Did you know that your level of stomach acid decreases as you get older?
You might be thinking, “Well, all I’ve ever heard from my doctor is that I have too much stomach acid! There is no such thing as lack of stomach acid. Surely something like reflux means you have too much?”
But guess what? The health of your stomach acid levels is far more important than you might have realised. Ladies- most of you are simply not blessed with enough stomach acid. Men and younger people can also suffer from lack of stomach acid.
Causes for reduced stomach acid levels
There are a number of causes for low stomach acid.
Stress is one of them. Low Sodium levels has shown to be aligned with low stomach acid levels. This is often seen in a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA). Low levels of Zinc, B vitamins, smoking and alcohol consumption.
Bacterial infections, like Helicobacter Pylori (HP) is another cause – HP is also related to development of stomach ulcers. Helicobacter P can cross react with the proton pumps which results in impairment of the parietal cells function - which function is to secrete acid.
This is often where you will get a prescription for PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) or other antacids from your GP. Discuss this with your GP if you find this information enlightening and you feel you need to do something about this.
Before we go into why you want to care about your stomach acid levels, let’s take a closer look at stomach acid and what it’s good for.
The importance of Stomach Acid
Helping digest your proteins and break them down into essential amino acids – nutrients that a healthy body cannot live without.
Killing unwanted bacteria and yeast.
Stimulating your pancreas and gall bladder – which again aids in digesting your carbs and the fat you eat and help neutralise the acid that might come along with the food into your intestines.
Supporting Vitamin B12 and vitamin K in the body
When you eat your proteins (mainly beans, chicken, fish or meat) the food starts breaking down in your mouth by the enzymes in your saliva.
The proteins from your food travel down the esophagus and enter the stomach.
If there is very little or no stomach acid present in the bag that forms the stomach, your proteins will be squeezed, chewed, grated and minced down into smaller parts. If you are lucky, you’ll get the size down to peptides.
The peptides will then break down into amino acids if you have healthy stomach levels. Once they are this size, these tiny little nutrients can then be absorbed by the body.
It’s as if you are trying to break down a rock equivalent to the size of your fist (protein). The rock breaks down to pebbles (peptides), then to gravel and eventually ending up as fine sand on the beach (amino acids).
Your body is not able to utilise the pebbles (peptides) so if that is what’s being emptied out into your intestines the proteins you eat will not do you much good. In fact, you will be in trouble.
First of all, you might build up gas in your belly. You might feel bloated and have flatulence. Not everyone experiences this, but many people do.
I often explain this as if you have one of those bio-degradable bags you can put food waste in. Tie a tight knot on the bag and leave it inside on the window sill where the sun gets to it. It’ll soon build up to +37°C in there – like in your body- what happens next?
The food scraps will start fermenting and decomposing. You might lift the bag up, push and squeeze a bit on the it, but not open it. Soon the food inside will be producing gas, the gas builds up and puts a pressure on that knot you made and slowly leak out. With these leaks you might smell it….. can you imagine…. Imagine what goes on in your body at this point!
Decomposing or digesting
The build-up of gas in your stomach might cause the smallest amount of stomach acid to follow the gas up into the esophagus. This pressure might bring on heartburn.
This is extremely painful as the esophagus was never meant take acid! A tiny little bit of acid in there will burn tremendously. The reflux is a fact.
Reflux and Low Stomach Acid
The buildup of gas in the stomach is the reason behind this. There might still be microscopic amounts of stomach acid and other components in there that can be brought up with pressure and gas, bringing with it tiny bits of acid into the esophagus which you will feel – and it will feel like it’s a whole lot coming up. There might even be lactic acid from the small intestines flying up through the stomach up to the oesophagus, as those muscles and valves' holding ability have weakened over the time this has been going on. This is, probably unecessary to say, not very pleasant.
With that pressure sitting there over time, the sphincter muscle in the esophageal stomach entrance gets weaker. It can’t take the pressure as well as before.
Furthermore, at the other end of the stomach – in the intestines - the intestinal lining, your blood (and all the processes that are relying on amino acids) will suffer.
Acidic body tissue
You will become protein malnourished and mineral deficient. This may lead to acidic blood and autoimmune disease. When your body tissue becomes acidic, (proteins are by nature acidic) your body will try to outline the acid and make it more alkaline by extracting minerals into the blood.
Where from? Well, from your bones, which may eventually lead to brittle bones. Fancy becoming osteoporotic because of your stomach acid?! Or lack of it should I say.
Not only that, but buildup of lactic acid in your muscles – even a short little walk might become extremely difficult.
If this part of the digestive process goes wrong, you might suffer from many different symptoms, maybe not all of them, but some of them for sure. Here are some to be aware of:
Symptoms:
Belching
Burping
Bloating
Flatulence/gas
Indigestion
Diarrhea, constipation
Undigested foods in stools
Leaky gut
Ulcers – esophageal, stomach and duodenal ones
Heartburns – yes – from deficient stomach acid! or GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease)
Food allergies and intolerances
Candida
Weight gain
Acne
Dry mouth
Dry lips
Hair loss
Cracked or peeling fingernails
Premature ageing
Adrenal fatigue
You might say that you can maybe understand the belching and bloating and all the indigestion issues, but adrenal fatigue and premature ageing – what does that have to do with stomach acid?
Let me tell you…
When your stomach acid is low, you still eat a lot of proteins, but your body is not digesting them. As mentioned above, you will become protein malnourished. Your adrenal glands will then become stressed out because your cortisol levels will increase due to this malnourishment.
The hormone cortisol has an impact on various organs such as the liver, muscle, fat, and pancreas, leading to an elevation in glucose production and the mobilisation of stored glucose.
When cocrtisol "pushes" on the pancreas it will raise your blood sugar levels (watch out if you are diabetic or on the edge of it or having insulin resistance!) When your blood sugar rises and your cortisol goes up, your adrenal glands will become depleted, eventually.
Ways you can increase your stomach acid
There is more than one answer to that, but mainly through your food:
Reduce sugar. Eat fermented foods. Cultured vegetables. Fermented drinks like Kombucha, not to forget Apple Cider Vinegar, which is excellent in so many ways. Eliminate processed foods –eat “as close to nature” as possible. Take digestive enzymes specifically designed to help your digestive problems. Have acupuncture treatments!
Yes, it works!
You can buy stomach acid supplements as well, but before you supplement this, you should really see a professional practitioner to check out your personal situation. Your esophagus sphincter muscle might be unable to hold the content in your stomach down, if it has been weakened by prolonged pressure from the gas buildup in the stomach or from mineral deficiencies. It is not recommended to take supplements without knowing your specific needs.
If you are in doubt about your own situation and you wonder if you are lacking stomach acid, pop on to our online booking here and get yourself an appointment, and we will sort you out.
We are able to test the stomach acid for you and another thing, we can test your mineral levels via your Hair – a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis Test tells more than you could ever imagine about your health! Stay tuned, stay in touch. Next time you’re in, if you hear burping, you’ll know what we're testing for!
Not only that, if you are experiencing lactic acid in your muscle tissue - feeling the pain and muscle soreness even when you haven't been doing a lot of exercise, you are burping, have problems with gas and bloating, I want you to know that this can be done something about. It is possible to get better without just hitting on the symptoms – but by going for the underlying reason. Heal from within.
If you are serious about your health, I can promise you that so am I!
Book in here for a proper health check!
References:
Bajaj JS et al. May 1979. Adrenocortical function in experimental protein malnutrition. PubMed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=109732&dopt=AbstractPlus
Boltin D Feb 2016. Probiotics in Helicobacter Pylori-induced peptic ulcer disease. PubMed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27048901
Vitale G et al. Dec 2011. Nutritional aspects of helicobacter pylori infection. PubMed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22105725
Wright, JV, Lenard, L. 2001 Why stomach acid is good for you: natural relief from heartburn, indigestion, reflux and GERD