Is Acid Reflux or ‘feeling of acidity’ caused by Stomach acid ?
Yes.
Next question is – is it caused by ‘more acid’ in the Stomach OR ‘less acid’ in the Stomach?
Answer – Most people would perhaps answer – ‘More Acid’ in the Stomach !!
Sorry to tell you that it is the WRONG ANSWER !!
Most of us have been brainwashed to think that digestive acids produced by the stomach are the root of Acid Reflux or GERD or digestive disorders. So, we think that the Stomach acid is an evil and is the culprit behind our feeling of acidity or acid reflux.
Actually, the reverse is true.
Stomach acid is released by the body to ‘digest’ the food that we eat. If there is no ‘stomach acid’, we will not be able to digest anything. Further, if the ‘stomach acid’ is less than required, digestion will remain incomplete and the undigested food will cause us MORE ‘acid reflux’ and ‘GERD’ problems. So, actually, we need MORE of ‘stomach acid’ to digest the food in its entirety. Once the food is fully digested and nothing remains undigested, there will be no more acidity feeling or Acid Reflux or GERD.
So, the real problem is Lack of ‘Stomach Acid’ and NOT excess of it. You will wonder about what we are trying to explain, as this may sound absolutely contrary to what you are made to believe.
What to do about ‘Too much stomach acid’
In an attempt to overcompensate for lack of enzymes in the food, the stomach produces an inordinate amount of stomach acid to compensate, leading to acid indigestion. Taking antacids or purple pills doesn’t actually solve the problem; it merely eliminates one of the symptoms. Ultimately, though, it passes even more quantities of poorly digested food into the intestinal tract where it leads to gas, bloating, bad digestion, chronic digestive disorders, in addition to blowing out your pancreas, which tries to compensate by producing huge amounts of digestive enzymes for use in the small intestine. All of this gets aggravated by foods and beverages such as alcohol (especially beer), high sugar foods, and caffeinated foods (coffee and tea, etc.) that can actually double acid production.
The simple solution for most people with excess stomach acid is to supplement with ACIDIM, which stimulates Stomach Acid secretion both instantly and also by correcting digestive system thus help digest the meal, thus eliminating the need for large amounts of stomach acid and also taking tremendous stress off the digestive system and the pancreas.
What to do about ‘Too little stomach acid’
Follow the logic here for just a moment.
If you spend lots of time forcing your body to massively overproduce stomach acid to compensate for the lack of enzymes in your diet, what do you think the long-term consequences might be in terms of your ability to produce stomach acid?
Bingo!
Eventually, your body’s capacity to produce ‘stomach acid’ begins to fade, with a concomitant loss in your body’s ability to sufficiently process food in the stomach. The health consequences can be profound. Low production of ‘stomach acid’ is quite common and becomes more prevalent with age. By age forty, 40% of the population is affected, and by age sixty, 50%. A person over age 40 who visits a doctor’s office has about a 90% probability of having low ‘stomach acid’.
Consequences can include :
- Poor digestion. Not only is there insufficient stomach acid to break down food, there is insufficient acidity to optimize the digestive enzyme pepsin, which requires a pH of around 2.0. This results in partial digestion of food, leading to gas, bloating, belching, diarrhea/constipation, autoimmune disorders, skin diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and a host of intestinal disorders such as Crohn’s and IBS.
- It is estimated that 80% of people with food allergies suffer from some degree of low acid production in the stomach.
- Many vitamins and minerals require proper stomach acid in order to be properly absorbed, including: calcium, iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid. Vitamin B12 in particular requires sufficient stomach acid for proper utilization. Without that acid, severe B12 deficiency can result.
- With low acidity and the presence of undigested food, harmful bacteria are more likely to colonize the stomach and interfere with digestion. Normal levels of ‘stomach acid’ help to keep the digestive system free of harmful bacteria and parasites.
It’s worth noting that symptoms of low acid levels in the body include:
- Bloating, belching, and flatulence immediately after meals.
- Indigestion, diarrhea, or constipation.
- Heartburn / Acid Reflux / Chronic cough.
Is it just me, or doesn’t this list sound very similar to the symptoms associated with too much stomach acid?
In fact, up to 95% of people who think they are suffering from too much ‘stomach acid’ are actually suffering from the exact opposite condition. The use of antacids and purple pills then become exactly the ‘wrong treatment’ to use since they exacerbate the underlying condition while temporarily masking the symptoms.
Why an Antacid or PPI is not the right treatment ?
When you feel Acid Reflux or GERD, first thing you take is an Antacid tablets and /or liquids. As their very names suggest, they are marked as “Anti Acid” and work as “acid blockers”.
Now question comes – when you block the ‘Acid’, how do you digest your food ? Answer is that the food remains undigested as sufficient quantity of acid is now not available. So, you have more of Acid Reflux or GERD and then you need these Antacid tablets even more and can not survive without them. That leads to three problems, all of which get worse the longer you use one of these drugs.
- First, proteins aren’t broken down properly and certain minerals aren’t being absorbed because stomach acid is required for this to happen. When the improperly digested substances reach the intestines, gas-forming bacteria multiply quicker and cause a serious gas problem.
- Second, low stomach acid eventually causes a protein deficiency. Your body then robs protein from joint surfaces and moves it to the areas where it’s needed. This can lead to possible arthritis.
- Third, a lack of stomach acid impairs the digestion and assimilation of calcium, which can result in many health problems, including muscle cramps and osteoporosis.
So, what should you do ?
There are a few simple steps you can take to make sure you remain healthy.
Above age old saying gives stress on the importance of front loading the calories at the beginning of the day.
Why ?
Because we start working in the morning and body burns calories. So, we need them first before we can burn them. Our metabolism is the fastest in early morning. Thus the need for an early and heavy breakfast.
Breakfast is literally what it says: ‘breaking your fast’. When you get up in the morning it may be easily from 8 to 12 hours since you last ate (unless you’re a secret night binger) and blood sugar levels is very low.
Having a proper breakfast is going to set you up for the rest of the day. Sadly most people leading today’s hectic lives skip breakfast altogether or – in the best case scenario – just have a morning beverage on-the-go which hardly contains the nutrients needed for the body to function properly. This may result in less mental sharpness as well as decreased efficiency, among other things.
That’s why having a complete, balanced and healthy breakfast can really make a difference. You should aim to get at least 25 to 30 percent of your daily caloric intake from the first meal of the day.
Truth of the matter a complete and balanced breakfast helps you get your day off to a great start so you can manage your calorie intake better.
Studies have also shown that people who eat a healthy breakfast each day have greater control over their daily calorie intake and, overall, they tend to have lower body weights.
In other words, it’s better to have dinner for breakfast than breakfast for dinner.
Why we should take Lunch like a Prince and Dinner like a Pauper ?
Because need of Calories decrease as the hours goes by, as our rate of work also slows down. The metabolism slows down as the day progresses and the chances of burning calories are fewer as nighttime approaches.
- Eat the protein foods at the beginning of your meal.
Your stomach churns out nearly all of its hydrochloric acid when you begin eating. So, if you begin a meal with a salad, as many of us in this country do, you “waste” the acid.
That’s because the carbohydrates that make up a salad require no hydrochloric acid for digestion. Later, when the protein foods (meat, fish, beans, and cheese) need the acid, there’s none left. So always eat the vegetable salad either with the protein food, or after, but never before.
When you should eat dinner
When it comes to dinner, eating late generally conflicts with our internal body clock because it’s starting to wind down and get ready for sleep. If we’re simply not set up to process the food we’re taking in, it’s probably not the best time for a big meal.
Nutritionist Linda Morgan from the University of Surrey wanted to see how efficient we are at processing food at night compared to in the morning. She conducted an experiment where participants were given the exact same foods at night and in the morning. Then she tested their blood glucose levels to see how much glucose their bodies were hanging onto.
Morgan says blood glucose levels indicate how efficiently your body is processing and storing glucose, and high levels of glucose in the blood after a meal can point out future risks like diabetes. Her experiment found that blood glucose levels after an evening meal were much higher than when the exact same meal was eaten earlier in the day.
Morgan says this means we should try to get most of our calories earlier in the day, and have lighter, earlier evening meals when possible.