H2 Histamine Blockers Affect on Gut Health

Have you been taking antihistamines to manage your symptoms?

Did you know they weaken stomach acid which can negatively impact digestion?

Histamine isn't always the bad guy! We need it in order to stimulate stomach acid which is our first defense against parasites and harmful pathogens like h-pylori.

When you take H2 blockers like cimetidine, famotidine, nizatidine, pepcid, zantac or ranitidine, they decrease histamine by decreasing stomach acid.

What does this mean for gut health?

Higher risk for contracting parasites, decreased ability to break down and digest food in the stomach which can lead to bloating, gas, abdominal distention and slowed gastric emptying.

This also will negatively impact your body's ability to absorb vitamin B12 (hello fatigue!), iron, zinc and calcium.

This can inevitably lead to worsening histamine symptoms due to increased risk of SIBO and estrogen dominance due to the way it alters the microbiome and estrobolome.

So although it may be tempting as a temporary fix to use these drugs for symptom relief, keep in mind it is only compounding the problem and putting you at higher risk for rebound histamine symptoms, in addition to rebound reflux.

More often than not, when someone has acid reflux, it is actually a problem of too low of stomach acid, not too high. When the stomach acid is too low the valve at the bottom of the esophagus doesn't get the signal to stay closed, and acid can start creeping up.

It is possible to get off of these drugs, even if you've been on them for a long time, it just requires addressing root causes while using supplements to heal the gut.