The makers claim, "Prelief is the only acid fighter that takes out food acid while leaving your protective stomach acid untouched. [Their emphasis.] Prelief takes the acid out of coffee, tomato sauce, fruit juices, wine, and many other of your favorite foods."
This raises several related questions: how can it neutralize food acids in the stomach, without neutralizing stomach acid? Does it neutralize only specific acids that are common in foods? If it's just a question of not taking too much Prelief, how would that be different from taking just the right dose of a calcium carbonate antacid such as Tums?
This selective 'taking the acid out of your foods but not your stomach' almost sounds too good to be true and sci-fi-ish. We know meds that tamper with stomach acid have bad side effects so something that doesn't should be revolutionary but Prelief seems relatively unknown compared to the other acid reducers that try to shut down all stomach acid. I can't find anything about how it works on the internet. Is this one of those drugs like acetaminophen where we don't actually know how it works?
Finally, and more perplexing to me: how can neutralizing acids in the stomach help someone's sensitive bladder? If food acid in the stomach causes bladder problems, why doesn't the hydrochloric acid naturally in the stomach do the same thing? Are all acids a problem, simply because of the fact that they are acids, or is it just that certain irritating substances are being lumped together and labeled 'acids'?
All this makes me think there must be some separate mechanism. And interestingly I came across a forum post where an AKPharma rep actually wrote:
As far as we know, there is no effect whatever on the pH of urine when a patient with or without IC takes Prelief. In one prospective IC clinical study that was started in Philadelphia, urine pH's were taken and not only were not raised by Prelief, they were in fact marginally, but not significantly lower - the urine was slightly more acid. Nonetheless, the patients' symptoms either decreased or disappeared, clearly indicating that the problems in IC are not a function of abnormal urine pH, but rather the decreased tolerance of the urinary epithelial cells of an IC patient to withstand the relatively mild acid challenge of normal urine. Prelief is clearly doing more than just taking acid out of foods, but since Prelief is not a drug, such a statement on the label or in advertising is not possible within present FDA regulations. Substantial experience both in the clinic and outside it, confirms Prelief's value in "promoting urinary health".
This was a 10 year old post so I'm curious if any progress has been made in understanding this compound. It seems like it actually has nothing to do with acid. This is interesting because then it must be acting in some other manner like nerves or endothelial/mast cells in the bladder/urethral lining.
All this also makes me wonder if there is value in taking it as a regular supplement like quercetin/etc rather than only in emergencies if it's having a positive effect on the bladder tissues. Is the side effect profile as good as the common prostatitis supplements? Does anyone take it regularly with good results?
Are there conclusive studies that it truly doesn't affect stomach acid (yet does with food)? I just can't wrap my head around how that is biologically/chemically possible.
