Thanks. I didn't know about glutamine and ulcers but I'm sure many will prefer it to
juicing cabbage especially those intolerant to it !!! as it looks promising for a variety of issues. I also thought I'd include here an excerpt about H. pylori and the cause of ulcers, as an alternative viewpoint to the current official explanation, hoping it may add something to the thread:
(Excerpt taken from
Andreas Moritz ' book 'Timeless Secrets of Health And Rejuvenation, Fifth Edition (2009) :
"In 1982, a bacterium was discovered by Marshall and Warren, which supposedly causes more than 90 percent of duodenal ulcers and up to 80 percent of gastric ulcers. The microbe is a spiral-shaped gram-negative bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori).
"The link between H. pylori infection and subsequent gastritis and peptic ulcer disease has been documented through studies of human volunteers,
Antibiotic treatment studies and epidemiological studies. This well-established link, however, does not reveal much about which one of the two is the cause and which is the effect. This stomach bug may just as well be a 'byproduct' of ulceration rather than its cause. Such a scenario would not be unusual since bacteria automatically appear wherever there is dead matter, as occurs in ulcerated tissue. The
Antibiotic drugs omeprazole and amoxycillin, now prescribed for stomach ulcers, together with secretion inhibitors, destroy the bug, and the ulcers disappear. This, of course, brings great relief to many sufferers. Why do the ulcers disappear? Bacteria produce toxins which prompt the body's inflammatory response (ulceration). However, inflammation is not a disease but the body's way to heal itself and prevent a much more serious condition than an ulcer (see explanation below). Most people would be inclined to conclude that the ulcers are caused by the bug. However, once the
Antibiotics and acid inhibitors are discontinued, the bug and the ulcers may return. According to research, H. pylori colonizes the stomach in about 50 percent of all humans, and once you have it, you have it for life.
"In countries with high socio-economic standards, infection is considerably less common than in developing countries where virtually everyone may be infected. If H. pylori causes stomach ulcers, why doesn't everyone in the developing world have them? Instead, stomach ulcers are much more common in the industrialized world. Although most people in the world have H. pylori bacteria in their stomach right from early childhood, in most of these individuals, H. pylori infection is asymptomatic. Only 10-15% of infected individuals will at some time experience peptic ulcer disease. The main question we need to ask is not whether an individual who suffers from a stomach ulcer is infected with H. pylori, but why this bacterium is more active or proliferates in some individuals rather than in others. And why does it return after the ulcer has been 'cured' by the drug treatment? In other words, there must be another reason for the ulceration than simply the presence of a particular bacteria that half of the people on this planet share.
"In reality, the prescription drugs have no curative effects at all because the afflicted person depends on their continual or occasional intake. What they do 'accomplish', however, is to destroy all kinds of bacteria in your gut, including those that help you break down toxins and undigested foods which have accumulated in the stomach, particularly in the lower part, called the antrum. Interestingly, the chronic infection linked with stomach ulcers is always initiated in the antrum.The H. pylori bacteria naturally return to the gut when the
Antibiotics are no longer there to destroy them. Why would they do that? To do their job. It is their function to go to places where dead, damaged cells and toxins need to be broken down and removed. If you eat too much food, not all of it can be digested. The presence of undigested food in the stomach is a cause of continuous irritation and toxicity. In addition, certain foods and food combinations are so difficult to digest that they stay in the stomach too long, thereby overstimulating acid secretions. All this damages, weakens or destroys stomach cells. A proliferation of H. pylori bacteria occurs in direct response to the damage caused by inappropriate foods and eating habits.
"To reiterate, these bugs can be found everywhere and in everyone, yet only a few people develop stomach ulcers. Why do H. pylori 'cause' a gastric ulcer in 1 out of 20 people and not in the other 19, although the bacterium is found in all of them? Similarly, a trapped nerve can be seen as a cause of disease in the body, but not every trapped nerve results in disease. Instead of looking for an external culprit for such a problem, wouldn't it be far more important to find out why some trapped nerves produce pathological changes and others don't? Why does the same frightening situation cause a panic attack or an infarct in one person and not in another? Could it be possible that these external 'causes' of disease may simply serve as a trigger to ignite the high toxicity bomb already present in a person's body, thus leading to a toxicity crisis, which is commonly known as disease?
"Conventional medicine erroneously assumes that removing a symptom or infectious bacteria also removes the health condition. However, in reality, the removal of the symptoms creates a far more serious and life-threatening situation. Increasing evidence, for example, suggests that the disappearance of H. pylori, the bacterium present in peptic ulcers, may actually be contributing to the obesity epidemic. H. Pylori regulates the production of leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is a protein hormone with important effects in regulating appetite, body weight, metabolism and reproductive functions. Ghrelin, a circulating growth hormone-releasing peptide derived from the stomach, stimulates hunger and food intake. Destroying H. pylori in the stomach, can upset the balance of these hormones and lead to spiraling effects of weight gain and injury to all organs and systems in the body. The saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing certainly applies to the symptom-oriented approach of conventional medicine.
"Note for sufferers of stomach ulcers: Licorice has traditionally been used as an excellent medicine for peptic ulcers. However, the licorice compound glycyrrhetinic acid has been found to elevate blood pressure in some people. Hence, a procedure was developed to remove this compound from licorice and form deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL). The result is a very succesful anti-ulcer agent without any known side effects.
"According to numerous studies, DGL stimulates and/or accelerates the factors that protect against ulcer formation, including the increased production of mucin, the protective coating in the stoamch and intestines. Study participants have found DGL to be an effective anti-ulcer compound. Several head to head comparison studies have shown that DGL is more effective than Tagamet, Zantac or antacids in both short term treatment and maintenance therapy of gastric and duodenal ulcers. DGL also has been effective in reducing the need for H. pylori proliferation, perhaps because of the removal of toxic harmful compounds feeding these germs. DGL must mix with saliva to be effective in healing peptic ulcers. It may promote the release of salivary compounds that stimulate the growth and regeneration of stomach and intestinal cells. Don't use DGL in capsule form, as this has not been shown to be effective. DGL in chewable tablet form is available through most supplement suppliers."