How to Naturally Treat Low Stomach Acid

Summary

Dr. Axe discusses natural remedies for low stomach acid, a condition linked to acid reflux, GERD, and other digestive issues. He suggests five steps: using apple cider vinegar, digestive bitters, digestive enzymes, HCL with pepsin, and Manuka honey. Additionally, he recommends chewing food thoroughly, eating smaller meals, and intermittent fasting to aid digestion and stomach acid balance.

Takeaways

• 🍎 Apple cider vinegar is a natural remedy to balance stomach pH and can be taken before meals.
• 🌿 Digestive bitters can be added to apple cider vinegar to enhance digestion.
• 💊 Taking digestive enzymes before meals can help break down nutrients and improve stomach acid levels.
• 🧪 HCL with pepsin supplements can aid in digestion, especially when consuming protein-rich meals, but should be taken under medical supervision.
• 🐝 Manuka honey has antimicrobial properties and can help with stomach ulcers and low stomach acid.
• 🍽 Chewing food thoroughly can support stomach acid production and improve digestion.
• 🍲 Eating smaller meals allows the body to heal and can prevent overburdening the stomach.
• 🥣 Fasting or intermittent fasting can give the body time to recover and heal, supporting stomach acid balance.
• 🔍 Low stomach acid can be a warning sign for various health issues like acid reflux, GERD, leaky gut, and inflammatory bowel disease.
• 🌟 Dr. Axe recommends a holistic approach, combining natural remedies with lifestyle changes for optimal digestive health.

Q & A

What is the primary function of stomach acid according to Dr. Axe?

Stomach acid is essential for breaking down the food you consume and for proper absorption of nutrients.

What are some common symptoms that might indicate low stomach acid?

Symptoms of low stomach acid include acid reflux, GERD, heartburn, conditions like leaky gut or inflammatory bowel disease, skin issues, and nutrient deficiencies.

What is the first natural remedy suggested by Dr. Axe to balance stomach pH?

The first natural remedy suggested is taking apple cider vinegar, diluted in a small amount of water, right before meals.

Why are digestive bitters recommended to be added to apple cider vinegar before meals?

Digestive bitters have been consumed for thousands of years to improve digestion, and they are suggested to enhance the effects of apple cider vinegar.

What role do digestive enzymes play in improving stomach acid?

Digestive enzymes help fully break down nutrients, which is essential if stomach acid is too low to properly digest food.

Why is HCL with pepsin recommended for those with low stomach acid?

HCL with pepsin is recommended because hydrochloric acid is naturally created in the stomach to create an acidic environment for food breakdown, and pepsin aids in protein digestion.

How should HCL with pepsin be taken according to Dr. Axe?

HCL with pepsin should be taken under the care of a physician, starting with one capsule, and only during meals containing protein.

What is the significance of Manuka honey in improving stomach acid?

Manuka honey, with its antimicrobial properties, can help heal stomach ulcers and is beneficial for those with low stomach acid, especially in addressing issues like SIBO.

What lifestyle tips does Dr. Axe suggest to help heal low stomach acid?

Dr. Axe suggests chewing food thoroughly, eating smaller meals, and practicing fasting or intermittent fasting to allow the body time to recover and heal.

Where can viewers find more information on improving digestive health as mentioned by Dr. Axe?

Viewers can subscribe to Dr. Axe's YouTube channel or visit draxe.com for more articles, tips, and free e-books on healing leaky gut, stomach acid, and other digestive issues.

Outlines

00:00

🍎 Natural Remedies for Low Stomach Acid

Dr. Axe discusses the importance of having the right level of stomach acid for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients. He highlights common symptoms of low stomach acid, such as acid reflux, GERD, heartburn, leaky gut, inflammatory bowel disease, and certain skin issues. To naturally balance stomach pH, Dr. Axe suggests five steps: 1) Taking apple cider vinegar with meals, 2) Incorporating digestive bitters, 3) Supplementing with digestive enzymes, 4) Considering HCL with pepsin, and 5) Using Manuka honey for its antimicrobial properties. He also emphasizes the importance of chewing food thoroughly, eating smaller meals, and possibly fasting to allow the body to recover and heal.

05:03

🌟 Balancing Stomach Acid for Optimal Health

In this concluding paragraph, Dr. Axe reiterates the significance of balanced stomach acid levels for overall health. He encourages viewers to follow the home remedies he has outlined to heal low stomach acid and to expect quick results. Additionally, he invites viewers to subscribe to his YouTube channel and visit draxe.com for more resources on digestive health, including articles on healing leaky gut and stomach acid issues, as well as free e-books for further guidance.

Keywords

💡Stomach Acid

Stomach acid, primarily composed of hydrochloric acid, is a crucial component of the digestive system. It aids in breaking down food and killing harmful bacteria. In the video, Dr. Axe emphasizes the importance of having an adequate level of stomach acid for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients, and he discusses natural remedies to address low stomach acid.

💡Acid Reflux

Acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a condition where stomach acid flows back into the esophagus, causing heartburn and other symptoms. The video mentions acid reflux as one of the warning signs of low stomach acid, indicating an imbalance that natural remedies can help correct.

💡Leaky Gut

Leaky gut is a term used to describe a condition where the lining of the small intestine becomes more permeable than normal, allowing toxins and undigested food particles to pass through. Dr. Axe links low stomach acid to leaky gut, suggesting that inadequate acid levels can compromise the intestinal barrier.

💡Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a group of conditions that cause inflammation in the digestive tract, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The video implies that low stomach acid could be a contributing factor to IBD, as proper stomach acid is necessary for a healthy digestive system.

💡Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is a natural remedy suggested in the video to help balance stomach pH. Dr. Axe recommends taking a tablespoon before meals to improve digestion and stomach acid levels, highlighting its low pH as a beneficial property.

💡Digestive Bitters

Digestive bitters are herbal extracts that have been traditionally used to stimulate the production of digestive enzymes and bile. In the context of the video, Dr. Axe suggests adding bitters to apple cider vinegar before meals to enhance digestive function.

💡Digestive Enzymes

Digestive enzymes are proteins that break down food into smaller molecules for absorption. The video discusses the use of enzyme supplements to aid in the digestion process, especially when stomach acid levels are low, which can hinder the body's ability to produce these enzymes.

💡Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) with Pepsin

Hydrochloric acid, or HCL, is naturally produced in the stomach to create an acidic environment for digestion. Pepsin is an enzyme that helps break down proteins. The video suggests taking HCL supplements with pepsin to support the digestion of protein-rich foods and to address low stomach acid.

💡Manuka Honey

Manuka honey, a type of honey from New Zealand, is known for its antimicrobial properties. Dr. Axe recommends Manuka honey as a natural remedy for low stomach acid, suggesting that it can help heal stomach ulcers and balance stomach pH.

💡Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and fasting. The video suggests that intermittent fasting can give the digestive system a chance to rest and heal, which may be beneficial for those with low stomach acid.

💡Chewing Food

Chewing food thoroughly is a basic yet essential part of the digestion process. Dr. Axe challenges viewers to chew their food 30 times before swallowing, which can help stimulate the production of stomach acid and improve overall digestion.

Highlights

Low stomach acid can lead to acid reflux, GERD, heartburn, leaky gut, inflammatory bowel disease, skin issues, and nutrient deficiencies.

Natural remedies can balance stomach pH and improve digestive function.

Apple cider vinegar before meals can help balance stomach pH.

Digestive bitters can be added to apple cider vinegar to enhance digestion.

Digestive enzymes should be taken before meals to aid in nutrient breakdown.

Hydrochloric acid (HCL) with pepsin can be taken to supplement natural stomach acid production.

HCL with pepsin should be taken under medical supervision and only during protein-rich meals.

Manuka honey has antimicrobial properties and can help with stomach ulcers and low stomach acid.

Chewing food thoroughly can improve stomach acid function.

Eating smaller meals can aid in the healing of low stomach acid.

Fasting or intermittent fasting can provide the body time to recover and heal the digestive system.

Stomach acid is essential for proper digestion and nutrient absorption.

Following home remedies can lead to fast results in healing low stomach acid.

Dr. Axe's YouTube channel and draxe.com offer more advice on improving digestive health.

Free e-books on healing leaky gut and stomach acid are available for download on draxe.com.

Transcripts

Hey, guys, Dr. Axe here from draxe.com.

Today, I'm going to talk about natural remedies for low stomach acid.

The truth is, your stomach must be acidic and highly acidic to break down the food you're

consuming and for proper absorption.

If you have acid reflux of any type, GERD, heartburn, if you have a condition like leaky

gut or inflammatory bowel disease, even most skin issues today, or a lack of certain nutrients,

those are all major warning signs that you have low stomach acid.

So you actually want to naturally balance the pH of your stomach.

I'm going to talk about the top five steps and natural remedies you can take and follow

to naturally improve your stomach acid and improve your digestive function.

Again, these are great ways, especially if you have acid reflux, these are great natural

cures and remedies.

So number one thing you can do to start to balance this pH in your stomach is take apple

cider vinegar right before your meals.

I would take one tablespoon and just a very small thing of water.

Apple cider vinegar is a great thing to do.

It's a great natural remedy because apple cider vinegar has a very low pH in balance

with your stomach.

That's the number one remedy.

By the way, one of the thing oftentimes I'll add to my apple cider vinegar before a meal

are digestive bitters.

You can get a little tincture of digestive bitters.

Those are also great.

In fact, bitters have been consumed for thousands of years right after meals or before meals

to improve your digestion.

Number two thing you want to start taking to improve your stomach acid are digestive

enzymes.

I would get a good digestive enzyme blend and do one to two caps right before your meal.

You could even take that with the apple cider vinegar.

Digestive enzymes will help you fully break down those nutrients.

If your stomach acid is too high, that will actually not allow you to break down the food

you're eating, so you must get plenty of enzymes.

That's not something you should have to take the rest of your life, but it is something

you should take for a time until your stomach acid balances out.

That's number two.

Number three thing you may consider if you have stomach acid is HCL with pepsin.

That's hydrochloric acid with pepsin.

Now, hydrochloric acid is naturally created in your stomach now.

That is really the main thing that creates that very acidic environment to break down

food.

But if you're deficient in hydrochloric acid, in stomach acid yourself, that's not going

to allow you to fully digest and break down things like protein, which over time, can

also cause a condition called leaky gut.

So you want to do everything you can to heal and repair your gut.

So again, HCL with pepsin is a great thing you can start taking on a regular basis to

really help heal your GI tract, to help fight things like acid reflux, but again, to help

improve stomach acid.

Now, the trick with HCL is you typically want to take that while you're under the care of

a physician or start off with one capsule.

By the way, you only take HCL with pepsin if you're taking protein during a meal.

So again, if you're not taking protein in a meal, you don't want to use it.

If you're getting quite a bit of protein in a meal like chicken or beef, you want to take

HCL.

When you get warmness in your stomach that means you're taking enough.

You need to back it down.

Some people need one, some people may need to take up to nine capsules of HCL with pepsin.

The fourth thing you can do to improve stomach acid is take Manuka honey.

Manuka honey is a specific type of honey out of New Zealand.

This honey has antimicrobial properties.

One of the things that can happen is people can develop things like SIBO.

That's small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and the wrong type of bacteria in the stomach.

One of the best things to take, you get this Manuka honey.

Just take a teaspoon a day or a teaspoon twice a day.

It can actually help in healing stomach ulcers and it's also great for low stomach acid.

Then, my last thing here is a lifestyle tip.

It's not just the natural remedies.

Those four things will help, but there are a few other things you want to do to help

heal your low stomach acid.

One of those things is chew your food.

So often we're in a race through life and we don't take time to chew our food.

Chew 30 times and then swallow.

That's my challenge to you.

By the way, if you've ever watched a little kid, they chew about 30 times.

So make sure your food is totally chewed.

That can help your stomach acid.

Also, eat smaller meals.

If you're eating very, very large meals, you're not going to allow your body to heal.

That's an issue.

Then, the other thing is, try fasting or intermittent fasting, whether it's a bone broth fast, a

vegetable juice fast or intermittent fasting.

Really, part of your body healing is letting it recover.

If you're continually eating food from morning to sundown every day, your body doesn't have

time to recover and heal.

So doing some fasting is another great way to help balance out stomach acid.

So remember this, you need stomach acid.

It's good for you.

You want balanced levels.

If you follow those home remedies to heal low stomach acid, I know you're going to see

results fast.

If you want to learn more tips on how to improve your digestive health, then hey, you can subscribe

to this YouTube channel.

Also, you can check out draxe.com.

I've got some great articles on how to heal leaky gut, heal stomach acid, and some free

e-books you may be interested in downloading there for more advice.

Hey guys, this has been Dr. Axe with how to naturally heal low stomach acid.