I’m Dr. Tom Rofrano, founder of The Natural Medicine Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. I have had the opportunity to see over 100,000 patient visits over the last 34 years. Today, I’m going to talk about how a stomach bug called H. Pylori can cause your gut and thyroid issues and how to fix it through alternative treatments.
What is Helicobacter Pylori Bacteria?
It’s a bacteria that can inhabit your stomach. Over 50% of the world’s population has it, over 80% in some undeveloped countries, and in North America, over 20% of the people are estimated to have it. It can cause a wide range of symptoms.
It’s the primary cause of peptic ulcers, chronic inflammation, gastritis, abdominal pain, burning, reflux, constipation, diarrhea, and belching. H. Pylori can also cause bad breath. You can develop other conditions like autoimmune diseases, thyroid Hashimoto’s or Graves’, and skin conditions from this bacteria.
H. Pylori Symptoms and Testing
Pylori is a prime cause for malabsorption, anemia, and esophageal and stomach cancer. It is important to be aware that this might be an underlying cause if you have any of these symptoms.
How do you diagnose H Pylori?
There are three different tests, but I recommend the stool test for the most accurate testing.
1. Blood and Breath Tests
There are blood and breath tests available, but they aren’t as accurate as stool testing. I’m not fond of the breath test because you have to drink a liquid loaded with aspartame, an artificial sweetener.
Some people also suffer from side effects of the drink, like burning of the throat and stomach, nausea, and diarrhea. Many of these symptoms are already present in people with H. Pylori.
2. Stool Test
I prefer the stool test because it’s accurate and easy to do. The stool test is an accurate diagnosis of whether you have an H. Pylori infection. I’ve recently had five patients diagnosed with H pylori, and I’ll briefly discuss their issues and how they got rid of H. pylori.
Traditional Treatment for Helicobacter Pylori
The traditional treatment is antibiotic therapy. It is called triple therapy because it has two antibiotics and an acid-blocking drug. Over time, it has been proven not to be that effective.
So now the protocol is quadruple therapy, which adds an additional drug. There are also different combinations of hybrid therapies. Sometimes these therapies may involve having a patient take 14 prescription pills in one day for two or three weeks.
The success rate for these treatments varies from 29% to 90%, depending on the person and the area. Antibiotic resistance has evolved over the years, so it’s shown not to be as effective. That’s why the protocols had to keep changing and increasing dosages.
Sometimes people take three or four drugs for two weeks and then move on to other drugs.
Natural Treatments for H. Pylori Treatment
Now that we’ve gone over the medical treatment protocol, we will cover the natural treatment. We’ve been able to help many patients that come in with an H. Pylori infection resolve it naturally.
There are three steps.
1. Get Tested
First, if you have symptoms, you get tested and find out if you have it.
2. Change Your Diet
Next, there is a diet that I created and use called the FreeDiet®. The diet is free of gluten, grain, sugar, and yeast- all foods that are commonly inflammatory, and bacteria love feeding on sugar and starches. You want to help starve them while at the same time giving products that help clear them out. That’s where the FreeDiet® diet comes into play. Most patients that try out my diet see a significant reduction in symptoms.
Click here for a copy of The FreeDiet® phase 1 food chart, so at least you’ll know how to get started on that.
3. Take Specific Supplements to Support Gut Health
As far as supplements go, I’ll tell you what I found to be helpful below.
Effects Of Natural Treatment For My Patients
Here is a look at a few of the cases I’ve treated in my clinic:
Female – 20 Years Old
I saw a 20-year-old female patient who was suffering from extreme stomach burning, reflux, pain, bloating, and black stools, which is common. Typically that means ulcerations and bleeding in the stomach. Her stool test came back positive for H pylori.
Female – 36 Years Old
I also saw a 36-year-old woman dealing with severe fatigue, weakness, nausea, and constipation. She ended up with an iron deficiency, anemia and other deficiencies, which are common with H pylori. She was so fatigued and weak that she couldn’t even work for two months.
Conventional medical doctors told her she had anemia and to take iron supplements, but that wasn’t helping because it wasn’t fixing the underlying cause. She had internal bleeding because H. pylori can cause ulcers.
Male – 67 Years Old
I had a 67-year-old male patient dealing with constipation, diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain, and heartburn.
Female – 37 Years Old
A 37-year-old female patient had similar symptoms: nausea, vomiting, constipation, bloating, iron deficiency, anemia, very weak, and couldn’t even exercise.
Every one of them had low thyroid function and gluten sensitivity.
Diet and Supplements for Helicobacter Pylori Gut Support
The diet I recommend is free of gluten and grains and is extremely helpful in treating this type of infection. The program also involves a combination of different supplements.
I recommend a very strong probiotic as well as our supplement called GastroBlast™. It is a combination of different nutrients like mastic gum, licorice, zinc carnosine, and cabbage extract. These are all compounds that have shown to be very helpful with this condition. It helps the stomach lining heal as well.
ProbioXtreme™, GastroBlast™, Curcumin Protect™, C-Bioflavonoids 500, Glutathione Protect (w NAC), and GI-Mend™ are all compounds that when taken together, can help with eliminating symptoms of H Pylori.
All the patients mentioned above did a three-month protocol, and they all showed resolution with follow-up testing.
The last step of the protocol is to retest to make sure the infection is gone. All of my patients’ tests showed the infection was gone, as well most of their symptoms. Their gut symptoms and skin symptoms like eczema, rashes, and itchiness (which are common symptoms) had all cleared up. They typically resolve when you follow the above-mentioned protocol.
Why It’s Important to Eliminate Alcohol with H. Pylori
I did have a 37-year-old female patient with all these similar symptoms that I mentioned. When I retested her, it hadn’t completely resolved. When I look at the differences between the patients, she was the only one that drank alcohol.
She did not quite follow the FreeDiet® 100% accurately, as she drank a lot of alcohol every weekend. Alcohol is very inflammatory to the stomach lining and can damage the stomach lining.
When you are trying to heal the stomach, alcohol is avoided on the FreeDiet® phase 1 for a reason. When you’re going through this, it is important if you want to get better, you have to strictly adhere to the diet. If you want to get better, then you have to stick with what works.
H. Pylori is a Stealth Infection
In the midst of all this, I found out I had H. pylori. I was in the process of testing another company to ensure I was using the best stool testing for my patients, and all my colleagues were talking about how great this one company was. I was comparing their stool test to the one I had been using, and so I did a test on myself. I used three companies- the original one and two others. To my surprise, the test came back positive for H. pylori, and that was through the company I’d been using all these years.
Not Everyone with H. Pylori Has Symptoms
It’s possible to have no symptoms and have H. pylori, as I wasn’t exhibiting any symptoms. I’ve had digestive symptoms and thyroid issues in the past, as well as Hashimoto’s, skin, joint, autoimmune, and other conditions.
I was surprised I came back positive for H. pylori as I hadn’t had any gut symptoms in a while. I did the complete protocol for six weeks, as I wanted to see if it would work in that amount of time. I did it for six weeks instead of three months. I retested, and the infection had been eliminated.
Contact Us Today for An Appointment
I hope this information has been helpful. If you think you may have H. pylori and want a natural functional medicine nutrition approach, please contact our office today. We would be happy to help. Please reach out to learn more about natural treatments for h pylori today.
18 Comments
Jeanie Marie
Hi it started out a sore throat over a month ago, then came nausea a couple wks later in the mornings, so I got antibiotics for it. Clindamycin for 10 days. A few days after it got completed. Sitter throat went away but not allot of drainage in my throat which has lasted for weeks now.
I believe I could have hpylori. My stomache seemed to burn all the time and especially at night. I went to the e r and then ct scan said I had inflammated stomache lining from gastritis.. I had an upper GI & it showed 3 polyps. But my lining had went down, I believe she to me taking flagyl which was prescribed to me bc it was thought to be diverticulitis. I’ve since had a colonoscopy that showed no signs of diverticulitis. My stomache hasn’t swelled again yet, but it’s only been a few days since I had stopped the flagyl. It’s made me throat get all filled & irritated especially at night & my tongue looked like thrush on it. Meanwhile during all of this I decided maybe candida could be an underlying culprit, so I changed my diet to pretty much bland to support the gastritis & no sugar, carbs, yeast, or fermented to support candida diet. That leaves, but allot of good choices. I finally get to see my Dr. Tuesday. I got probiotics today & took half of one, as I heard they may be harsh. I just wanted to tell you my story so maybe you can give me some input.
Dr. Tom Rofrano
Hi Jeanie, If you are still having issues and want to see how we may be able to help you, you can email Kayla at info@nmcwellness.com or call 561-627-5800.
Danielle Chavez
Hello my name is Danielle I was just informed by a digestive Dr they did a procedure endoscope and I tested positive for H phlori and I don’t want to take the meds they suggest I want to do it naturally.
Dr. Tom Rofrano
Hi Danielle, to see how we may be able to help you, you can email us at info@nmcwellness.com or call 561-627-5800.
Marcia
Hello Dr. Rofrano,
Was diagnosed with H pylori for the second time. I couldn’t take flagyl and Cipro both were really hard on my body.
At this point, I really want to try the holistic approach and pray that it will work for me.
Having my Colonosopy next month God willing and want to eradicate this h pylori ASAP.
Thank you!
Dr. Tom Rofrano
Hi Marcia,
If you are still unable to eliminate it, email or call us to see what we can do to help you.
Scott Larkman
Hello Dr Tom,
I have Hpylori and in much pain,
Can we do a tel consult please ?
I live in Australia
Please help
Thanks
Scott
Dr. Tom Rofrano
Yes, set up a video call w one of my team and they can help you with setting that up for you. info@nmcwellness.com
natalie
Hi Dr. Rofrano,
I have hashimotos thyroiditis which I was able to put into remission back in 2017. However, I have not been good to myself the past couple years and started being careless with my health and stressing out, eating badly, and never working out (amongst other bad behaviors). Then when I got motivated to workout again (because none of my beautiful clothes fit me and I refuse to buy new clothes) I couldn’t even do a jumping jack because of all this acid reflux I was having. I have NEVER had acid reflux before so I knew something was wrong. Then I started getting hives (mostly at night) and they were terrible but infrequent so I thought it was something I was using (body wash, laundry detergent, etc). As time went on (this has all come about in the past 3 months) the hives began happening daily and occurring everywhere at all hours of the day and my stool were weird (whereas they had never been anything but stellar in the past, even with hashimotos). So, I did a ton of research and suspected I may have an overgrowth of something. I did the DirectLabs GI Map test and came back positive for H Pylori (all virulence factors were negative) but the test also came back positive for high Bacteroidetes, Bacillus spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp, Prevotella spp, and Anti-gliadin IgA. I also had some low normal gut flora (Enterococcus spp and Lactobacillus spp). So I did more research and have created a protocol of sorts for myself. I am currently taking Pure Encapsulations S. boulardii along with their Probiotic 50B. I have also included Zinc, Selenium, NAC, L-glutamine, and Pure Encapsulations BenfoMax (thiamine) supplement. Those are more for my thyroid and overall gut health so I have also added Oil of Oregano and Gaia Herbs Microbiome Cleanse product. I have also gone back to being gluten/dairy/sugar free and am currently following an AIP diet. (With the exception of cutting our nightshades – I still eat tomatoes and have a cup a coffee on Sunday mornings.) My question is this – since I am not a professional – is it possible to have a consultation with you or have you or your staff review what I am doing to make sure I am on the right track? I live in rural Wyoming and finding a doctor is VERY hard. I was working with a functional medicine doctor in Denver but it was so expensive and wasnt worth my time at all – they were really all about making money and not about helping me get better. Anyway – I’m just looking for someone to consult with and it seems like that doesn’t really exist but if it does and you can help me, please let me know.
Dr. Tom Rofrano
Hi Natalie, you can call us at 561-627-5800. Ask for Kayla and she will see if we can help you with this.
Jane Harris
I would like to follow your protocol but I have various genetic MTHFR defects including : Al of these are +/-
MTHFR/A1298C
MTHFR/3
MTRR/A66G
BHMT/1
CBS/C699T
CBS/A360A
COMT/V158M
COMT/H62H
NOS/D298E
___________________
These are:
MTRR/11 +/+
VDR/Taq1 +/+
MAOA +/+
So there are many things in them I can’t take: I am missing tyrosinase and tyr1, so many thing that are anti inflammatories for others work the opposite for me. I am on a low protein, low sulfur, low sugar diet but thing like curcumin, cabbage, -can’t take. I have high levels of Ochratoxin a and take a little 1/16 tsp cholestyramine at meals and then chlorella and charcoal 1/day; I also have Lyme-which is apparently common to co occur with H pylori.
Can h pylori on the skin be treated separately from Lyme? I live in a small town far north in Michigan. None of the docs here know anything about Lyme so after 5 years I’ve had 10 days of doxycycline total. There are no ILADDS doctors within 6 hours drive of here.
Is there anything you can recommend?
Dr. Tom Rofrano
I would continue to search for a Lyme specialist who can also take your genetic issues into account. Some of them may work with you virtually.
daniel liu
HI,
I feel bloating and frequent burping for several weeks. I had H. Pylori and recoverred 30 years ago. But did not test recemtly.
Anyway you could help?
thanks
daniel liu
Cellphone: 909-306-9598
Dr. Tom Rofrano
Hi Daniel, Give us a call at 561-627-5800 and my Team can assist you.
Kathryn Tuckness
Is this treatment effective if you have H. Pylori and Sibo? Would mastic gum add to my problems with Sibo?
Dr. Tom Rofrano
I have seen this effective for both. I have not seen products with mastic gum aggravate SIBO.
Katharine
What if I have sibo and h pylori and candida overgrowth? I had stool test analysis done a year ago and worked with a naturopath but a lot of symptoms have some back, I need to know how to stop it from reoccurring? But I am based in Ireland so I would just need advice on supplements protocols is that something you can do for me?
Thank you
Dr. Tom Rofrano
Yes, you can set this up here https://nmcwellness.com/book-now/ to get more information on how we can help you.
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Content on this website is based upon the opinions of Thomas Rofrano, D.C. and is not considered medical advice. It is designed to be a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Rofrano and his community. Dr. Rofrano encourages you to make your health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Dr. Rofrano is a chiropractic physician and offers physical and nutritional support and guidance to those seeking alternative or complementary care to traditional medicine. His care is not meant to replace that from your primary doctor and specialists but rather to help you on your path to achieving life-long vibrant health.
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