10 WARNING Signs That Your Stomach Acid Is Low

Summary

In this informative video, we delve into the crucial topic of low stomach acid, highlighting its significance for digestive health. We begin by explaining the importance of a highly acidic stomach environment for proper digestion, and then address the common misconception that acid reflux and indigestion are caused by too much acid, rather than too little. We present the top 10 signs of low stomach acid, ranging from heartburn and bad breath to problems with nutrient absorption and food intolerances. The video emphasizes the often overlooked implications of low stomach acid on overall health and provides insights into addressing these issues for improved well-being.

Takeaways

• 😃 The video discusses signs you may have low stomach acid
• 😟 Low stomach acid can prevent proper digestion and nutrient absorption
• 😮 Frequent heartburn can actually be caused by low (not high) stomach acid
• 😷 Bad breath can indicate improperly digested food entering your throat/mouth
• 💩 Seeing undigested food in your stool points to poor digestion
• 😪 Feeling sleepy after meals may signal issues with nutrient balance or digestion
• 😥 Low iron/B12 absorption and anemia can result from insufficient stomach acid
• 🤤 Constant hunger despite eating may mean your body isn't properly absorbing nutrients
• 😡 Bloating/cramping after eating hints that food isn't being digested properly
• 💊 Gallbladder issues can develop if bile release triggered by stomach acid is impaired

Q & A

What is the importance of having a highly acidic stomach environment?

A highly acidic stomach environment, with a pH of around 1.5 to 3, is crucial for activating pepsin and other enzymes to break down protein and help liquefy food in the stomach.

Why do many people mistakenly believe they have too much stomach acid when experiencing acid reflux and indigestion?

Many people mistakenly believe they have too much stomach acid due to symptoms of acid reflux and indigestion, but these issues can often be a sign of not having enough stomach acid.

What are the consequences of not producing sufficient stomach acid?

Insufficient stomach acid can lead to improper digestion of foods and proteins, resulting in the body struggling to access nutrients locked inside foods, which has wide-ranging implications further down the digestive tract.

How can low stomach acid affect the pyloric valve's function?

Low stomach acid can cause the pyloric valve at the end of the stomach to not open and shut correctly, leading to food fermenting in the stomach, creating gas and pressure that can result in acid reflux.

What is a common sign of low stomach acid related to oral health?

A common sign of low stomach acid related to oral health is bad breath or halitosis, which can result from undigested food regurgitating into the throat and mouth.

How does low stomach acid impact the digestion and absorption of nutrients?

Low stomach acid affects the release of pancreatic enzymes and bile, hindering the breakdown of protein, fats, and carbs, leading to undigested foods in the stool and nutrient absorption issues.

Why might someone feel particularly sleepy after meals if they have low stomach acid?

Feeling sleepy after meals can indicate subpar digestion due to low stomach acid, as the body diverts more energy to the digestive tract, struggling to break down food.

How does low stomach acid contribute to anemia?

Low stomach acid can exacerbate iron and B12 deficiencies, critical for preventing anemia, because stomach acid is a cofactor for their absorption in the digestive tract.

What link exists between low stomach acid and gallbladder problems?

Low stomach acid can lead to insufficient bile release, contributing to gallbladder issues like gallstones due to bile's role in emulsifying and breaking down fats in the diet.

How can low stomach acid trigger food intolerances and sensitivities?

Low stomach acid can cause food to be improperly broken down, leading to undigested proteins and other nutrients entering the bloodstream in a form the immune system does not recognize, potentially triggering immune system issues.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Understanding Low Stomach Acid

The video begins with an introduction to the channel's offerings, including tests and consultations for digestive issues. It emphasizes the necessity of a highly acidic stomach environment (pH 1.5 to 3) for the activation of pepsin and other enzymes, crucial for protein breakdown and food liquefaction. Contrary to common beliefs associating indigestion and acid reflux with excess acid, the video explains that many suffer from low stomach acidity, often misdiagnosed and treated with antacids without proper testing. It outlines the importance of adequate stomach acid for nutrient absorption and the broader digestive process, setting the stage for revealing the top 10 signs of low stomach acid.

05:03

🚩 Top 10 Signs of Low Stomach Acid

This section delves into the specific indicators of low stomach acid. Key signs include frequent heartburn or acid reflux due to improper valve functioning in the stomach, bad breath from regurgitation of stomach contents, and the presence of undigested food in stools highlighting digestion issues. Additional signs cover excessive sleepiness after meals, possibly due to poor digestion or nutrient absorption issues, and problems with iron and B12 absorption leading to anemia. Constant hunger, despite recent eating, suggests inadequate digestion and absorption of nutrients. The video also connects low stomach acid to issues with skin, nails, hair, bloating or cramping post-meal, gallbladder problems, and food intolerances, emphasizing the systemic impact of this condition.

10:03

📌 Resolving Digestive Tract Issues

The final paragraph focuses on the implications of low stomach acid on the body's immune system and overall health. It explains how inadequately broken down food particles can lead to immune responses, manifesting as skin issues, sinus problems, brain fog, or joint pain. The scrambled format of proteins and fatty acids due to poor digestion triggers these immune system issues. The video concludes by stressing the importance of addressing stomach acid levels to prevent such intolerances and to maintain overall health, alongside a call to action for viewers to engage with more content and a reminder of the importance of bodily care.

Keywords

💡Stomach acid

Stomach acid, also called gastric acid, is composed mainly of hydrochloric acid and is very acidic, with a pH between 1.5-3. It plays a vital role in food digestion by activating digestive enzymes to break down proteins. The video explains that insufficient stomach acid can impair this digestion process and cause an array of health issues.

💡Heartburn

Heartburn is a burning discomfort caused by stomach acid rising up into the esophagus. The video explains that insufficient stomach acid production can cause improper opening/closing of the pyloric valve, leading to food fermentation and gas buildup that pushes stomach contents upward into the esophagus, causing heartburn.

💡Acid reflux

Acid reflux is the backflow of stomach contents like acid into the esophagus, causing irritation of its lining. The video relates it to heartburn, explaining that insufficient stomach acid allows improper valve function, gas buildup, and backflow of acid into the delicate esophageal tissue.

💡Pepsin

Pepsin is a digestive enzyme activated by stomach acid to digest protein. The video notes that sufficient stomach acid (pH 1.5-3) is required to activate pepsin and other enzymes to properly digest food, especially protein.

💡Bile

Bile is a digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. The video explains that stomach acid triggers bile release, so low acid can impair bile release leading to fat and vitamin malabsorption.

💡Gallbladder

The gallbladder stores and secretes bile to digest fats. As noted above, insufficient stomach acid can reduce bile secretion, potentially causing gallbladder problems over time like gallstones.

💡Stool

Stool, or feces, is digestive waste passed out of the body. The video notes that seeing undigested food in stool can be a sign of insufficient stomach acid interfering with digestion earlier in the GI tract.

💡Food intolerances

Food intolerances are difficulty digesting certain foods. The video explains this can be caused by insufficient stomach acid leading proteins/fats to be absorbed in forms the body doesn't recognize, triggering immune reactions.

💡Digestion

Digestion is the breakdown of food into molecules the body can absorb. The video focuses on how insufficient stomach acid impairs early digestion, with ripple effects down the GI tract causing poor nutrient absorption and many health issues.

💡Nutrient absorption

Nutrient absorption is the assimilation of nutrients from food into the body. As covered in the video, poor digestion caused by low stomach acid can greatly impact the ability to properly absorb vital nutrients.

Highlights

Your stomach needs to be very acidic with a pH of around 1.5 to 3 to activate enzymes to digest protein and liquefy food.

If stomach acid is too low, the body struggles to access nutrients in food, with implications down the digestive tract.

Many people incorrectly think acid reflux means too much acid, but testing often shows low stomach acid is more common.

Frequent heartburn can be caused by low stomach acid affecting the pyloric valve and causing food fermentation and gas buildup.

Bad breath can come from improper digestion and regurgitation of stomach contents into the throat and mouth.

Seeing undigested food in stool indicates poor breakdown of protein, fats and carbs due to insufficient stomach acid.

Feeling sleepy after meals can mean the body is using too much energy trying to digest food with low stomach acid.

Low stomach acid makes it hard to absorb iron and B12, often causing deficiency issues.

Constant hunger after full meals indicates improper digestion and nutrient absorption due to low stomach acid.

Thinning hair, white spots on nails and dry skin often come from nutrient deficiencies caused by low stomach acid.

Bloating 1-2 hours after meals is likely undigested food fermenting due to insufficient stomach acid breakdown.

Poor bile release from low stomach acid can cause gallbladder issues like gallstones.

Incomplete digestion can cause immune reactions to improperly broken down proteins, causing intolerances.

Supporting digestion with hydrochloric acid supplements may help address some low stomach acid symptoms.

Resolving low stomach acid often quickly improves appetite normalization and nutrient deficiencies.

Transcripts

in today's video we discussed the top 10

telling signs that you could have low

stomach acid roll the titles

[Music]

hey everyone welcome back to the channel

as always just a quick reminder that I'm

now offering the sibo organic acid stool

tests and consult via my website so if

you have any health or digestive

problems then consider taking these

tests as they will provide a lot of very

detailed information upon which you can

start making informed decisions and then

start getting your health back on track

and on that bombshell to the video so we

all know that your stomach needs to be

very acidic with a pH of around 1.5 to 3

in order to activate pepsin among other

enzymes to break down protein and to

help liquefy the food in your stomach

now obviously if the pH of our stomachs

are not low enough and we are unable to

digest foods and proteins correctly then

our bodies will struggle to access all

of the nutrients locked inside our foods

and this will have wide-ranging

implications further down the digestive

tract that we will discuss shortly now

you may be thinking as many many people

do that surely with all of the acid

reflux and indigestion that people are

facing today then isn't this a sign that

many of us are suffering from too much

acid in the stomach and not too little

unfortunately not and worryingly many

people are being prescribed antacids and

acid blockers by their doctors without

even having their stomach acidity levels

tested and for the people who do

undertake testing it is often quite rare

that a person's stomach acid will come

back as high so the question is do you

have low stomach acid and to establish

this here are the top 10 signs that you

are not producing sufficient stomach

acid and these are in no particular

order number one is the most common

symptom associated with stomach acid

issues and that is that you experience

frequent heartburn or acid reflux if you

are not secreting sufficient stomach

acid then the pyloric valve which is the

muscle at the end of the stomach that

lets food pass from the stomach into the

duodenum doesn't open and shut correctly

and obviously if this valve doesn't open

correctly due to stomach acid problems

then the food sat in the stomach starts

to ferment and this fermentation creates

gas in your stomach now this gas

obviously needs to be released and it

will be putting more and more pressure

on the esophageal sphincter which is the

valve on top of the stomach that

prevents contents of the stomach

traveling up into the esophagus so when

this sphincter opens it can allow more

and more of the stomach contents

including the stomach acid into the

esophagus and then the delicate lining

of the esophagus can start to become

damaged and then the person can start to

experience pain and discomfort in the

form of acid reflux number two is that

you have really bad breath now obviously

this could just be a simple oral hygiene

problem in that you have a lot of

unwanted bacteria or yeast in your mouth

or you have something like gum disease

but equally if you are not digesting

food correctly because of problems with

stomach acid then the contents of the

stomach can become regurgitated into the

throat and mouth because of the pressure

in the stomach as discussed in points

one this can then start driving

halitosis or bad breath as it's commonly

known now for some people this

regurgitation of food and stomach acid

May initially be very low level and a

person may not overly be aware of the

problem until further down the line but

often it will be a dentist who detects

this problem when a person goes in for

an assessment as the person may

experience acid erosion of their teeth

or they may have an inflamed red throat

particularly around the tonsil area

number three is that you often have

undigested food in your stool like I

alluded to earlier stomach acid is the

starting point of digestion and when

this doesn't happen correctly it affects

everything that you eat and not just the

protein side of things the thing that

you have to remember is that stomach

acid triggers both the release of

pancreatic enzyme and also bile

pancreatic enzymes in bile help to break

down protein fats and carbs from the

foods that you eat so if you have

problems with stomach acid then the food

that you eat won't be liquefied

correctly and when the food hits the

small intestines your pancreatic enzymes

and Bowl are not released correctly and

then you will get more and more

undigested foods and proteins hitting

the colon and eventually these

undigested foods will end up in your

stool number four is that you are always

particularly sleepy after your meals now

feeling drowsy or sleepy after your

meals can be fully explainable in

certain situations so for example the

amino acid tryptophan is utilized by the

body to produce the neurotransmitter

serotonin that helps regulate your sleep

patterns so obviously if you scoff down

a trip to fan Rich Mill and then this

boost your serotonin levels then you may

be on a one-way trip to napland now

there are many plant-based foods that

are rich in tryptophan so it could be

things like chia seeds spinach tofu

wheat germ sesame seeds or tahini soy

watermelon seeds flax seeds cashews and

almonds to name just a few so if you

notice that you are wanting to nap most

afternoons after your lunch then just

have a quick look at your meals to see

how much tryptophan is on your plate and

if there is a lot then try rotating your

food slightly now if you can't spot this

type of pattern and you are constantly

tired after eating then it could be down

to blood sugar dysregulation improper

nutrient balance or improper digestion

remember it takes a lot of energy for

your body to carry out digestion and

more of your body's energy reserves will

be guided towards your digestive tract

if you have subpar digestion due to

issues with your stomach acids this is

something that I see very frequently as

a nutritionist and often taking

hydrochloric acid to support food

breakdown is great at stopping these

food slumps but remember you don't want

to rely on supplements to support

digestion you have to get to the root

causes of your issues number five is

that you have problems with iron and b12

absorption and you routinely develop

anemia type issues iron and b12

deficiencies are very common when a

person is experiencing stomach acid

problems now if you're experiencing gas

and bloating as well as anemia type

problems then it may be a sign of

something like small intestinal

bacterial overgrowth that you will want

to look into but if you don't then iron

deficiency is something that all too

often is exacerbated by stomach acid

problems for many in this situation even

taking an iron supplement may not

resolve the issue as stomach acid is a

cofactor for iron absorption in your

digestive tracts this is why it's

critical that your stomach acid is where

it needs to be number six is that you

are always hungry now are you the type

of person that will eat in eastern eat

and be incredibly full and then one hour

later you are back in the kitchen

looking for a snack now there could be

many reasons for this such as problems

with a lack of diversity in the bacteria

within your microbiome but also as we

have discussed it could be problems with

low stomach acids if you're eating foods

and your stomach acid is insufficient

and you are not properly digesting your

calories per proteins and nutrients

correctly then your body will be running

on empty and it will constantly signal

for you to eat more to try and extract

the nutrition that your body needs so if

this is you then I would highly

recommend looking into this because I

can't tell you how many people that I

speak to who when they resolve their

stomach acid problems their appetite

start to normalize fairly quickly number

seven is that you have problems with

your skin nails and even your hair now

often when your hair thins or you get

white spots on your nails or your skin

is very dry then it can often be a sign

that your body isn't getting the

nutrition that it needs and this may be

resultant due to the problems with your

stomach acid if your stomach acid isn't

where it needs to be then often the

first signs of problems are with your

hair nails and skin when your body is

becoming deficient in certain proteins

vitamins minerals and also essential

fatty acids number eight is that you

experience a lot of bloating or cramping

approximately one to two hours after

eating so as we have established your

stomach acid liquefies your food and

when this liquefied mixture is passed

off into the small intestines you digest

and absorb all of your nutrition if your

stomach acid is not at the correct level

then it will allow more undigested foods

to pass from the stomach into the small

intestines and then this can create a

lot of unwanted fermentation that will

cause gas bloating and also cramping now

for some supporting digestion with

digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid

for a short period of time may actually

fix the problem but if it doesn't all

your levels of gas and bloating are

really impacting on your quality of life

then it may be a sign that you have

something like small intestinal

bacterial overgrowth like I mentioned

earlier your stomach acid is the first

line of defense against certain bacteria

and pathogens so if your stomach acid is

not where it needs to be and these

bacteria are migrating into the small

intestines in Colon then this can be the

trigger point for sibo and your levels

of gas bloating and cramping will

steadily get worse over time number nine

is that you have gallbladder problems

now your gallbladder is a pear-shaped

organ on the right side of your abdomen

just under your right rib cage the

gallbladder houses bile which is

produced in the liver and the bile is

produced to help emulsify and break down

the fats in your diet like I said

earlier your stomach acid triggers the

release of pancreatic enzymes and also

your bile if you are not producing

sufficient stomach acid and therefore

not releasing sufficient Bowl then you

may start running into problems with

your gallbladder and you may experience

symptoms such as pale or Sandy colored

stools and over a prolonged period of

time if you are consistently not

producing sufficient Bowl then you may

start developing gallstones number 10 is

that you are having issues with food

intolerances and also sensitivities now

obviously if you aren't liquefying the

food correctly within the stomach with

stomach acid then you will get more and

more undigested foods and proteins

traveling through your digestive tract

in a format that your body doesn't often

recognize and this is also true when

these Foods hit your bloodstream a

simple way for you to think of food is

that when your body breaks the foods

down into constituent parts of amino

acids fatty acids and various

carbohydrates these will often be in a

format that your body and immune system

will recognize so when these proteins

and other nutrients hit your bloodstream

your body will say I need this protein

down in the knee and this fatty acid up

in the brain when stomach acid is

insufficient and food is not broken down

correctly then the proteins and fatty

acids Etc enter the body often in a

scrambled format then this can start

triggering immune system issues so you

may start running into skin issues sinus

problems brain fog or joint problems for

example when eating certain types of

foods now there can obviously be many

different reasons for these types of

intolerances to happen but you certainly

need to look at your stomach acid to see

if this is the triggering offender so

that's the end of today's video If you

enjoyed this video then be sure to check

out this one up here because I'm sure

you'll find it equally interesting and

the only other thing that's left me to

say is to remember to look after your

body because it's the only place you

have to live and I'll see you next time