Nutrition counseling for those who want to feel healthier

Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You

By J.V.Wright, M.D., and L. Lenard, Ph.D. (Evans, 2001)

Published November, 2009: www.cambridgenaturals.com

We've all heard the antacid ads and they make intuitive sense.  Anything as acerbic sounding as "acid" could well be causing my heartburn or stomach ache. So we try the Tums or the Rollaids and if we feel better: proof positive!

            However, the reality is, paradoxically often the opposite.  We need more, not less, stomach acid.  How can that be?  Why Stomach Acid Is Good for You: Natural Relief from Heartburn, Indigestion, Reflux and GERD  takes the reader through the digestive process in a clear and comprehensible way.  There's no need for a medical degree to master this text, which describes the functions of stomach acid and its interrelation with subsequent parts of the digestive process in a very  reader-friendly way.

            Why do I have pain or digestive distress you may be wondering.  Here are some of the possible reasons:

• Stomach acid in the wrong place (i.e. reflux);
• Not enough stomach acid in the stomach;
• Not enough mucous on the stomach lining;
• Not enough pancreatic enzymes;
• Side effects of some medicines;
• Getting older;
• Eating the wrong food;
• Antacids, proton-pump inhibitors, histamine blockers.
  

Besides the discomfort, your problem may lead to other problems, like anemia,  depression, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, or ulcers.

            Here are some of the connections the authors make between low stomach acid on the one hand and chronic illnesses on the other.

• Ulcers can stem from a too-alkaline environment letting the bacteria heliobacter pylori get out of hand.
• Cancer of the stomach is associated with ulcers. Furthermore a higher pH from antacids, i.e., less acidity, throws off the hormonal chain of events involved in emptying the stomach and producing more HCl -- hydrochloric acid.  Such a change in the pH also causes changes in the bacteria population and is more favorable to those which happen to turn nitrates into nitrite -- a known carcinogen. (p.98)
• Asthma in children often correlates with low stomach acid and correcting that improves the asthmatic symptoms.
• Heart disease correlates with high levels of homocysteine, which can result from low levels of folate, which needs stomach acid for its proper absorption.
• Osteoporosis can be the result of low calcium levels and calcium requires stomach acid for absorption.
• Anemia can come from too many antacids which form insoluble bonds with iron, making the iron unavailable.  Pernicious anemia, from vitamin B-12 deficiency, is the result of inefficient break-down of protein due to insufficient stomach acid.
• Rheumatoid arthritis and possibly other auto-immune diseases can be exacerbated by maldigested proteins -- from lack of sufficient stomach acid -- escaping the intestines into the body because of leaky gut syndrome.
• Depression from lack of necessary neurotransmitters can happen when there's not enough stomach acid to digest protein into its amino acids, the building blocks of serotonin, dopamine, etc.
  

Now that you are thoroughly alarmed, you will want to know what to do!  The authors are clear about both diet and preventive and remedial methods.  For heartburn the recommended diet is to eat smaller meals more frequently and to avoid chocolate, coffee, mints, sugar, alcohol and onions and to reduce fat intake.  Further warnings include cigarettes, NSAIDs, bronchodilators, beta and calcium channel blockers, Valium, nitroglycerin, and Demerol.  Iron supplements can also cause trouble.

Is the cause of such trouble low stomach acid?  And how do I find out?  If you are past middle age, it's likely that your natural supply has diminished. In any case, you can give yourself a test by taking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice in a very little water near the start of a meal.  If you feel better, chances are strong that you need more stomach acid.

      If you believe low stomach acid is causing you some distress, you might try these things:

--         Bitters before meals;

--         Digestive enzymes;

--         HCl/pepsin (hydrochloric acid);

--         DGL - deglycyrrhizinated licorice -- not if you have high blood pressure, however; or

            --         Mastic from the resin of a tree in the pistachio family which is of such ancient usage that it has given us the word "masticate."  Despite that association, I can only find it available in pill form, i.e., to be swallowed not masticated.  This is a pity because its anti-microbial properties are said to help prevent dental plaque, as well as H. pylori in the stomach.

Beware the wrong diagnosis!  That's the strong cautionary message of this book.  Before you reach for a bottle of Tums or ask your doctor about Pepcid or Prilosec, look into the possibility that you are suffering not from too much but from too little stomach acid.