Ever felt like your stomach has turned into a battlefield after enjoying your meal? On some days, you are okay, enjoying your meals, and smooth digestion, and on other days you are bloated after eating, and you feel it’s like someone is turning the food on your stomach and blowing gas inside.
Welcome to the mystic world of acid reflux, which is crucial but often misunderstood by many. Imagine trying to drive your car without fuel. Hard, right? That’s how your body reacts to low stomach acid during digestion.
In most cases, people confuse acid reflux with food intolerance. While withdrawing some foods from your diet may temporarily relieve the symptoms, as time goes by, your body will not be able to tolerate even the foods that it could digest without challenges. Amid these digestive woes, acid reflux is a condition that is slowly obstructing your nutrient absorption and health.
Understanding Low Stomach Acid and its Effects on Health
Low stomach acid or hypochlorhydria is a commonly misunderstood condition, that if not well handled, can trigger health complications. If you have low stomach acid, you may experience nausea, constipation, and belching during digestion. Taking antiacids helps, but they offer temporary relief. And, in most cases, people think they have high stomach acids while the opposite is true.
Your body normally requires hydrochloric acid to digest food, and these levels go down as we get older. Research has shown that digestive woes are an indication that your stomach acid levels are below the normal range.
When digestion is slow, it’s a clear indication that stomach acids are not enough. Taking antacids, PPIs, and H2 blockers reduces acid production, which instead of resolving the issue, makes it worse in the long run.
Despite the relief they offer, the condition may result in health complications as these medications reduce the function of digestive enzymes. This hinders the absorption of certain vitamins like B12, iron, Magnesium, vitamin D, Zinc, and Folic Acid. Your body requires these vitamins to function properly, and blocking their absorption will lead to deficiency in the long term.
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Common Misconceptions of Low Stomach Acid
A common misconception about digestive woes like bloating, GERD, and discomfort is that there is too much stomach acid. If this is true, why is your food taking so long to be digested if indeed you have too much stomach acid?
So, we can only point this to low stomach acid. And this misconception has made most people become dependent on antiacids. Long-term use of antacids exacerbates the problem.
Editors Pick: Best Vitamin B12 for people with Low Stomach Acid and on antiacids
The Effects of Low Stomach Acid
It is no secret that low stomach acid causes indigestion. This causes food to take long on the digestive tract, which can cause the food to ferment, leading to SIBO (Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth). Bacteria thrive well in low stomach acid environments, and when you take antiacids to block acid production, you create a breeding environment for bacteria like Hpyroli. People with SIBO may suffer from nutritional deficiencies, osteoporosis, and unexplained weight loss.
Another effect of low stomach acid is the inability to digest foods like proteins properly. If your body can’t digest proteins, it will have few amino acids. Your body needs amino acids to produce energy; a deficiency will trigger other health complications.
Absorbing minerals like Zinc, magnesium, and calcium requires hydrochloric acid, and when it’s inadequate, you may develop bone complications.
Why You Should Not Take Antiacids
When you take antiacids, they neutralize stomach acids. While this provides quick relief, it can also brew long-term health complications.
How to Remedy Low Stomach Acid Without Medications
Instead of rushing to take antiacids, the best remedy is to fix the root cause naturally. Here’s how to achieve this.
- Take Apple Cedar Vinegar
Apple cedar vinegar is known for increasing stomach acids and improving digestion. Taking apple cedar vinegar when you have Hpyroli can cause a burning sensation in your stomach. If you have Hpyroli, drink a cup of raw cabbage juice in the morning before eating for two to four weeks before using the apple cedar vinegar. Cabbage is loaded with vitamin C, Folate, B6, potassium, vitamin K, dietary fiber, and Vitamin E, which help heal the stomach ulcer.
How to use Apple Cedar Vinegar
Put warm water in a glass and add one to two tablespoons of apple cedar vinegar and drink it before taking your meals twice or thrice daily. We recommend using Braggs or Fair Child’s apple cedar vinegar. You can squeeze lemon to make it more concentrated if you wish.
2. Increase Fermented Food Intake
Taking fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut and kefir can help promote smooth digestion. For years now, fermented foods have been used to promote a healthy gut microbiome, which helps fight bacteria and balance stomach acidity levels.
3. Supplementing
Taking supplements like ginger, betaine hydrochloride, dandelion, or licorice will help relieve gastrointestinal complications.
Wrapping Up
Acid reflux, GERD, and heartburn are handled as minor gut complications but are to blame for most gastro-intestinal complications. If the problem is not resolved properly, it can lead to long-term health complications. Do not wait until the condition is out of hand. Give the above recommendation a shot and give us your feedback.
