It’s not about what you eat. Well, okay, it really is. But, what if you are eating whole foods; foods that come from a farm and are organic or grass-fed and are not seeing an improvement in your health.
It’s so much more than what you put in your mouth. It’s about how you digest this food and then absorb it.
Our bodies do not have a storage pantry so you need to eat healthy foods every day, and, must properly digest those foods.
To do that, you must have good strong stomach acid. Many people struggle with having sufficient stomach acid.
If you experience burping all day long. If you have bloating, especially in the upper portion of your gi tract. If you suffer from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. If you frequently feel fatigued after consuming a meal. If you have any of these things:
Allergies
Asthma (especially if accompanied by wheezing)
Multiple food sensitivities
Thin nails or nails that break easily
Chronic indigestion
GERD
All of these things can be a sign that your stomach acid is too low.
Stomach acid is necessary to properly break down the proteins as they enter your body. These proteins are essentially tangled balls of yarn and the stomach acid helps pull that ball of yarn apart. Inside these packets are minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and chromium. Without strong stomach acid, the protein is not broken down into amino acids which are necessary to build the hormones and neurotransmitters or release the minerals required to build a strong immune system and allow our organs to properly function.
Stomach acid is also one of our first lines of defense to protect you from pathogens and unwanted bacteria.
Stomach acid suppressors, such as PPI’s or H2 Blockers, are only meant to be used short term to help the gut heal from an ulcer, for example. However, these products are sold over the counter and people self-treat or are given a prescription for years.
This contributes to exacerbating health problems including chronic headaches, stiffness and achiness in the joints, trouble sleeping, numb fingers and toes, and more.
You should never go off a stomach acid suppressor cold turkey. They should be weaned off under the guidance of your physician. Removing them cold turkey will result in a “flashback” effect and your symptoms will get much worse!
There are many ways to increase your stomach acid naturally:
- Reducing sugar and processed foods in your diet.
- Consuming the juice of ½ an organic lemon squeezed into your water in the morning.
- Eating healthy fermented foods and drinks such as refrigerated sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, miso, kefir, or kombucha.
- Helping our body process food by using digestive enzymes, such as Enzymedica’s Digest Gold.
- Hydrochloric betaine which is a supplement that is to be taken in the middle of a meal to replace missing stomach acid. Depending on the amount of protein in a meal, up to 8 tablets may be necessary to properly digest the meal.
NOTE: Hydrochloric betaine is actually used to help people determine if they actually have low stomach acid. If you are interested in learning more about how to do this simple, at-home test, email me.
