People's Pharmacy: Cutting carbs from diet might reduce heartburn

Q: Heartburn has been my constant companion for years.

I was always taking antacids or acid-suppressing drugs.

My acid reflux disappeared last year when I stopped eating bread. I also cut back on starch, sugar and other carbs. I learned that foods like bagels, crackers or pretzels made me feel tired. When I quit, I discovered to my delight I had no more symptoms.

A: Although there are few studies to support such restrictions, research backs up your experience that cutting back on carbs can relieve reflux (Digestive Diseases and Sciences, August 2006).

Q: When I was a teenager, I had a brief bout with acne. A friend of my mother's said I should take baker's yeast. I took it for two weeks, and it cleared up my skin. I hated the taste, though, so I switched to brewer's yeast tablets. I have been taking five a day for 40 years.

During the past few years, I have had trouble with numbness in my feet. A neurologist sent me for a battery of blood tests to rule out a vitamin B-6 deficiency. He said it could cause peripheral neuropathy like mine.

My test results came back sky-high. My B-6 levels were seven times normal. Brewer's yeast is high in vitamin B-6. It turns out that either too little or too much of this vitamin can cause peripheral neuropathy.

A: Neurologists describe the nerve damage that occurs from vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) toxicity as having a "stocking-glove" distribution. The numb sensation you described was a red flag. It is usually recommended that people keep their vitamin B-6 intake under 100 mg daily.

Q: I heard a rumor that a drink made from dried hibiscus flowers can lower blood pressure. Is there any truth to this?

A: Hibiscus flower tea is part of traditional folk medicine in many cultures around the world. Scientific scrutiny shows that its effect on blood pressure is more than a rumor, however. A study at Tufts University found that several cups a day can help lower blood pressure in people with mild hypertension (Journal of Nutrition, February 2010).

Mexican scientists found that the red pigments in hibiscus flowers, anthocyanins, act like antihypertensive medicines called ACE inhibitors (Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Jan. 8, 2010). This is the same action that makes drugs like captopril and lisinopril so effective.

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