Why Are So Many People Taking Proton Pump Inhibitors?

Is there an epidemic of acid reflux, or is something else going on?

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

I was sitting in my med school physiology class in the mid-1990s when I first learned about an incredible medication for acid reflux. It was the most potent way to stop acid production, and it did so by permanently binding to proton pumps–the pumps that make…