ntacids Found to Improve Blood Sugar in Diabetics
Antacids improved blood sugar control in people with diabetes but had no effect on reducing the risk of diabetes in the general population, according to a new meta-analysis published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Type 2 diabetes is a global public health concern affecting almost 10 percent of people worldwide. Doctors may prescribe diet and lifestyle changes, diabetes medications, or insulin to help people with diabetes better manage their blood sugar, but recent data points to common over-the-counter antacid medicines as another way to improve glucose levels.
“Our research demonstrated that prescribing antacids as an add-on to standard care was superior to standard therapy in decreasing hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and fasting blood sugar in people with diabetes,” said study author Carol Chiung-Hui Peng, M.D., of the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus in Baltimore, Md.
No Diabetes Prevention Benefit in the General Population
“For people without diabetes, taking antacids did not significantly alter their risk of developing the disease,” said study author, Huei-Kai Huang M.D., of the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital in Hualien, Taiwan.
Types of PPIs
There are many names and brands of PPIs. Most work equally as well. Side effects may vary from drug to drug.
- Omeprazole (Prilosec)
- Esomeprazole (Nexium)
- Lansoprazole (Prevacid)
- Rabeprazole (AcipHex)
- Pantoprazole (Protonix)
- Dexlansoprazole (Dexilant)
- Zegerid (omeprazole with sodium bicarbonate)
The researchers performed a meta-analysis on the effects of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) — a commonly used type of antacid medication — on blood sugar levels in people with diabetes and whether these medications could prevent the new onset of diabetes in the general population.
The analysis included seven studies (342 participants) for glycemic control and 5 studies (244, 439 participants) for risk of incident diabetes.
Modest But Measurable Improvements in Glucose Metrics
The researchers found antacids can reduce HbA1c levels by 0.36% in people with diabetes and lower fasting blood sugar by 10 mg/dl based on the results from seven clinical trials. For those without diabetes, the results of the five studies showed that antacids had no effect on reducing the risk of developing diabetes.
“People with diabetes should be aware that these commonly used antacid medications may improve their blood sugar control, and providers could consider this glucose-lowering effect when prescribing these medications to their patients,” said study author Kashif Munir, M.D., associate professor in the division of endocrinology, diabetes, and nutrition at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md.
Reference: “Effects of Proton Pump Inhibitors on Glycemic Control and Incident Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” by Carol Chiung-Hui Peng, Yu-Kang Tu, Gin Yi Lee, Rachel Huai-En Chang, Yuting Huang, Khulood Bukhari, Yao-Chou Tsai, Yunting Fu, Huei-Kai Huang and Kashif M Munir, 30 June 2021, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgab353
Other authors of the study include: Yuting Huang and Khulood Bukhari of the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus in Baltimore, Md.; Yu-Kang Tu of the National Taiwan University and the Taipei Medical University in Taipei, Taiwan; Gin Yi Lee of the Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Conn.; Rachel Huai-En Chang of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md.; Yao-Chou Tsai of the Taipei Medical University; Yunting Fu of the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Md.
The manuscript received no external funding
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35 Comments
I am diabetic but I cannot take omeprazole any longer because of other prescription medications that I take now, including for high blood pressure. I still get heartburn and my doctor told me that I had to resort to taking Tums whenever I had a GERD attack.
I find WalMartd brand ultra strength antacid chews to work way better than tums or other type of chews. The few people I’ve recommended it too think so too. So might be worth a try.
I wonder prescribing polypharmacy to treat type 2 Diabetics is needed or not. Stopping carbs like rice and wheat can really reduce your post parandial blood sugar and daily Exercise can have double benifits.
So what happens if you take your meds and the heartburn med together? Article not clear about that.
I take high blood pressure med and also omeprazl and Zoloft and alive for fibromyalgia and I’m ok . My dr suggested it for my acid reflux . So why can’t you take it?
It must be noted that the authors used the term ‘antacid’ fast and loose and INACCURATELY. An antacid is a completely different medication than a proton pump inhibitor and needs to be properly identified as such and to ignore this fact is highly irresponsible and not ethical.
In the UK it’s not advised to take omperazole or Esomperazole along with BP medication Clopidogrel. But switching to Lansoprazole is a suitable alternative PPI.
Please provide information on omeprazole’s impact on memory. This hasn’t been widely reported but have had doctors, in answer to addressing memory issues with patients, that omeprazole may be part of the issue. Upon learning that information I stopped taking omeprazole immediately.
Carol, I take heart meds which prevent me from taking Omeprazole. Ask ur DOC if you can take pantoprazo. It is working for me, no Herd.
I’ve been taking medication for heartburn for twenty years nexium and somac and now in the last six months got type 2 diabetes
Not to mention some of the longer term effects of taking PPIs for too long. Article writers should also include a blurb about other risks involved in taking them instead of highlighting it as a possible help for blood sugars.
For heart burn eat least possible food at a time.+ Least spicy 🔥.many times..if possible..my lot trouble reduced by 95%>> last 5 yrs ..now no more acidity… except..spicy sometime..
While this may be true, it’s also true that long-term use of PPIs can cause other problems with your health. Chronic kidney disease, bone fractures, C. Diff, and dementia are some of them.
I’m a diabetic and welcome any new research. Really it only lowers blood sugars by 0.3 %. You wouldnt even notice that as it’s so miniscule. I’ve been on heartburn medication for many years due to being on anti inflammatory’s and they damaged my stomach. It hasn’t lowered my blood sugar’s at all. Also do they think about the many side effects from medications. Is it worth taking medication with all the side effects to improve your blood sugars by only 0.3%.
Another bogus claim. Diabetes is not a disease at all. It is life style issue and very simple to cure it. High blood sugar is just symptom and not disease . The actual disease is insulin resistance. There is absolutely no medicine in allopathy to remove insulin resistance. That is why never go to allopathy for diabetes or bp. Change ur life style and follow naturopathy or ayurveda
For controlling the diabetes, walk 1 hour daily and do yoga and Pranayam for 40 minutes which cure diabetes and blood pressure with other chronic diseases. In Ayurveda, there is complete cure of blood sugar, BP and other diseases available, kindly get help from Yoga and Ayurveda to complete cure for any chronic diseases.
Type 1 too? There are two types of diabetes both very different treating.
I am not diabetes. I took Omeprazole 40 for 15 months because of acid reflux. My A1C that used to be 5.3 soared to 6 and I became border line pre diabedes. I stopped the Omeprazole 40 and eventually A1C got back to 5.3 again.
You know what lowers blood sugar best of all? Not eating sugar, fructose and processed foods containing flour, starches and seed oils. Drugs cannot fix a nutritional disease.
Omeprazole caused my kidney function problems
Did Tums make any difference with respect to lowering your blood sugar levels?
I also have diabetes, I found that treatment for a few months with Estrogen took my heartburn totally away. I am now free of heartburn for more than 5 years. In the past I was to afraid to vlose my eyes for sleep as I would wake up smothering of burning fluids running into my lungs.
Please do your due diligence before thinking this is a good treatment for diabetes control. PPIs are linked to cancers, malnutrition and organ failure.
Talk to your doctor about pantoprazol as a means of controlling your acid productions
I’m sure they could find a cure for diabetes if there wasn’t so much money involved in it.
There is a cure for diabetes. It is a dietary disease. Stop eating sugar white rice and pasta. Lose weight and you will be cured!@
CAD Pts do Note: Those who are on clopidogrel should avoid taking Omeprazole. Can prefer other PPI’s. Taking clopidogrel & Omeprazole together will decrease it’s efficacy.
Same with me one of my medications I can’t take that and that’s one time I was taking it for one of my medication it has a side effect with it
30 minutes of aerobic exercise such as walking has been proven to improve blood sugar in 60% of patients with type 2 diabetes. That’s strong medicine
Theres no need of all these experiments. Eat maximum twice a day with 14-15 hrs of fasting between any two meals of the day, dont eat after 8pm, eat more quatity of raw food (fresh fruits and vegetables) than cooked items- invert the cooked to raw food ratio, stop using sugar in any form and stop using milk in all forms. Stop eating any forms of packaged food items with preservatives and excess sodium. This regime brings a hard stop on all metabolic disorders, like diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and any chance of heart related ailments.
I am taking Vilnip 50mg (vildagliptin) twice. I am facing acidity in the night. Is it advisable to take this medicine vilnip.
6.27.21 I have digestive problems and severe GERD. I am now taking Super Enymes with each meal . Huge improvement. Omeprazole was not working at all for me. Eat small meals and nothing after 7 p.m. Still have to avoid certain foods such as sugar, dairy.
So, omeprazole and other drugs, such as viagra, can be used off label but ivermectin can’t… Interesting
What about side effect such as galactorrhoea suffered by female on prolonged use of PPI?
The benefit is almost nil while the potential adverse events are many. Type 2 diabetics have MANY alternatives. This is just for lazy people not willing to live a better lifestyle.