Helicobacter pylori is by far the most frequently found bad bug in my clients’ Digestive Health MOT, which is not surprising given the fact that around 30-40% of the European and North American populations are infected.

I had H. pylori myself so I know first hand the problems it can cause, ranging from mild heartburn symptoms to raging digestive pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

The corkscrew-shaped bacteria can bury into the gut lining, where ulcers can develop.

H. pylori also has a more insidious side. It’s the number one risk factor for certain stomach cancers, and the World Health Organization considers it a class I carcinogen. In other words H. pylori is for stomach cancer what smoking is for lung cancer.

My first book – The H Pylori Diet – deals with this in great detail.

H. pylori can also increase systemic inflammation and oxidative damage, contribute to insulin resistance and type II diabetes and increase blood pressure.

It can also cause increased LDL and oxidized cholesterol.

If that weren’t enough, it also reduces folic acid and vitamin B12 levels, which in turn causes elevations in homocysteine.

Given that inflammation, oxidative damage, insulin resistance, type II diabetes, oxidized cholesterol and homocysteine are all heart disease risk factors, we can safely conclude that H. pylori plays a role in the development of some people’s heart disease.

The studies confirm this, with associations found between H. pylori and heart disease, heart attacks, angina and stroke.

Another of my books – H. pylori: from Heartburn to Heart Attacks – discusses this issue in greater detail, as well as providing further insight into the actual root causes of heart disease (which have nothing to do with saturated fat and cholesterol, by the way).

You’d think that a track record like this would justify a bit more media coverage for good old H. pylori, wouldn’t you?

But no, H. pylori‘s main symptoms – heartburn and acid reflux – are medicated using acid-blocking drugs for the most part, with H. pylori testing being more of an afterthought.

No wonder acid-blocking drugs are a $16 billion industry in the US alone.

Every day H. pylori symptoms

Some people can carry H. pylori around without any symptoms at all, but this doesn’t mean they’re not being harmed.

Studies have shown that inflammation, insulin resistance, blood pressure and other markers improve in people who eradicate H. pylori, even when they don’t have any of its obvious symptoms.

Classic digestive symptoms include nausea, heartburn, acid reflux, chest and stomach pain, bloating, burping and belching, a lump in the throat, excess gas, bad breath, constipation or diarrhea.

(note: many of these symptoms are just passed off as “IBS” by doctors)

Severe digestive symptoms

Some people lose a lot of weight when they first acquire H. pylori.

Some people throw up a lot for no apparent reason (this was me) and others get rushed into the emergency room thinking they’re having a heart attack, only to find their heart is completely normal.

Non-digestive symptoms

More obscure symptoms include mood disruption, sleep problems, fatigue and skin problems such as rosacea and urticaria (hives).

Again, these obscure symptoms may be experienced in the absence of obvious digestive symptoms.

I read a review paper in 2010 in the European Journal of Dermatology, in which H. pylori infection was linked with around a dozen skin conditions.

This isn’t surprising because your outer skin’s appearance is a reflection of your inner skin’s function, i.e. the lining of your stomach and intestine.

One thing H. pylori can do is reduce your stomach acid levels. When this happens, you can’t digest food properly, leading to nutrient deficiencies.

The list of symptoms associated with key nutrient deficiencies such as iron, vitamin B12, calcium, magnesium, vitamins C and E and folic acid is pretty much infinite (fatigue, depression, insomnia, lethargy, anemia…you get the picture).

Yes, I’ve seen all these symptoms improve when folk eradicated H. pylori and began healing their stomach.

How is H. pylori transmitted?

Remember, H. pylori is really common.

It can be acquired from other people when you kiss them, or when you share eating and drinking utensils.

Oral-anal sex may also lead to transmission, and H. pylori organisms were found in semen by Dr. William G. Timmins, ND.

Contaminated food and water certainly pose a threat, and that’s how I picked up my infection in 2004, while on holiday in Egypt.

How do you know if you have H. pylori?

There are four tests:

A blood test looks for H. pylori antibodies (needs a clinic visit and isn’t that accurate, because it can show positive even when H. pylori has gone)

A breath test is pretty accurate – it looks for gas produced by H. pylori that can be detected in your breath (needs a clinic visit)

An endoscopy and biopsy can be taken, but this needs a tube down your throat and, whilst it can detect ulcers and hernias, it’s not pleasant to do.

A stool test antigen or DNA test, which can be done in the comfort of your home and has the advantage of looking for a whole host of other bad bugs, good bacteria, digestive function and immune strength.

It’s the stool test I use in the Hompes Method Digestive Health MOT.

Confusion over symptoms

As you’ve seen, H. pylori can cause a lot of common, every day symptoms.

But so can other things, like the food you eat (e.g. gluten, soy, cow’s milk), and other bad bugs such as parasites and Candida.

Thus, you can’t possibly know what’s causing your individual symptoms unless you take action to change your diet and get a comprehensive digestive health work-up.

At the very least, if you have upper digestive symptoms, ask your doctor for the H. pylori breath tor stool antigen test.

Of course, I’m biased, but I wouldn’t be here teaching you this information had I not gone through the MOT process myself way back in 2007 with my functional medicine doctor.

Order a Digestive Health MOT

If you’re struggling with your digestive health, take action today.

Your digestive system is the gateway to the rest of your body and it’s going to be very tough for you to sustain an acceptable level of health (and quality of life) if your digestive system isn’t working properly.

As the name of my book suggests, H. pylori today might become heart disease or cancer “tomorrow” and I’d hate for that to happen.

Let me hold your hand through a simple but powerful program to help you restore proper digestion and all the benefits it brings.

Click here for details of my Digestive Health MOT program.