29 Mar Low Stomach Acid Symptoms
Stomach acid is a necessity for a well functioning digestive system. We always hear about what too much stomach acid can do {helloo reflux!}, but what about low stomach acid? I want to talk about what low stomach acid symptoms are + why this is problematic for your health down the road.
Low Stomach Acid Symptoms
Acid Reflux + Heartburn
You would think that someone who has acid reflux and heartburn probably struggle with too much stomach acid, but that isn’t always the case. Healthy stomach acid levels keeps the correct amount of pressure in the abdomen, which causes the lower esophageal sphincter to stay shut when it’s supposed to. If someone has low stomach acid, this sphincter can open up due to increased abdominal pressure when it’s not supposed to and allow acid to back track and cause heartburn.
That’s why it’s vital to work with a practitioner that won’t just throw you on acid blockers if you’re having acid reflux and digging for the root cause.
Bloating
Ever finish eating + you feel super pregnant and bloated? Low stomach acid will cause an issue of digesting your food properly and undigested food will make you feel yucky + bloated.
This isn’t always the cause for bloating, so make sure you assess other reasons why you might be bloated after eating!
Undigested Food In Stools
As mentioned above, low stomach acid will give you issues with digesting foods. Therefore, you might even see some of these foods in your stool the next day! Some foods are normal to be seen in your stool because they are naturally hard to break down, especially flaxseeds that haven’t been broken down. This is really important to note, so don’t freak out!
But if you’re seeing a lot, you might want to consider doing some stool testing with us to see if other digestive enzyme markers are low!
Gas
Because you aren’t able to break down and digest your food properly from low stomach acid, enter in extra gas for ya! Combine that with bloat + you got a combination that you are not wanting to have. We need to work on supporting stomach acid levels!
Chronic Gut Imbalances
Have you worked with a practitioner before and you seem to not be able to get your gut microbes in check? You’re always getting parasites? Or you’re always getting dysbiosis? That’s an imbalance of good bacteria {like probiotics} + opportunistic bacteria! If so, we MUST look at your digestive enzyme secretions and stomach acid.
We are constantly being exposed to microbes on the food we eat and the environment we live in, so it’s important that we have this gastric barrier that will kill microbes before they can take up residence in our gut. So, low stomach acid = higher likelihood for things to flourish that shouldn’t be!
Chronic Nutrient Deficiencies
If you haven’t seen the theme yet of low stomach acid causing you not to digest your food, have you skimmed the article? 😛 If you’re struggling with nutrient deficiencies that keep happening no matter how much you supplement, low stomach acid prevents you from digesting foods, therefore making it hard to absorb all the goodies {aka nutrients} we need!
This isn’t as obvious as bloating or gas, but this is a trend we’ll see overtime when we do micronutrient deficiency testing and we see this chronically be an issue. Low stomach acid will be a red flag here!
Are You Struggling with Low Stomach Acid Symptoms?
Do you struggle with any of these low stomach acid symptoms? Reach out to our team if you need some testing done + ready to get down to the root cause of your gastrointestinal symptoms. We got you!
