The biggest misunderstanding about digestion…
With many things these days, Instagram creates more confusion than clarity. That includes even subjects like digestion. So, let’s clear something up today that I think will be helpful if you are struggling with things like bloating, constipation or reflux.
One of the foundational components of healthy digestion is healthy stomach acid. Stomach acid is primarily made of hydrochloric acid (HCl) that is produced by the cells that line the stomach. Its main roles include:
Digesting Food: It helps break down proteins into smaller molecules that can be more easily digested by enzymes. This is big. If stomach acid is weak, it can lead to larger particles moving to the small intestine that have a hard time breaking down and getting absorbed.
Killing Bacteria: The acidic environment kills or inhibits many harmful bacteria and pathogens that enter the stomach with food. This can be a root cause of underlying infections in the gut that create bloating, pain and constipation. It can also eventually lead to chronic infections in other places in the body (acne, yeast infections, chronic cold etc).
Activating Enzymes: It activates pepsin, an enzyme crucial for protein digestion. Protein is needed for hundreds of processes in the body like muscle production, liver detox and building hormones.
The stomach lining is coated with a protective layer of mucus to prevent the acid from damaging the stomach itself. If this balance is disrupted, it can lead to conditions like acid reflux or ulcers. However, what can also happen is if the stomach acid is not acidic enough (it is weak) it can make it easier for the stomach contents to go back up the esophagus and cause reflux symptoms.
Another way to say it: people often think reflux, constipation and bloating is from the stomach acid being too acidic when it’s not acidic enough.
My mind was blown when I learned that. I was even more shocked when I heard what I am about to tell you next.
There is a medication that can make this situation worse. That medication is TUMS! Yes, TUMS, the medicine you take to relieve reflux can make gut symptoms worse. This is because long term use of TUMS can make your stomach acid weak and lead to symptoms I described above. TUMS were never meant to be used long term. It is a short-term solution and if you need them daily for relief, I recommend finding the real root cause.
Common root causes of weak stomach acid (it’s usually more than one):
Low minerals
Sluggish liver
Slow thyroid
Low vitamin A
Low fiber
Gut infections
Not enough sunlight
Poor sleep
To learn more about how to get to your root cause, visit my coaching page to see how I help clients in my programs each week!
