Continuing our blog series on stomach acid and today we are talking about signs of low stomach acid. In last weeks post we discussed why stomach acid is important and three important reasons we need it. Be sure to read that post first.
Low levels of stomach acid can produce a wide variety of symptoms and can be related to many things. For example: low stomach acid levels can cause low B12, iron, magnesium, etc which in turn produces symptoms such as low energy, headaches, constipation, poor detoxification, etc. Remember the body all works together which is why you can’t just treat one symptom. Let’s go over some common symptoms or signs of low stomach acid.
Signs of low stomach acid:
- Heartburn/acid reflux. This happens when stomach acid comes up into the esophagus. There is a little valve (sphincter) that opens to allow food to go into the stomach after swallowing. It is supposed to only open for that and to allow a burp to come through. When the muscle is not working properly, the sphincter opens when it’s not supposed to and stomach acid comes up.
- Excess gas, bloating and burping after meals. The role of stomach acid is to help digest and break down food. If we have low acid levels, the food is not getting broken down into a liquid like substance, thus “rotting” in the gut creating bloating and gas.
- Undigested foods in stool. Once again, food is not getting broke down and passing through the digestive system.
- Nutrient deficiencies. B Vitamins, iron, zinc, protein, calcium and folate all depend on adequate amounts of stomach acid to be absorbed into your body. If you are regularly low in these, chances are working on gut health especially stomach acid will help. Also food for thought: if you are supplementing and it either isn’t working or only works for a short amount of time, getting to the root cause (aka: stomach acid) will be needed.
- Food sensitivities. The cool thing about food sensitives is that by healing the gut, you can also get rid of most of them. If you are sensitive to many foods, digging deeper into your gut health and addressing stomach acid levels will be an important step.
- Gut infections. Candidia, SIBO, parasites, dysbiosis have all been traced back to poor stomach acid levels. It is normal that bacteria will enter our body, but it is the role of stomach acid to kill it when it reaches the stomach because most bacteria cannot live in an acidic environment. Therefore, if acid is not present, this creates space for the bacteria to live and grow where it should not be.
- Asthma. Cool studies show that normalizing stomach acid in children have completely got rid of their wheezing which is the main concern. Instead of medicines that suppress the symptoms, opt for working with a practitioner and check out the gut health of your child.
More signs of low stomach acid:
- brittle nails
- acne
- eczema
- rosacea
- rheumatoid arthritis
- autoimmune diseases
- low immunity
- iron deficiency
- constipation/diarrhea
- headaches
As you can see, poor stomach acid levels can affect so many things in the body. Hence why it is important to get to the root cause of a symptom instead of just treating it. Stay tuned for next weeks post….we’ll be talking about ways to improve your stomach acid levels.
Needing gut health support?
I work one on one with women needing to improve gut health in my practice. I personally had to overcome low stomach acid levels in my own gut healing journey. Please book a free gut health consult with me and let’s work together to do some root cause healing and get your gut happy again. Book a consult here or learn more about my consulting services here.
