One of the best ways to prevent low stomach acid symptoms is to increase stomach acid naturally. Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar is a natural remedy to increase stomach acid levels.
Symptoms of low stomach acid levels indicating a need to increase stomach acid levels include:
- acid reflux
- heartburn
- bloating
- indigestion
- loss of taste for meat
- poor assimilation of some minerals such as calcium, and vitamin B12
- food poisoning
If someone has low stomach acid levels, they will also be more susceptible to food poisoning and picking up parasites found in our food. As paradoxical as it might sound, most often, indigestion symptoms result from low stomach acid and poor digestion.
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You may have read or heard that it is healthy to be more alkaline, but the truth of the matter is that different parts of our body have different pH’s.
What is the pH of the stomach acid, and why is stomach acid important
The stomach is designed to have an acidic pH between 1.5 and 3.0. The acidic pH functions as the body’s first line of defense against pathogenic organisms that can cause food poisoning and parasitic infections that can cause digestive problems. If anyone has low stomach acid, these organisms may survive and thrive further down in the digestive tract, causing a host of gut health issues.
Have you ever wondered how two people can eat the same food yet one develops food poisoning, and the other does not?
Stomach acid levels may be something to consider! Eating food is one of the main ways in which we are all exposed to all sorts of possibly harmful microorganisms. For this reason, the stomach has an acidic pH that acts to disinfect the stomach and kill any harmful bacteria and parasites found within the food. Having an acidic pH to kill pathogens entering the body via food is one of the primary functions of stomach acid.
The other primary purpose of stomach acid is to break down your protein, especially animal protein, appropriately, as meat can be difficult for the body to digest. The main enzyme responsible for protein digestion is pepsin. It is activated by the HCL and works best in the presence of appropriate stomach acid levels so that protein can then be broken down into amino acids and assimilated.
But what does protein digestion have to do with our health? When broken down into amino acids, protein is used to build our tissues, such as muscle. Amino acids also make up hormones, enzymes, and antibodies.
A deficiency or malabsorption of amino acids can result in the body not providing the precursors to make our muscles, hormones, enzymes, antibodies, etc. Therefore, the body cannot function as it should. Thus a myriad of symptoms that may seem unrelated can be traced back to low stomach acid and malabsorption of amino acids.
Another common symptom that is associated with low stomach acid is heartburn, also known as acid reflux. But how is it that low stomach acid contributes to acid reflux when the acid burns the esophageal or stomach lining?!
First off, the esophagus is not meant to have ANY contact with stomach acid, which is why the lower esophageal sphincter is intended to keep HCL in the stomach only. The stomach is designed to hold the acidic contents of stomach acid as long as the stomach’s mucosal lining is intact and not inflamed.
Having an intact, healthy mucosal lining is critical for preventing stomach acid from burning a hole through the stomach lining. If the stomach lining is inflamed for any reason, most often, stomach acid levels are still low. But what is required is healing and soothing of the stomach or esophageal lining with soothing demulcents such as aloe and slippery elm, which can be found in seeking health’s optimal GI powder.
How can low stomach acid cause heartburn?
When there are insufficient amounts of HCL in the stomach, protein digestion will not occur as quickly as it should, so the stomach holds onto the contents for a longer time. The proteins then begin to putrefy while the carbohydrates start to ferment. This fermenting builds up pressure and gas, which can cause the lower esophageal sphincter to inappropriately open and release the stomach’s acidic contents into the esophagus, resulting in the uncomfortable symptom known as acid reflux.
Suppose you are experiencing heartburn or acid reflux. In that case, the first step is to help soothe and protect the inflamed tissue with cooling foods such as cucumber, slipping elm, and aloe or by utilizing a supplement such as optimal GI powder.
Addressing other underlying causes of heartburn, such as poor gallbladder function and enzyme deficiency, is critical to overcoming heartburn for good. Supporting these vital organs with liver nutrients and digestive enzymes can be very beneficial for preventing heartburn.
Stomach acid production often decreases with age and digestive juices in general, so why is it that as people age, heartburn becomes more prominent? Is overproduction of stomach acid the problem? In some cases, that may be true, but more often than not, stomach acid is low, and instead, we need to heal, soothe, and then support the stomach’s acidity.
How to increase stomach acid naturally?
Some natural and gentle ways to increase stomach acid naturally and support protein digestion is to have a tsp to 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice before eating to help support digestion and the acidic ph of the stomach.
Both lemon juice and apple cider vinegar are effective for increasing stomach acid levels. However, anyone with histamine intolerance may not tolerate apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
Some people with low stomach acid symptoms need additional support to increase stomach acid levels. In this scenario, you can supplement with betaine HCL to replace the missing stomach acid. When taking digestive aid such as HCL tablets to increase stomach acid levels, each individual will require varying amounts or may need healing support first.
The list can go on and on regarding how important stomach acid is to our health, and for more information, I highly recommend reading the book Why Stomach Acid is Good for You by Dr. Jonathan M. Wright.
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Hi Amber, I was taking HCL for years to help with my low stomach acid with no issues (after I had heartburn for a while and realised low stomach acid was the problem). Then in October last year I started to have pain and a lump sensation in my throat, since then I have been having burping, a liquid feeling in my esophagus and pain in my throat which seems worse when I take ACV or betaine HCL. How can I increase my stomach acid without damaging my throat further as I know that’s the cause of the burping etc? Thanks
Hi Amy, If you are having pain or a sensation in your throat, I would consult with a practitioner and use some gut healing support. I don’t like to use HCL long term without any kind of soothing support, such as slippery elm or aloe, to protect the gut lining. It’s worth investigating what caused your low stomach acid such as h pylori as well.