Healthy but High Lipids? Think H Pylori….

The information in the post is not medical advice, please consult a medical professional before using health supplements.

I am consistently confronted with the common problem of high LDL blood levels in all ages and genders, otherwise healthy and following a ‘healthy’ diet and lifestyle. This is an ongoing conundrum one which nobody seems to be able to change without somewhat extreme dietary measures – the cutting out animal fats and inclusion of low fat alternatives. These often compromise health as they usually contain trans-fats, PUFA’s, sweeteners and other chemical additives. I am often frustrated with this concept that a diet containing healthy fat equates to high LDL levels, as there is so much contradicting evidence that it is not eating fats that literally cause LDL levels to rocket, if it was surely all these poor people starving themselves of fat would have low LDL levels?

Question: What do all these people have in common?

I have alongside this LDL conundrum, also been mulling and meandering through the myriad of scientific papers related to Helicobacter Pylori (H Pylori), as this is also a very common issue amongst many of my clients, up there with Dyslipidemia and Metabolic Syndrome.

Question: What is H Pylori

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that colonizes the human stomach and is an established cause of gastritis, chronic active gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and gastric Adenocarcinoma. It appears that everybody has H Pylori to some degree, but those who have it further up the oesophagus may suffer with unpleasant symptoms of Acid Reflux or GERD.

HDL v LDL

“HDL cholesterol has a protective role against diseases of the heart and blood vessels such as heart attacks and strokes. The cholesterol itself is a fat, so it’s not the cholesterol that is protective, but the HDL lipoprotein as a whole.“

https://www.heartuk.org.uk/cholesterol/hdl-cholesterol

So we want the protective aspect of HDL and this study – ‘The Effect of Helicobacter pylori Eradication on Lipid Levels: A Meta-Analysis’, shows that H Pylori eradication is associated with an elevation in good cholesterol (HDL):

“H. pylori infection leads to systemic inflammation [49] and oxidative stress [50]. Inflammation and oxidative stress cause a reduction in HDL-C levels [51,52]. Cytokines induce the inflammatory molecule, serum amyloid A, which replaces a major HDL component (apolipoprotein A-I), thereby reducing the HDL-C levels [53]. In addition, inflammation and oxidative stress alter HDL-C-related enzymes; for example, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase, cholesterol ester transfer protein, and hepatic lipase levels are reduced while endothelial lipase levels are increased, which can reduce the HDL-C levels [54,55]. Abnormal cholesterol transport is another reason for the reduction in HDL-C levels, a phenomenon seen in H. pylori infection [39,40]. As another etiological mechanism, the microbiome may be involved [56]. H. pylori infection alters the gut microbiota [57], and eradication with antibiotic treatments has been shown to alter the microbiota and reduce H. pylori-induced inflammation.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7956592/#B51-jcm-10-00904

In another Pubmed study in 2020 it was concluded H Pylori significantly affects the serum lipid profile:

“Both our multivariate analyses and meta-analysis showed that H. pylori infection significantly affects the serum lipid profile, which might lead to various dyslipidemia-induced severe diseases like coronary thrombosis or cerebral infarction.“

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7279579/

In a study titled – ‘Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in elderly Koreans’, 454 elderly Koreans studied showed that H. pylori was independently associated with increase of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, with a correlation between LDL levels and infection severity.

H Pylori and Gastrointestinal Damage

“H. pylori colonizes the entire gastric epithelium, and has an important urease activity, that leads to the ammonia production in order to protect itself from gastric acidity. It produces also other enzymes, such as phospholipase A2 and C, and glycosulfatase, which play a role in the development of the gastric mucosal damage[1]. Indeed, H. pylori induces an inflammatory response through the gastric epithelium, with production of pro-inflammatory cytokines“

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4177464/#B67

H Pylori and Other Diseases

Several epidemiological studies have revealed an association between H. pylori infection and iron deficiency anemia.

H. pylori infection might impair the absorption of vitamin B12 from food, leading to pernicious anemia, lack of B12 can in turn cause high Homocysteine – Hyperhomocysteinemia related to vitamin B12 deficiency may constitute a risk for ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases. This phenomenon would therefore be the link between H. pylori infection and vascular diseases.

Many studies investigated on the possible association between H. pylori infection and metabolic syndrome and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

As we can see, it is evident that H Pylori may have a very profound effect of so much more than just the G.I tract and our digestive system. I feel that addressing the over growth of H Pylori should be prioritised in the treatment of our overall health including the symptoms of what is known as Metabolic Syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of common abnormalities, including insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, abdominal obesity, reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels, elevated triglycerides, and hypertension. In conclusion the research paper titled ‘Role of Helicobacter pylori infection on nutrition and metabolism’, states:

“Overall, H. pylori has an exceptional impact on GI system. It is able to influence all the vital pathways of human system. Increasing evidences are focusing on its role also in pathological aspects not immediately related to the GI tract, such as metabolic syndrome and gynecological diseases. This new approach in studying H. pylori has obvious therapeutic implications and could lead to the screening of H. pylori in these diseases, especially in metabolic syndrome.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4177464/#B30

Question: How Do We Address H Pylori?

Stomach Acid

Mainstream medicine offers quite a complex diagnostic and therapeutic criteria which may or not be your choice. It often involves a lot of antibiotics taken in specific protocol. This does not guarantee that H Pylori will not return. There are many ways to address the bacteria naturally but can involve very extensive ingestion of various herbs and supplements including fermented products and Probiotics, Liquorice, Aloe Vera. Mastic Gum etc. Alongside these natural remedies the practice of increasing stomach acid is considered by some practitioners such as Dr Berg as an important component of addressing H Pylori, Dr Berg explains the dichotomy of stomach acid and H Pylori;

“But, something that’s common as you get older, especially once you get to your 40’s on up, is you start losing your stomach acids. That’s why; if you’re in this age group, you may notice that yourself and a lot of your friends may have problems with reflux or GERD. It’s not a coincidence. It’s your stomach Ph.

Now, with less stomach acid, your Ph will start to rise and become more alkaline. So what happens is your valve can’t close properly anymore, and acid regurgitation occurs.

You need the acid in your stomach to be very acidic to absorb minerals and digest protein. If you eat without a good strong acidic stomach, you will start experiencing reflux and GERD symptoms.”

https://www.drberg.com/blog/a-simple-fix-for-gerd-and-acid-reflux#Why

Proton Pump Inhibitors

You may be familiar with the use of proton pump inhibitors such as Omeprazole to address excess stomach acid and so it may seem strange to go against this concept and increase the acidity of the stomach, but I can talk from experience – it does seem to work. I worked my way up with betaine hydrochloride HCI (with pepsin). I began with two capsules a day then three etc until I was taking 6 a day, Dr Berg suggests you can take more.

“You’re creating more acid in the stomach and the valve at the bottom of the esophagus can now close properly. Ultimately, this keeps the acid from flowing back up—supporting healthy digestion.”

https://www.drberg.com/blog/a-simple-fix-for-gerd-and-acid-reflux#Why

We wont rely on Dr Berg alone to conclude that increasing stomach acid is important in the eradication of H Pylori, there are many other documents that back this idea up, in this 2016 research paper it concludes that H Pylori does not survive in a stomach that is too acidic or in an anacidic (the abnormal absence of hydrochloric acid in the stomach);

‘Long-term infection of the oxyntic mucosa causes atrophy and marked reduced gastric acid secretion, leading to gastric hypoacidity and marked hypergastrinemia that probably predisposes for gastric cancer. HP does not survive in a too acidic (patients with gastrinoma) or in an anacidic stomach.’

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5076771/

Bioresonance and H Pylori

A Bioresonance scan will often detect elevated levels of H Pylori, it is very easy to observe as this pathogen is found in the Pyloric Antrum of the Stomach (hence the name H Pylori). Whatever treatment you decide to embark upon, Bioresonance can help you to assess your progress and can even help reduce the levels of bacteria if you choose to use Bioresonance for targeted elimination – see my page on Bioresonance here. Alongside your chosen modality it may be worth trying Betaine HCL to improve your stomach acid. Betaine is made for Beetroots and should be taken as a supplement with Pepsin for best results. This supplement is widely available online.

Contact me here to discuss a health assessment using Bioresonance.

Further info