How To Improve Stomach Acid

Ways To Reverse Low Stomach Acid:

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How Can We Improve Our Digestion

One of the best places to start sounds a lot like advice youd get from grandma: Slow down. Dont eat on the run. Dont eat while stressed or distracted. Sit down and focus on eating. Chew, chew, chew your food properly. Put your fork down between bites. Consume nutritious foods and avoid sugar, sodas and other junk.

Some people find that priming the digestion prior to meals is very helpful in activating the enzymes needed. You can do this by using digestive bitters or drinking a bit of lemon water or apple cider vinegar in water. Acidifying the stomach just prior to eating or taking mineral supplements will increase your ability to digest properly. Some people find that taking their iron or calcium supplement with orange juice helps them to better absorb the minerals.

Digestive enzymes that contain HCl are very helpful. For people who are very sensitive, or who have a weak LES, taking DGL to protect the mucosal lining of the stomach and esophagus is helpful. Its especially useful for people who are titrating off of PPIs.

These supplements and nutrients can be incorporated into an overall plan to optimize stomach acid, protein digestion and nutrient absorption, while minimizing discomfort.

Vitamin C For Low Stomach Acid

#2 on my list of ways to improve low stomach acid/ is to take;vitamin C otherwise known as ascorbic acid. Over the years I have worked with many kinds of vitamin C if you need a tablet vitamin C I recommend C-Flav.;;Ascorbic Acid;is a natural water-soluble vitamin that can increase acidity levels in the stomach and simply upping your daily vitamin C levels could improve symptoms like acid reflux or bloating and belching. As with any of these methods for improving low stomach acid, if any of these exacerbate your symptoms, then its possible, you dont have a problem with low levels of stomach acid/ hypochlorhydria. I dont recommend generic vitamin C has it has too many binders and fillers that can often aggravate gut health.

Also Check: Is Pedialyte Good For Upset Stomach

You Are A Reflection Of Your Gut

Healthy digestion exerts a powerful influence on your health and well-being. It ensures that the food you eat gets broken down into nutrients that your body can absorb.; Every cell in your body relies on getting good nutrition.; From diabetes to heart health, energy levels to immune issues, whats happening in your body is largely a reflection of whats happening in your digestive system, also called the gut.

Gut issues are sometimes obvious, and at other times may seem unrelated to your symptoms. It can take some real detective work and a plan to determine if your health issue is also a digestion issue.;

How To Improve Stomach Acid Levels 10 Ways To Improve Stomach Acid

How to Improve Stomach Acid Levels: A certain level of stomach acid protects you from many diseases. So do you know how to optimize this level? I am sharing 10 ways to regulate stomach acid levels for you in this article.

As it is known, stomach acid is important to neutralize bacteria and perfect protein digestion in the body. When the body cannot produce enough stomach acid, it causes insufficient digestion and excessive microbial proliferation, especially in the intestines. Most importantly, even if you notice the problem, it takes a while to improve stomach acid levels, so you must make significant changes in your diet and lifestyle to bring the situation to a good level!

The normal volume of gastric acid fluid is 200 100 ml, and the PH value is between 1.5 and 3.5. Due to the logarithmic nature of the PH scale, the PH value should be in the range of 1.5 2.2 for healthy protein digestion.

So even small changes in stomach acid strength for good digestion will seriously change the result!

Why Do You Need To Increase Stomach Acid Levels

Stomach acid is the fluid in your stomach. It is usually around a pH of 1-2 and is designed to ;

• Kill pathogens
• Digestive food
• Signalling to allow food to pass from the stomach into the next part of the gut.

If your stomach acid levels are too low, this is known as hypochlorhydria.

Low stomach acid levels will increase your risk of bacteria surviving in your gut and causing problems.

Conditions such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth have been directly linked to taking PPI medications .

Slow Down And Sit To Eat Chew Your Food Properly And Give Your Body Time To Digest Your Food

There is a reason we have teeth and strong jaw muscles. Human jaws are surprisingly strong and efficient. We just need to use them to help break down the food into smaller particles, which means less work for the rest of the digestive system.

Also, if you are stressed or in a hurry, the “fight or flight” part of your nervous system will kick in and interfere with your ability to digest your food. Blood supply and nerve input will be directed away from your digestive organs as your body will be more focused on getting your heart rate up and getting your muscles firing to get you out of that stressful situation. It is more important to run away from the tiger to avoid being eaten than to eat! You can do that later.

How To Increase Stomach Acid

So youre having some stomach issues.

It could be acid reflux, GERD, IBS, cramps. Whatever it may be, you know somethings up.

Maybe youve read some articles about the symptoms youre experiencing. Youve come to the conclusion that the root of your problem is from low stomach acid.

Youre probably right! And thats why youre here.

I know youre ready to dive in for the solution, however I encourage you to stay with me for just a moment.

Id like to go over the symptoms of low stomach acid to make sure were on the same page. If so, then well get right on to the good stuff.

Lets dive in!

Symptoms of Low Stomach Acid

Low stomach acid vs high stomach acid symptoms can be tricky. Many of them overlap and look the same. Therefore, it can be difficult to parse out if your stomach acid is too high or too low.

Here are just a handful of the symptoms of low stomach acid:

• Cramping

• Acid Reflux

Sound familiar?

The vast majority of people would say you have too much stomach acid if you reported these symptoms They look virtually identical.

However, if your hunch still points to low stomach acid, youre probably right.

The vast majority of people have way too little stomach acid, not too much.

Still this doesnt solve the conundrum

What are symptoms of low stomach acid that help me identify this problem?

Well, there are a few hints we can go off of here.

If you have/experience any of the following, it is highly likely you have too little stomach acid:

High Stress

Zinc Deficiency

You Dont Need Medication To Reduce Stomach Acid

Contrary to popular belief, you dont need medication to reduce stomach acid. This is great for those who want to stay away from pharmaceutical products or cant take them for whatever reason. The methods above are all suitable for those will low immune systems and pregnant women.

Its time to pull out the ginger and oatmeal and start changing the way you eat your meals. Youll soon find that stomach acid is no longer a problem.

Strive Hcl Dietary Supplements

In accordance with a 2015 review , older adults have a better danger of growing digestive circumstances that scale back their abdomen acid ranges.

Digestive circumstances that will lower abdomen acid ranges embody Helicobacter pylori an infection and atrophic gastritis .

As an individual ages, their abdomen additionally produces much less pepsin. Pepsin is an enzyme that breaks down proteins and aids digestion.

Individuals with low ranges of abdomen acid could profit from taking HCL dietary supplements. Digestive enzyme dietary supplements that additionally comprise pepsin could also be particularly useful for older adults.

Nonetheless, an individual ought to converse with a physician earlier than taking any dietary supplements. Though dietary supplements could alleviate signs, the hypochlorhydria could also be attributable to an underlying well being situation that requires medical consideration.

Eliminate Foods To Which You Are Sensitive

As I discussed, low stomach acid perpetuates food allergies and sensitivities by creating leaky gut. Then, when we eat the foods to which we are sensitive, the body responds with stress. Thats counterproductive, because stress turns off digestion.

Its;important to temporarily remove the foods to which you are sensitive, to allow healing.

Dont have the time or finances for a complicated food allergy panel? I recommend using this method for At Home Food Sensitivity Testing. You simply measure how your pulse responds to eating specific foods.

Why You Need Enough Stomach Acid:

When you have too little stomach acid, it is called hypochlorhydria. Overtime, hypochlorhydria can make it difficult for your body to properly absorb nutrients and can cause digestive issues. It can also cause a number of chronic health problems including:

• Anemia;
• Mood disorders
• Nervous system issues like numbness

Mostly, all of these illnesses stem from your bodys inability to absorb nutrients found in the foods you eat.

How To Take The Baking Soda Stomach Acid Test

In theory, if your stomach is producing adequate amounts of stomach acid youll likely burp within two to three minutes. Any burping after three minutes may indicate a low acid level. To make the process easy, we created a little printable timing sheet for you, which you can download below.

If You Suffer From Acid Reflux:

Do not take any ant-acids or acid reflux meds

Take 1 capsule during or directly after the meal and see if you do not have the indigestion.; If you continue to have the indigestion, you need more.

At your next meal, take 2 caps and continue this process until you find the amount you need in order to not have indigestion.; Continue to use this amount until you notice you have indigestion again.; When you do, drop your dosage by 1 cap for your next meal.

If 4 caps took away your indigestion you can stay on that until you noticed that 4 caps now CAUSED indigestion.; Then you can drop your dosage to 3 caps until you notice the new amount causes indigestion.; When you notice indigestion at 3 caps, drop it to 2 and continue with this until you plateau or are able to completely eliminate the usage of the HCL caps.

Factors That Contribute To Low Stomach Acid Include:

Chronic stressInfectionsMedication use

StressâStress impairs digestion. Chronic stress may decrease the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach due to associated nutrient deficiencies.2 Stress also causes the vagus nerve to lose its proper tone. The vagus nerve is a major part of the parasympathetic nervous system, and it is deeply involved in stomach acid production. With chronic stress it loses its ability to fire properly which disrupts normal stomach acid production.

AgingâLow levels of stomach acid following a meal are more common with aging. Studies that compared stomach acid levels in young individuals versus older individuals found that older individuals experienced low levels of stomach acid following a meal for a greater length of time than their younger counterparts. It took 89 minutes for the elderly participants versus 42 minutes for the younger participants to regain normal stomach acid levels following a âstandard mealâ.1, 3, 4 These studies help support the existence of âfunctional low stomach acid levelsâ in the elderly following meals.

Poor DietâEating a diet comprised of highly refined sugars and carbohydrates, alcohol, and/or smoking may result in nutritional deficiencies of B vitamins or zinc, both necessary for the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach.

SurgeryâGastric bypass surgery can reduce the production of stomach acid.

Start By Limiting Your Meals

When you eat and drink when you have stomach acid , your body automatically starts producing more stomach acid to deal with what youre putting into it. It knows that it will need to start digesting at some point, even if youre just drinking water. Your body doesnt know exactly what youre having and will work based on the chewing and swallowing process.

Yes, even if you chew gum regularly, you will start to produce more stomach acid. This can be beneficial if youre struggling to digest something, but if you have high stomach acid levels or heartburn, youll want to keep the chewing to a minimum.

To help to keep the stomach acid production to a minimum, consider reducing the amount that youre eating and drinking during the day. Keep your meals small, so your stomach doesnt need to create as much acid to digest it all. Your body also wont take as long to digest everything that you eat, meaning the acid levels can reduce to normal sooner rather than later.

Smaller meals throughout the day can also be good for weight loss. You constantly keep yourself feeling fuller, since you dont leave as long between your small meals. At the same time, you keep the calorie intake down, because youre eating less during and between meals. Youll hardly feel like youre on a diet and your heartburn wont cause a problem that gets you down.

The Role Of Stomach Acid In Digestion

One of the most important substances involved in digestion is hydrochloric acid or, in other words, your stomach acid. Without it, digestion and absorption of certain nutrients, especially protein wouldnt be possible.

HCI helps prevent you from developing infections and food poisoning, and works to make sure you’re absorbing iron and other nutrients for energy such as vitamin B12, zinc, calcium, magnesium and amino acids.

It also signals your other digestive organs to release their juices and enzymes as well as muscular contractions that make digestion smooth and easy.

For example, stomach acid is an important trigger for the contraction of your esophageal sphincter to protect the delicate tissue of your esophagus from the harsh acids in your stomach. It also helps to activate the pyloric sphincter which allows food to move from your stomach to your small intestine.

Low Stomach Acid Is The Cause Of Gord

Stomach acid can be the bane of peoples lives; that burning sensation in the throat, continuous heartburn and a pesky cough are all symptoms of GORD, which is characterised by a backflow of stomach acid into the oesophagus. A reduced amount of stomach acid can lead to an increase in intra-abdominal pressure , which can cause the lower oesophageal sphincter to open allowing small amounts of stomach acid to touch the oesophagus causing the familiar burning sensation experienced in reflux patients.

Think You Have Low Stomach Acid Heres What To To

There are a few ways to increase stomach acid naturally. The gentlest way that may help stimulate acid production is to drink a glass of warm or room temperature lemon water upon waking . Alternatively, use a capful of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar in the same way.

Our preferred, most effective way to increase stomach acid naturally is to use digestive bitters. Bitters, made from bitter herbs, naturally enhance the bodys secretion of HCl. Take 1/4 teaspoon before meals. Learn how to make your own digestive bitters or try our favorite brand of bitters, Urban Moonshine.

The third and most powerful way to increase HCl is to take Betaine HCl, a naturally occurring amino acid compound usually derived from beets. While this can be done safely on your own with care, it is best to work with a healthcare professional to determine appropriateness and correct dosage.

Betaine HCl should not be taken by anyone who has ulcers, gastric inflammation, and/or is on medications, especially anti-inflammatory medication . In general, we recommend herbal digestive bitters over Betaine HCl.

Foods That Alleviate Heartburn

Many people experience occasional heartburn or acid reflux. Heartburn is the backflow of stomach acid into the esophagus, and itâs often caused by what you eat. Thankfully, there are certain foods that are known to reduce or relieve heartburn.

If you experience acid reflux more than twice a week, you may have a more serious condition called GERD. Schedule an appointment today.

Keep reading for eight foods that can improve and ease your heartburn.

A Brief Primer On Stomach Ph

Substances can be measured in terms of their acidity or alkalinity on a pH scale.; The scale ranges from 0 to 14 .; A pH of 7 is neutral.; Water is 7 and blood is 7.4, close to neutral.

HCL produced in the stomach has a pH of .08, a very acidic value!; When the stomach is at rest, its pH should be between 1 and 3.;;

Mixing acids and bases causes them to neutralize each other.; When we take certain medications, it makes the contents much more alkaline, which neutralizes the acid and raises the number.; This creates a state of low stomach acid.; Make sense?

We make less and less stomach acid as we age.; At age 40, we make around half of what we made at age 20.; And as we continue to age, we make even less stomach acid.; Low stomach acid is known in the; medical world as hypochlorhydria.

How do you know if your stomach acid is low? Its not a question most of us would even think to have, let alone recognize the signs.; Take a look at the following chart and see if you have symptoms of low HCL.;