practitioners treat LPR with PPIs to relieve persistent throat symptoms. The logic is lowering the acidity of the stomach to minimize throat damage. While this treatment may provide temporary relief, it is not a long-term solution. The chronic intake of PPIs may cause severe complications such as dementia, mineral depletion, and chronic kidney disease. To make things worse, there is little evidence to support the effectiveness of PPIs in the treatment of LPR. One study attempted to study the effects of lansoprazole on LPR. This study recruited 346 participants who had unexplained throat symptoms. These symptoms were present for 6 months or more at the time of the study. One group took lansoprazole and the second group took a placebo. The study found that PPI doesn’t improve throat symptoms. There was no evidence that lansoprazole was more effective than placebo. Also, new research shows that alkaline and weakly acidic LPR are more prevalent than previously presumed because they concern more than 50% of patients. These patients often do not respond at all to PPI therapy and require alginate therapy to control the alkaline component of reflux. Alginate is an anionic polysaccharide occurring naturally in brown algae, aka seaweed. Alginate therapy works by creating a low-density viscous gel raft, that can last up to four hours, when alginate and bicarbonate contact stomach acid. This raft acts as a physical barrier at the opening of the stomach to prevent the leakage of acid as well as gaseous pepsin. Since it is a physical barrier even a gas can’t get through! Unlike PPIs and other conventional treatments of LPR, alginate therapy takes action immediately. Therefore, once you take an alginate-bicarbonate preparation, the damage that’s being done to your throat and voice box will stop at that moment. Unlike PPIs, alginate therapy is non-systemic. This means that alginate therapy works by forming a physical foam barrier at the lower esophageal junction and its’ effect stays there. As we have seen, the PPI mechanism of action of cutting off acid production has side effects that affect multiple body systems (stomach, brain, kidneys) with long-term use. Alginate therapy is also safe for use while pregnant. The good news is that alginate therapy’s effectiveness has been extensively tested by researchers. The vast majority of studies in this field confirmed the positive effects of these preparations without any known side effects. Also, alginate can be taken long term without any known side effects and is safe for use during pregnancy. A recent 2021 study enrolled 100 outpatients with LPR. Alginate treatment was administered for two months. Patients underwent four visits (at baseline and 15, 30, and 60 days after treatment). A visual analog scale assessed the perception of dysphonia, dysphagia, and cough. Alginate significantly (p<0.0001) reduced all parameters. Therefore, the study demonstrated that alginate was effective and safe in LPR treatment. Nutritist Refluxly is the best alginate-bicarbonate supplement on the market today. Because Alginate preparations are sold in the form of supplements, there are no regulations that instruct manufacturers on how to develop these products. Many manufacturers use a random assortment of ingredients or a “proprietary alginate complex” so you don’t know what dosage of the ingredients you are taking. Sometimes manufacturers include ingredients that you don’t want like aluminum and saccharin. Nutritist’s founder is an MD who studied clinical research papers such as the ones mentioned in this article and used the ingredients mentioned in the papers in their correct effective dosages when he created Refluxly. In addition to the ingredients necessary to form a strong alginate raft, Refluxly also contains strawberry powder. Research has shown that strawberry powder can help prevent esophageal cancer. Anyone with LPR should be taking Refluxly by Nutritist. Why? Because of three reasons: First, LPR is a chronic condition that requires long-term therapy. Opting for a PPI for long-term use is not a good choice due to all the factors listed earlier. Next, LPR is mostly asymptomatic. Hence, you might not know about it even though it’s damaging your throat. In this case, would you prefer to take a natural supplement without any reported side effects or a PPI? Lastly, more than 50% of people with LPR have alkaline LPR or weakly acidic LPR. PPIs will not help much, if at all, for these people. Because alginate works by forming an actual physical barrier when it along with bicarbonate reacts with stomach acid, it doesn’t matter whether the LPR is alkaline or acidic. Either way, its blocked! If you are ready to make the smart choice, purchase a bottle of Refluxly by clicking here |
|