We see it almost every time we watch television, or flip a page in a magazine, and we hear people complain about it all the time. Advertisements for acid reducing meditations to treat heart burn, GERD or acid indigestion is so common because of the growing epidemic in our country. Sixty million people experience heartburn at least once per month.  We have been told that we suffer from these symptoms due to increased levels of stomach acid caused by eating and drinking acidic foods. It makes sense. And why not treat these symptoms with over the counter or prescription medications to reduce stomach acid? It’s so easy to take a Tums when we need to, and it seems to help the problem. Acid reducing medications are big business for the pharmeceutical industry, so why would they want us cured or healthy when they can turn a profit.  However, most of the time, the primary reason we actually get indigestion and other reflux symptoms is from too little acid in the stomach, not too much.

Have you ever wondered why older people tend to suffer more from indigestion compared to younger people? It’s because, as we age, our stomach acid production decreases. The stomach needs to be acidic in order to break down the foods we eat so they can then pass along to our small intestine for absorption.  When we don’t have enough stomach acid, the ingested food digests slowly and inefficiently causing the food to putrefy and ferment which produce gas. This gas is the bloating feeling we get that causes discomfort and can bubble up into our esophagus. This reflux of stomach acid, even a tiny bit, is what irritates the lining of the esophagus and causes heartburn.

Taking acid reducers may help in the short term to treat immediate symptoms, but long term use of acid blockers can be detrimental to a person’s overall health. Think about it. Is someone is constantly taking acid blocking medications, then their stomach acid is never quite acidic enough to digest food in the stomach. Proteins, minerals, vitamin B12 and folic acid all depend on stomach acid for digestions and absorption. If we don’t have enough stomach acid, then we are not going to be able to absorb these key nutrients and thus become deficient. Over time, this can lead to anemia, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, depression and others.

Stomach acid activates pepsin, an enzyme needed to digest protein. If pepsin isn’t activated to digest proteins, then we can become deficient in the amino acids tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine, which make the neurotransmitters that help stabilize moods and psychological balance. Stomach acid also helps keep us healthy by disinfecting the stomach, killing bacteria and parasites. Most bacteria cannot survive in extremely acidic environments like the stomach. Thus, stomach acid helps to kill bacteria before it can colonize and cause illness, such as salmonella and E. coli.

In addition to low stomach acid, another reason people get GERD and indigestion symptoms is because the lower esophageal sphincter isn’t closing completely after eating, and stomach acid is allowed to reflux back into the esophagus. Prescription medications (especially blood pressure medications and pain medications), stress, chronic dehydration all contribute to a weakened Lower esophageal sphincter.

Stomach acid is suppressed when we are stressed out, so we need to take time and enjoy our meals. We need to stop always eating on the run, and give our bodies time to process the food we are eating. This starts from the very first moment we start to process eating in the brain through sight and smell and then by chewing our food and mixing it with saliva before swallowing.  Eating smaller meals, not laying down after eating and avoiding irritating foods will also help with symptoms until your body can get back to its normal state of acid production.

Once symptoms of reflux are better, increasing stomach acid will help speed up and assist in digestion so the stomach empties quicker and the reflux symptoms can be avoided. Supplements can also be used to help increase stomach acid production.