Antacids May Help Diabetes Patients Control Their Blood Sugar

There are a variety of ways to ensure you have better control over your blood sugar, including getting regular A1C tests, following a healthy eating plan, being physically active, making and keeping all your doctor’s appointments, and taking your medications as prescribed. It turns out there could be another weapon in the arsenal for those living with diabetes. A new study says that antacids may do the trick.

Researchers from the University of Maryland looked at the impact of antacids on diabetes, finding that they improved blood sugar control for those already living with the disease. However, they didn’t seem to impact the chance of developing diabetes. The findings were published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Study author Dr. Carol Chiung-Hui Peng from University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus in Baltimore says, “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.”

To conduct the study, researchers analyzed how blood sugar in those with diabetes was affected by commonly used antacid meds called proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs. They also wanted to see if these medications could prevent new diabetes cases. The team drew from seven studies on glycemic control and five studies on risk of incident diabetes for the analysis. Combined, those studies included nearly 245,000 people.

The researchers found that for diabetes patients, antacids can reduce HbA1c levels by 0.36% and lower fasting blood sugar by 10 mg/dl. However, there was no effect on risk of developing diabetes in the first place.

Dr. Kashif Munir, study author and associate professor in the division of endocrinology, diabetes and nutrition at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, says, “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.”

However, for the general population, taking antacids was not found to be an effective preventative measure for diabetes.

PPIs help prevent and treat ulcers in the duodenum and the stomach. They also help address problems that pop up when stomach acid escapes into the esophagus. If that’s a regular occurrence, the condition is known as gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Some brands you may have heard of are Prilosec, Prevacid, and Nexium.