Stomach complaints such as heartburn, gastritis and stomach ulcers are becoming more and more prevalent. The stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori is said to be involved in this situation. Conventional medicine fights the stomach germ with strong antibiotics. In some cases, probiotics are completely forgotten. However, these are indispensable in Helicobacter therapy – whether conventional medicine or holistic – for various reasons.
The bacterium Helicobacter pylori
The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is inhabitant of many human stomachs and is therefore often simply referred to as a stomach germ. Almost half of humanity is said to carry the bacterium. It does not lead to symptoms in everyone. Presumably, only certain conditions in the stomach cause the bacterium to multiply excessively and only then stomach problems develop. This is because a healthy stomach normally puts Helicobacter pylori in its place.
Phases of stress, for example, can cause the bacterium to suddenly multiply in episodes, one reason why stress and worry are always associated with stomach problems. If there is a strong proliferation of the stomach germ – for whatever reason – this leads, among other things, to increased acid formation. Heartburn, gastritis and stomach or duodenal ulcers can be the consequences.
Antibiotics are the method of choice in conventional medicine. However, probiotics (preparations with beneficial bacterial strains) should also be part of Helicobacter therapy – regardless of whether you want to use antibiotics or not. This is because very specific probiotic bacterial strains are now known that specifically fight the stomach bacterium and can thus help to remedy stomach complaints.
Diagnosis and therapy
Tissue samples of the gastric mucosa (gastroscopy), a breath test, a blood test or even a stool analysis are suitable for diagnosing the stomach germ. If larger settlements of the bacterium are discovered in the course of these examinations, the gastroenterologist usually prescribes the so-called triple therapy: two antibiotics and an acid blocker. This is also referred to as so-called eradication therapy.
This therapy can be accompanied by severe side effects and destroys the microflora of the human organism. Many people therefore discontinue therapy prematurely. Another disadvantage of eradication therapy is that it contributes to the formation of resistant Helicobacter lineages. Already 30 percent of them are now antibiotic-resistant, according to the April 2015 issue of the German Journal of Clinical Research. Consequently, measures should be urgently sought and found that can reduce the Helicobacter populations in the stomach in another way.
Special probiotic against Helicobacter pylori
Taking probiotics is an important part of intestinal cleansing. As probiotics do not only work in the intestine, but also in the stomach. They effectively fight the Helicobacter bacterium directly on site, but these must be certain probiotic bacterial strains. There are actually only a few studies available for a few strains that attest to the effect of probiotic cultures on Helicobacter infections, e.g. Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus johnsonii, Lactobacillus plantarum and others.
And also with regard to e.g. L. reuteri, it seems to be a very specific substrain that unerringly detects the Helicobacter bacterium, binds it to itself and ensures that it can be removed from the stomach and excreted in the stool. This probiotic is called Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648.
Special probiotic reduces stomach germs
In August 2013, Mehling and Busjahn wrote in ‘Nutrients’ that after a two-week treatment with Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 – according to an initial study – a significant reduction in the number of Helicobacters could be detected via the breath test, which was not the case in people who did not receive the probiotic.
In another study (at the Charité in Berlin), this result could now be confirmed. Participants were 22 people with an average age of 47 years with a proven Helicobacter infection who were not taking or had not taken any medication. They now received either a placebo or the probiotic with inactivated – i.e. no longer viable – probiotic cultures of the Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 strain every day.
Afterwards (after a breath test that showed the result of the first round) they swapped: the placebo group now received the probiotic and vice versa. In order to also check for longer-term effects, additional breath tests for Helicobacter pylori were carried out 6, 12 and 24 weeks after taking the probiotic. The probiotic should be taken immediately after breakfast and after dinner.
This study also showed a significant reduction in Helicobacter colonization, which also lasted for a longer period of time, as it persisted for six months after the end of probiotic intake.
Special probiotic improves stomach problems
Another clinical study with Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 (Moscow, Bordin et al., 2015) showed that the administration of the preparation alone led to an improvement in stomach complaints in the majority of patients. Whether pain before or after meals or feelings of fullness, after four weeks of taking Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 , these symptoms had decreased significantly in many patients.
In the same year, the preparation was used in children (Parolova et al.). The administration of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 alone led to successful eradication of the gastric bacterium in 50 percent of the test subjects. In the control group, which was treated with the usual antibiotics, the figure was 68.75 percent.
WhenLactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 was given in combination with antibiotics, there were significantly fewer side effects than in the group that was treated with antibiotics alone. The symptoms of an inflamed gastric mucosa also regressed more significantly in the combined group than in the antibiotic group.
So whether antibiotics are necessary or not, whether the patient is an adult or still a child, discuss with your doctor the additional intake of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 .
Prevent stomach problems
Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 is also suitable for purely prophylactic or even long-term use, for example in stressful life situations, i.e. when there could be an excessive proliferation of Helicobacter, such as during exam preparation, in stressful phases at work or in emotional stress phases (separation from a partner, grief, etc.). In this way, helicobacter-related stomach problems could be prevented.
Intestinal flora is built up separately
Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 is available in inactivated spray-dried form. The preparation is not one of the typical probiotic preparations consisting of live bacterial strains. Lactobacillus reuteri DSM(Z)17648 is therefore not suitable for building up the intestinal flora, but only for the treatment or prevention of Helicobacter pylori.
However, if you want to build up the intestinal flora at the same time or protect yourself from the side effects of antibiotics during eradication therapy, other measures are necessary – as you can read here: Building up the intestinal flora.
If you choose a probiotic that contains those probiotic strains that have shown an anti-Helicobacter effect in studies (e.g. L. rhamnosus, L. reuteri, L. plantarum and L. johnsonii), then you have an even better chance of keeping the stomach healthy.
Lactobacillus plantarum displaces Helicobacter pylori from the stomach
In a Finnish study published in 2006 in the journal Letters in Applied Microbiology, for example, it was shown that the stomach germ can be displaced by lactobacilli from the group Lactobacillus plantarum.
A year later, Italian scientists from the University of Rome wrote in the relevant journal ‘Helicobacter’ that the antimicrobial effect of probiotics was known and that probiotics had therefore often been used on a trial basis for Helicobacter infections – with very good results.
The probiotic cultures seem to prevent Helicobacter pylori from attaching to the gastric mucosa. In addition, they stabilize the gastric mucosa and also produce antimicrobial substances that create an environment in which the bacterium no longer feels so comfortable.
Antibiotic therapy always with probiotics
If the Helicobacter infection is to be combated with the help of antibiotics, the Roman study authors recommend the accompanying intake of probiotics in any case, as these mitigate the typical side effects of antibiotic therapy and thus lead to a higher level of well-being during treatment. In this way, fewer patients discontinue the strenuous antibiotic therapy.
The accompanying intake of inulin, a prebiotic (not probiotic!), which itself does not have a probiotic effect, but provides the food for the probiotic bacterial cultures, has also proven to be helpful in combating the stomach germ, thus ensuring that they feel comfortable, multiply and become sedentary.
Probiotics prevent stomach problems
In the same year, the Journal of Nutrition published a review by researchers at the Swiss private clinic Clinique Genolier, not far from Lake Geneva. According to the Swiss researchers, probiotics can be an inexpensive and comprehensive solution to prevent Helicobacter infections or to decimate existing Helicobacter colonies. Several animal studies have already shown that probiotics are extremely effective in alleviating the inflammatory foci of helicobacter-related stomach problems.
In human studies (in seven out of nine), an improvement in gastritis caused by the bacterium and a reduction in bacterial colonies could also be observed after probiotics were administered.
Probiotics improve success rate of antibiotic therapy
Probiotics also increased the success rate of antibiotic therapy, as a review of nine studies from 2007 showed. While antibiotic therapy was normally able to successfully eradicate Helicobacter in 71 percent of cases, the percentage rose to 81 percent when probiotics were also taken.
Side effects occurred in 46 percent of patients when they took antibiotics alone. However, if they were also given probiotics, side effects occurred in only 23 percent of cases. However, it always depended on which probiotic strains or sub strains were used, so that the overall study results are very different and inconsistent.
We would therefore recommend a holistic approach to Helicobacter infections in order to achieve the highest possible success rate with the best tolerability.
Holistic measures for Helicobacter pylori
In addition to a healthy diet and lifestyle, stomach problems caused by an infection with Helicobacter pylori (whether treated with or without antibiotics) should always be treated with both a preparation with Lactobacillus reuteri and probiotics with live bacterial strains.
In addition, other naturopathic measures to combat Helicobacter pylori and to remedy stomach problems include, for example, broccoli sprouts (sulforaphane), cranberry juice, cistus tea, ginseng and much more. If several of these measures are combined, they can support and intensify each other’s individual effects, so that a comprehensive therapy plan seems to be the best solution.
