Issue here is Low Stomach
Acid: The Risks, the Symptoms, and the Solutions
As you age, your stomach acid tends to decrease
Assist Dairy and Protein supports your digestion with
plenty of HCL, which your stomach desperately needs in order to properly break
down foods and assimilate nutrients.
While you may use antacids for
heartburn relief or indigestion, they are not a cure for what causes these
problems in the first place. Contrary to popular belief, indigestion is
usually caused by low stomach acid — also called hypochlorhydria — and
it affects up to half of our population.1
Treatment that
further neutralizes stomach acid can make your digestion worse.
WHY STOMACH ACID
IS GOOD FOR YOU
Stomach acid or hydrochloric
acid (HCl), is a very powerful digestive agent, and much more important than
you realize.
HCl's important functions
include:
-
Breaking down proteins into the essential amino acids
and nutrientsyour body needs in order to stay healthy.
-
Stimulating your pancreas and small intestines to
produce the digestive enzymes and bile necessary to further breakdown the
carbohydrates, proteins and fats you eat.- ---
-
Preventing disease by killing pathogenic bacteria
and yeast normally present in food.
As you age, your
stomach acid tends to decrease anyway. Add a poor diet of processed foods and
you may find that you have both digestive and immune problems.
LOW STOMACH ACID:
A VICIOUS CYCLE
There are two main consequences
of low stomach acid:
1. You
become protein malnourished. When your stomach acid is low, you are not
able to digest protein.
- Improper
digestion of protein also creates acidic blood, since protein is by nature
acidic.
2. You
become mineral deficient. As your blood becomes more acidic, it will look
for minerals from anywhere in your body, in order to get your blood to its more
ideal alkaline state. Acidic blood robs your body of minerals, even taking
minerals from your bones (which is important to know if you want to prevent
osteoporosis).
Low stomach acid
eventually creates a vicious cycle: low stomach acid = low minerals = acidic
blood. This cycle continues because acidic blood further creates low minerals
and low stomach acid.
Once this vicious
cycle has started, there is a cascade of consequences:
-
You could eat plenty of protein and still be protein
malnourished. This raises cortisol levels (stress or death
hormone), thereby raising your blood glucose (blood sugar levels). Elevated
cortisol adversely affects your behavior and temperment.
-
Eventually, your adrenals become depleted (adrenal
fatigue), and DHEA, the youth hormone, is suppressed,
leading to premature aging.
Low DHEA and high cortisol
affect your brain and behavior, but that's not all. The vicious cycle of low
stomach acid affects your inner ecosystem too. Low stomach acid can lead to
more bad guys (pathogenic bacteria, candida and viruses) than good guys
(healthy microflora), thus lowering your immunity.
SYMPTOMS OF LOW
STOMACH ACID
Here are some of the common
symptoms and disorders caused by low stomach acid:1,3
Bloating,
belching, and flatulence immediately after meals
Heartburn
(often thought to be caused by too much stomach acid)
Indigestion,
diarrhea, or constipation
Undigested
food in stools
Acne
Rectal
itching
Chronic Candida
Hair
loss in women
Multiple
food allergies
Iron
deficiency
Weak,
peeling, or cracked fingernails
Chronic
fatigue
Dry
skin
Various
autoimmune diseases
INCREASE YOUR STOMACH ACID, HEAL YOUR
DIGESTION
Here are the 3 key ways to
increase your stomach acid:
1. Reduce
or eliminate sugar. Replace mineral-depleting sugar and sweeteners
with Stevia.
2. Add
fermented foods and drinks to your diet. Fermented foods and drinks keep
you looking and feeling healthy from the inside out. Some of our favorite
fermented foods and drinks are:
- Young coconut kefir -
Full of minerals and probiotics, this is a fermented drink you can easily make
at home.
- Super Spirulina Plus -
Thought of as one of the "world's healthiest foods," the fermented
spirulina in Super Spirulina Plus is a perfect protein and an almost immediate
energizer anyone suffering with adrenal fatigue.
3. Eliminate
processed foods. Follow the 7 healthy eating principles of
the Body Ecology Program. Taking digestive enzymes at each meal, like Assist SI or Assist Dairy and Protein specifically
designed to help you digest proteins from all animal and vegetable sources, can
make digestion much easier.
As you
eat a healthy Body Ecology Diet, you will find your digestion improving. You
may notice that you experience heartburn relief, less indigestion and improved
energy. Or perhaps, if you have had long-standing digestive problems, your
journey to health may take a bit longer. Be patient as you go step by step
towards true health.
What To Remember Most About
This Article:
Did you know that indigestion
could be caused by low stomach acid, which affects over 50 percent of the
population?
Using over-the-counter antacids
can neutralize stomach acid and actually make your digestion worse, leaving you
at risk for malnutrition and mineral deficiencies. The key to improving your
digestion is in increasing your stomach acid by reducing sugar in your diet
(using zero-calorie natural sweeteners instead), eating
healthy fermented foodsand beverages (plus an energizing fermented green drink
like Super Spirulina Plus), and cutting out processed
foods. When you couple that with Body Ecology’s digestive enzymes, you'll be able to kick indigestion
to the curb and finally have the health and energy you have been hoping for!
