Too much or too Little Stomach Acid?
Trust Your Stomach with Your Head Again
Who does not know it? The stomach grumbles, the stomach hurts and the intestines are sending clear signals! Unfortunately, for many of us, gastrointestinal problems have become commonplace. The symptoms are many and the number of people affected is alarming. Approximately 20 million Germans suffer from chronic discomfort and feel that their quality of life is severely limited. Reason enough for us to take a closer look at the causes and present you with natural treatment approaches and tips.
Stomach Acid – an Important Digestive Aid for Our Stomachs
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What exactly is stomach acid? Various cells in the stomach lining produce two to three liters of digestive fluid, called gastric juice, every day. This is made up of several components, including water, mucus, digestive enzymes, intrinsic factor (which is important for the absorption of vitamin B12), bicarbonate, and hydrochloric acid, or stomach acid.
Our food enters the stomach chopped up and mixed with saliva – well or lightly chewed, depending on how we chew. But this is not nearly enough preparation for the food components to be optimally broken down and utilized in the further digestive process. This is where the aggressive stomach acid comes in: It becomes active as soon as ingested food enters the stomach, but also when we smell a meal or even just think about it.
In response to these stimuli, our gastric follicles, special glandular cells in the stomach lining, produce hydrochloric acid and bicarbonate. To prevent the aggressive stomach acid from attacking the stomach itself, there is another important protective mechanism: the stomach lining. Bicarbonate is also stored in the stomach lining, neutralizing the hydrochloric acid and protecting the stomach lining.
Stomach acid breaks down food into its component parts and prepares them for further digestion. This process releases important nutrients from the food, including iron, calcium, and vitamins such as vitamin B12.
At the same time, stomach acid activates the digestive enzymes in the gastric juice, which then break down the food. But stomach acid also has another job to do: it kills microorganisms and bacteria in the food. Most pathogens cannot survive in such an acidic environment.
As you can see, our digestive system is a perfectly coordinated system. Just like in a big machine, if one cog in the gearbox gets stuck, the whole mechanism grinds to a halt. In other words, if our food leaves our stomach poorly digested, it puts a strain on all the other digestive organs, from the intestines to the pancreas to the liver. This can have serious health consequences.
When Your Stomach Is Acidic: Causes and Symptoms of Acid Indigestion
The production of too much stomach acid can have many causes: Constant stress and hustle and bustle, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, nutrient-poor and pesticide-contaminated foods, alcohol, nicotine, medications, but also inflammation of the stomach lining caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. In other words, it is almost a challenge not to over-acidify with our modern lifestyle.
When the blood threatens to become too acidic, a kind of emergency management takes place: The accessory cells are called upon to produce basic bicarbonate to bring the body back into acid-base balance. Since the accessory cells can only produce bicarbonate and hydrochloric acid, i.e. stomach acid, at the same time, a true vicious circle begins. Our body constantly produces too much stomach acid.
A short-term overacidification of the stomach is usually no big deal. However, if there is a permanent excess of stomach acid, at some point the protective function of the stomach lining also wears off, resulting in what is known as hyperacidity, i.e. the stomach becomes over-acidified.
We then Notice this in Various Symptoms:
- Heartburn (when the stomach acid does not stay in the stomach but passes into the esophagus).
- Acid regurgitation
- Bloating, loss of appetite
- Nausea, vomiting
- Bad breathe
- Stomach pain or discomfort
- Damage to the stomach lining, such as inflammation or ulcers
- Duodenal ulcer
But at some point, even this mechanism breaks down. As a result of the constant stress, the stomach cells become tired and block, meaning they refuse to produce. As a result, too little stomach acid is produced. And this, too, can have devastating effects on our health.
The unrecognized Evil:
From Hyperacidity to Gastric Acid Deficiency
Did you know that 80 percent of Europeans have too little stomach acid? A lack of stomach acid can be the result of hyperacidity, but it can also be caused by other factors: long-term use of proton pump inhibitors, which are drugs that inhibit stomach acid; chronic type A gastritis, in which the immune system attacks the cells lining the stomach; or a decrease in stomach acid production with age.
The lack of stomach acid means that food cannot be properly broken down in the stomach. This mainly affects protein molecules, which are not sufficiently broken down. In the intestine, the protein breakdown leads to a fermentation process that produces nitrogen and toxic ammonia. The cell poison not only damages the sensitive intestinal environment, causing the “good” intestinal bacteria to die due to the alkaline environment, but it can also migrate through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, reaching the liver and eventually even the brain.
Lack of stomach acid often leads to massive deficiencies, such as vitamin B12 deficiency, which can lead to iron deficiency and anemia.
You can see that all this does not sound good and especially not healthy. But how does a lack of stomach acid manifest itself? Unfortunately, the lack of stomach acid and the associated lack of nutrients often have diffuse, more general symptoms that we do not even associate with the imbalance in the stomach:
- Bad breath
- Foul-smelling stools or diarrhea
- Disturbed intestinal flora
- Non-specific digestive complaints such as flatulence or diarrhea
- Fatigue to severe exhaustion
- Susceptibility to infections
What Can You Do about It?
First of all, you should change your lifestyle immediately. Even if it is difficult, remember that your body and your health should be worth it.
- Make sure you eat a balanced and healthy diet with plenty of fresh foods.
- Alkaline surplus diets consist of 70 to 80 percent alkaline foods and 20 to 30 percent acidic foods.
- Lactic acid bacteria, such as those found in yogurt, kefir, or fermented vegetables, are the real heroes when fermentation processes are already underway in your gut: They can convert ammonia into less toxic ammonium, which can then be broken down relatively easily via the liver’s urea cycle.
- Drink plenty of fluids, preferably good purified water or unsweetened tea.
- Allow enough time to eat and try to eat as slowly and consciously as possible, chewing well.
- Avoid stimulants such as nicotine, alcohol, and sweets.
- Reduce stress in your life: Take time to relax and breathe during the day. Improve your stress management. A relaxation technique such as yoga or Qi Gong can help you calm down and find your center.
- Exercise regularly, preferably outdoors.
- Take two MyAMINO® about 20 minutes before a meal. They stimulate the production of gastric juices and set the mood for digestion.
- Avoid taking acid blockers or proton pump inhibitors. These may provide short-term and superficial relief. However, they do not treat the cause and may further upset the acid-base balance in your stomach, sometimes with serious consequences.
Daily Vital Companions from dr.reinwald for Your Stomach
If you have had stomach problems for a long time, it makes sense to give your body additional support so that it can regain its balance. You will not be able to compensate for the lack of nutrients in your diet alone. Our dr.reinwald vital products are highly compatible and help you in an effective and gentle way to restore the balance in your stomach and to replenish your nutrient depot.
- The prebiotic fibers in ColoSTABIL® bring your intestinal flora back into balance gently and sustainably. The bitter substances contained in ColoSTABIL® can work wonders, especially when there is a lack of gastric acid. They stimulate the production of gastric juice and thus compensate for the lack of gastric acid.
- HerbiGOLD is our herbal bitter with very special properties because it also contains thujones. These are absent in most bitters found in nature.
- Our vitamin B complex SulfoCLEAN® supports you with a unique combination of biologically active B vitamins (B12, B6 and folic acid) and organic sulphur (MSM and wild garlic). This not only meets your vitamin B12 needs, but also supports your detoxification metabolism.
Do you feel addressed? Our friendly team of therapists and naturopaths will be happy to advise you about our products for your stomach. Call us now or use our chat.
