Dinner was great, but I was uncomfortable. About 15 minutes after my last bite, the all-too-familiar feeling of a big bloating belly started to set in. I dreaded what was next: within the hour I’d have major gas cramps and I’d probably have to lie down for a while to rest until the pain peaked and started to wane while the gas “released”. Yeah, essentially I’d need to lie down and fart for an hour before I could move on with my day.
Pleasant? Not at all. Embarrassing? Completely. And very life-interrupting.
What on earth was going on? Why was something as simple as dinner throwing me into such turmoil?
It turns out I had a very common but widely misunderstood condition called “hypochlorhydria,” which is low stomach acid production. Hypo = low; chlorhyde = hydrochloric acid (or HCl for short).
You see, the stomach needs to be very acidic – with an optimal pH of 1.5-3 – in order to activate pepsin, among other enzymes, to break down protein. If our stomachs aren’t sufficiently acidic, we don’t digest protein properly, we don’t access many of the minerals in our food, and we don’t properly trigger vitally important digestive functions further down the process. The secretion of HCl is an absolutely essential part of the digestive puzzle. Furthermore, this highly acidic environment is our body’s first line of defense against food-borne pathogens. It’s no accident that I used to be the first to succumb to any kind of food poisoning.
But wait a second, you might be thinking. What about all the heartburn and acid reflux that is absolutely rampant these days? Don’t we all suffer from too much acidity in our stomachs, not too little?
As hard as it is to believe with the heavy promotion of antacids and acid-blockers, most people with heartburn are actually hypo-chlorhydric, not hyper-chlorhydric (too much acidity). In fact, most people who are prescribed antacids by their doctors aren’t actually tested for stomach acidity levels. And when tested (which is hard, uncomfortable, and unpleasant to do) it’s actually quite rare that the levels come back high.
What’s really important to know is that if you have ANY kind of digestive dysfunction you are likely also hypochlorhydric and you won’t get anywhere with your gut healing unless you address this issue. It’s at the root of many digestive issues from parasites, to food sensitivities, to SIBO, IBS, colitis, and more.
So the question is, do you have hypochlorhydria? Here are 13 signs that you may not be producing enough stomach acidity:
1. You’ve lost the taste for meat.
I see this all the time in my practice. Clients tell me they just don’t have the taste for meat like they used to. They usually assume that this is their body guiding them to a vegetarian diet. When we get into our work, 9 times out of 10 we find that they are deeply hypochlorhydric, and with a little HCl support, they regain their appetite for and ability to digest animal protein.
2. You have a history (current or past) of a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Vegetarians don’t eat a lot of animal protein; vegans eat none. The body slows down production of HCl accordingly. This is one of the core reasons that a vegetarian diet (especially a vegan diet) can be very hard on the digestion: without that all-important stomach acid, they’re not able to access the minerals from their food, properly trigger the production of pancreatic enzymes, or properly trigger the secretion of bile from the gallbladder. A whole host of trickle-down problems ensue. Remember: stomach acid has many roles above and beyond the digestion of protein, and with low stomach acidity, all of these functions will be compromised. Interestingly, it’s the secretion of HCl that triggers the release of intrinsic factor, which is essential to the absorption of vitamin B12 (yet another reason it’s so hard for vegetarians and vegans to get sufficient B12).
I was a vegetarian on and off for the better part of 12 years, so I know firsthand how hard it is to introduce meat back into the diet. Without supplementing your stomach acidity, your body is going to struggle. The good news is that with a little priming, your body can produce its own HCl again.
3. You experience belching or gas about an hour after a meal.
Know anyone who immediately starts to let out some big belches after they’ve eaten? That’s often the result of hypochlorhydria. One of stomach acid’s important roles is to trigger the opening of the pyloric valve, the little valve that connects the stomach to the duodenum (the top of the small intestine). That little valve is very smart, and it knows not to open until the contents of the stomach are at the proper state of digestion. This includes a sufficiently acidic stomach environment.
If the pyloric valve is waiting and waiting for a level of stomach acidity that isn’t achievable due to low acid production, the contents of the stomach start to ferment. Fermentation, as we all know, creates gas, and gas needs to be released somehow. Whether it goes up or down depends on your constitution, but it will be released one way or the other.
4. You experience bloating or cramps within an hour after a meal.
As with #3, fermentation creates gas, and gas creates pressure. Pressure creates bloating and often significant discomfort. Your clothes don’t fit that well either. (I used to dress strategically to hide this.)
5. You get heartburn or acid reflux.
Contrary to popular opinion, acid reflux isn’t too much stomach acid. Most of the time, it’s actually too little stomach acid that leads to acid in the wrong place. Let me explain:
Your esophagus has a pH of about 7, which is very neutral. As I explained above, your stomach needs to be a pH of 1.5-3, very acidic, for optimal digestion. Now, your stomach prepares for such an acidic environment by secreting mucous to protect its lining so that you don’t literally digest yourself.
The esophagus has no such protective coating. If you’re not secreting enough acid, the pyloric valve doesn’t open, and the contents of your stomach start to ferment, this creates gas, which creates pressure. The gas has to be released one way or the other. If it goes up and leads to belching, that means the esophageal valve – the valve that connects the esophagus to the stomach – has opened and allowed that gas to travel up. Sometimes, along with the gas, some stomach juices splurge up into the esophagus. Ouch!!! The delicate lining of the esophagus is not equipped to handle such acidity.
This is why antacids work on symptoms but they actually exacerbate the root cause of the problem. Sure, an antacid will soothe that burning, but at the same time, it’s lowering your stomach acid production, which was the root issue to begin with. You can see how this can spiral quickly downhill…
6. You have really bad breath even though you brush your teeth.
Ruling out poor dental hygiene, it makes perfect sense that halitosis (bad breath) would be the result of digestive dysfunction. If you’re not digesting the food in your stomach properly, it’s going to create toxic byproducts, which can quickly overload our body’s detoxification abilities. Let’s face it: we live in a very toxic world and our detoxification functions are massively overworked. Our livers have enough to do without having to handle the by-products of a malfunctioning digestive system. If you have really bad breath even with excellent oral hygiene, hypochlorhydria is probably the root of the problem.
7. Your sweat is stinky.
Sweat can be stinky for lots of reasons – it could be a sign of magnesium deficiency or often it’s a sign your liver and kidney (primary detoxification organs) need a little love. But, just like with bad breath, the more toxic the body, the more toxic the sweat. The question is: where are those toxins coming from?
The improperly digested protein resulting from hypochlorhydria is a breeding ground for bacteria and yeast to proliferate, and bacteria and yeast produce toxins. This is a condition we call bowel toxemia. It’s a case of endogenous toxicity or “toxicity from within”.
8. You’re not hungry for breakfast.
I see this pattern all the time in clients. They eat a really large dinner, usually late in the evening, and then they’re not hungry for breakfast. Hypochlorhydria is often at the root, leaving the food to sit in the stomach for a long time. They’re not hungry because it’s quite likely they’ve still got dinner in their belly when they wake up!
9. You’re hungry all the time, even when you feel full.
I know this one well. I was famous among my friends for eating massive amounts of food and being quite literally “full”, but still hungry. I can remember one particularly notable example of this from years ago. I was out to dinner at an Italian restaurant and ordered a huge dinner. It was rich and creamy and definitely “filling.” And yet, I finished it and was still hungry. Like, I’m-not-going-to-make-it-home-without-stopping-for-pizza hungry. And so, I ordered the dinner again. My friends and the waiter looked at me in disbelief. To their horror and amusement, I ate the entire thing a second time. How I never had a weight issue is beyond me.
All to say, I know what it is to be insatiable. If the body isn’t digesting protein or accessing minerals, it makes sense that you’d be hungry all the time – you’re not getting the nutrients you need from your meals, so your body is driving you to eat more. When I supported my body’s ability to produce stomach acid, my appetite dropped by at least half. It was shocking how little food I needed to feel full.
10. You get sleepy after meals.
Being sleepy after meals can mean a number of things: blood sugar dysregulation, improper macronutrient balance, or inadequate digestion, which leaves too much food in the digestive tract. It takes a lot of energy to digest, and more energy resources will be diverted there if your digestion is functioning less than optimally.
I have seen it time and again in my practice where clients who are sleepy after meals support their stomach acid levels and suddenly find they feel fabulous afterward.
11. You have undigested food in your stools.
Low stomach acidity affects the digestion of everything you eat – not just proteins. You see, in addition to supporting the breakdown of protein, HCl triggers the release of pancreatic enzymes that essentially finish the breakdown of your dinner once it gets into the small intestine. If you don’t secrete enough pancreatic enzymes, you won’t finish breaking down your food and will see undigested food in your stool.
12. Your fingernails chip, peel, or break easily.
If you’re fingernails chip, peel, or break easily, it’s a clear sign of deficiencies in protein, minerals, and often also essential fatty acids. By now you’re well aware that deficiencies in protein and minerals are often due, at least in part, to low stomach acid production.
13. You have anemia that doesn’t respond to iron supplementation.
Here’s a very specific example of a mineral deficiency that is exacerbated by low stomach acid. If you’ve been diagnosed as anemic, given an iron supplement, and there was no change, there’s a good chance hypochlorhydria is the root of the problem. Sufficient HCl is a co-factor for iron absorption. This is an example of why it’s critical to have optimal digestion even to access the nutrients in your supplements.
Now you have a sense of whether you have hypochlorhydria or not. If you do, what next?
For some people, a few minor tweaks are all that’s needed to boost HCl levels naturally. For others, more targeted support is required. You can supplement with HCl, but I strongly recommend doing so only under the supervision of a health practitioner as it is a fine balance figuring out your specific dosage and there are some contra-indications.
Here are some starting points that you can easily do at home:
1. Drink a small glass of room temperature water with 1 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar before meals. This stimulates the digestive process and encourages your stomach to secrete stomach acid.
2. Take some Swedish Bitters before meals, just like your great-grandma did. This works along the same lines as the apple cider vinegar – the bitter taste stimulates the digestive process.
3. Eat sitting down, slowly, in a relaxed state. It cannot be over-emphasized how important your physical and mental state is when you eat. Digestion is a parasympathetic process, meaning that it only happens when you’re in a relaxed state. If you’re under stress, your digestion is compromised. Sit down for your meals, take 10 deep belly breaths before you start eating to switch you into a relaxed state, and eat at a leisurely pace, chewing and savoring each mouthful. Digestion actually begins in our brains, and this allows our brains to initiate many important processes, including the release of HCl in the stomach.
4. Give yourself some time to digest – don’t rush right into the next activity. It’s no accident that most cultures (North America being a notable exception) structure their days such that they have some downtime after a meal. It’s important to give your body some time to get the digestive process underway. You don’t need a whole afternoon of siesta, but what about taking a nice 15-minute walk after lunch rather than diving right back into work?
5. Eat your last meal of the day at least 3 hours before you need to go to bed for the night. This gives your body a little time to digest before lying down. If you do suffer from heartburn, you’ll find that this strategy can help you reduce symptoms that are exacerbated when lying down.
Further reading:
If this topic intrigues you or if you think I’m crazy to suggest that we suffer from low rather than high levels of stomach acidity, then I highly recommend Dr. Jonathan V. Wright’s excellent book Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You.
“when tested, it’s actually quite rare that their levels come back low”, kind of discredits everything that follows. Do you mean it’s rare acid levels are HIGH?
Jen, than you for making that catch! Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. Editing now.
This was an eye opener! Unfortunately this is a test that I did really well on. I’m going to read up more on this condition. Thanks for posting!
this is a great post. I only discovered this from working with you. But it’s helped so many of my issues. Thanks for the help you gave me and for sharing this with everyone.
Great post. Explains a lot for me… or at least how it was for me before I started working with you. It’s a amazing how much better my digestion is now that I am supplementing properly, and healing my gut issues. Thank you for helping me get to the root of some lifelong issues.
Good info. I do have issues but when I try the ACV or even lemon water it hurts my stomach. How does that work with the other symptoms and taking digestive enzymes?
Thank you for any insight.
If you find it hurts your stomach, then you might need to do some deeper healing. At this point, it would be time to work with a practitioner… There can be many different causes and you’d want to get to the bottom of that.
Great info.
Thanks
Can you refer me to any studies that say low stomach acid is more common than high stomach acid? My wife has many of these symptoms in addition to audible sloshing in her stomach indicating slow digestion. She did the Betaine HCL challenge and went up to 7 pills (650mg each) with no ill effects other than the pain of having to swallow 7 large horse pills at a time. She also did the morning baking soda test and didn’t burp after 5 minutes. I told her GI doctor these things and he still insists on putting her on acid-blockers because he claims “low stomach acid is very rare.” I don’t want her to have to ride out the diagnostic merry-go-round for months just to find out she has low stomach acid and that her condition was made worse by acid-blockers.
I’d recommend you go refer to the book: “Why Stomach Acid is Good For You” by Dr. Jonathan Wright. It’s an excellent resource and sites lots of good research.
Also, Chris, I’d highly recommend she work with a functional practitioner rather than a GI doctor for this kind of thing. GI Docs are notorious for simply putting their patients on PPIs or other acid blockers and leaving them that way for years, doing far more damage than good. My practice is filled with examples of this and while the damange is usually (mostly) reversible, it’s ideal to avoid it in the first place. Usually it’s not possible to convince the GI doctor of something that’s outside of their paradigm, so working directly with someone who’s first priority is to restore functional balance in the body rather than to just mask symptoms is the best first step.
Thank you, Margaret. That’s where we’re at right now and it’s very frustrating! We have Medicaid insurance so our choices are very limited. It certainly doesn’t cover anything outside of standard medicine. I like the idea of functional medicine and it sounds like the kind of thing that she needs. I’ve looked into it a bit and found lots of practitioners in our area (The San Francisco Bay) but I’m concerned about money. They seem to charge quite a lot and if we’re going to see one, I’d want to make sure they’re very competent and trustworthy. Can you possibly recommend any specific practitioners in our area? It’s a real shame this sort of thing isn’t covered by insurance, especially for those struggling to make ends meet. Is functional medicine only for wealthy people and the poor folks get stuck with the clueless GI docs?
I highly recommend Alysia McDonough, NTP – http://nourishingself.com/. She’s in the Bay Area and is an excellent practitioner. I don’t believe she takes insurance… unfortunately, as you’re finding out, many functional practitioners don’t — often because the work they do isn’t covered anyway. It falls outside the traditional medical model.
Total Health Clinic… simple stool tests showed exactly what the problem was . hypochlorhydria. I have been searching for an answer for 20 years….many doctors, specialists and a lot of money.it was so simple.
Lisa – yes, this is so often the case! I’m so glad you found the solution at long last.
Hi.. Doctors are totally stupid.I am suffering the same.
A lot of the time as soon as I eat I become extremely tired and need to take a nap. I have floating stools often and I can’t attain satiety even after a big meal. Does this seem like low stomach acid could be the culprit?
I had tried the Betaine HCL in the past, but in the night I would experience horrible reflux and heartburn. So, after the night experiences I discontinued that. I don’t know if that means I don’t have low stomach acid or not.
When working with Betaine HCL (which I strongly recommend you do only under the guidance of an experienced practitioner) any reaction that occurs within 5-10 minutes of taking the HCl usually means you’ve got too much acid. If it’s happening later, it usually means you still don’t have enough. BUT – I wouldn’t self-diagnose on this one. I’d work with a practitioner who’s got experience supporting people with this and have them look at the whole picture of your health.
That’s silly. It’s no big deal to experiment with hcl. Dr Wright tells you how to do this yourself if need be. And it is need be for a lot of people either because of cost or unavailability of docs like this in your area. I you just gradually increase with each meal if the previous amount didn’t bother you until you get a warm or mild burning sensation. If that happens just take a quarter tsp of baking soda which neutralizes some of the acid and you feel fine in a couple of minutes.
There is no reason to scare folks off of this who may need it and don’t have the option of having a health practitioner to hold their hand. It’s really just not necessary.
Bravo Lisa for telling It as it is.
It is necessary for her to cover her butt because if someone takes her advice off this site and something happens to them they can sue her. We live in a sue-happy litigious society. For example, I know a teacher who got fired for letting a child share a water bottle when the child was thirsty, and people who are afraid to take action during a situation because the person they help may turn around and be upset at the method of delivery. She’s doing a good thing by putting this information out there so I applaud her for that. Obviously people have free will and can try things on their own regardless of what anyone says. But in this day and age she must post a disclaimer, we must all post a disclaimer, for fear of retaliation if something goes wrong or someone ends up with undesired results.
You are so right most GPS are clueless when it it comes to thinking outside the box
Hi have bloating and tightness at the top of my stomache just under my rib cage after eating food. I also have diariah with food still in it every day. I have Gerd and ha e been put on tablets to stop the acid. I am deficient in B12, vitamin D, calcium and serum iron. I am not a big meat eater and only eat chicken but mostly vegetarian food. This sounds like I am lacing in stomache acid rather than have too much?? What do you think?
Mary, this actually sounds a lot more like a gallbladder issue than low stomach acidity, but you probably are also low in stomach acid as well. I would strongly encourage you to seek out the support of a functional health practitioner to help you sort through the issues and get to the root of the problem sooner than later. You need HCl to access B12 AND iron, so you don’t want to be on those ant-acids for any longer than absolutely necessary.
Why does that sound like a gallbladder issue? After 3 months of PPIs at high dosages (I’m no longer taking them and I been off them for about a year now) I started getting extremely foul smelling stools with undigested food and lots of stringy stuff attached to it possibly mucous ? Also 24/7 pain inflammation in my lower right intestines where if I press on it you hear tons of wet gurgling noises. Best way to describe it. Now i also have tmj where my entire body because twisted (my muscles) if that makes any sense. So I’ve been my own detective since drs are absolutly useless. I’ve had all the tests in the world and all negative. I been trying to find a dr who does the heidleberg test because that’s the best to test for low stomach acid. So either I have very minimal stomach acid from the 3 months of PPIs at high dosages or my tmj somehow caused my illeocecal valve to malfunction causing all these digestive issues I’m having. How can the gallbladder cause digestive issues and what can be done to fix it if it were gallbladder related? One more thing soon as I eat and take the first bite of anything I get rumbling and gas instantly!!! I don’t understand how just taking a bite of anything gives me gas instantly and most of the time it’s very very foul smellling
Your gallbladder’s secretion of bile (critical to your body’s ability to digest fats and eliminate toxins) is directly affected by your HCl levels. If your gallbladder isn’t functioning properly, it will have a significant impact on your digestion overall. I’d recommend working with a functional nutritionist who can help you get to the bottom of the issue rather than trying to self-diagnose. You’re right – the medical world has little to offer you. But someone seasoned in functional nutrition can make the world of difference. Feel free to reach out if you’d like more info on working one-on-one or look for a seasoned functional nutrition practitioner in your area.
Hi Michael,
Have you tried getting a stool sample test? Look for “E. Histolytica” or “Dientamoeba fragilis”. These bugs can cause havoc with the GI tract & some worms can infect the gall bladder or even liver. Be aware, that low stomach acid can make you susceptible to an infection by worms or parasites. Hence, the stool test. They are difficult to identify, and may require more than one stool sample. See http://www.cdd.com.au/pages/disease_info/parasites.html.
Margaret,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart! This is music to my ears (eyes lol ) Thank you for everything, I just done the lemon juice test and NO PAIN I have also been off those Acid blockers the Dr told me to take for a month now. I have booked marked this and will share with all xoxoxoxxo
So I’m going around the internet trying to find all the places where low stomach acid is being talked about to find an answer to this problem. My wife NEEDS to take Betaine HCl pills but she has a big problem swallowing pills. I’ve gotten three different brands of pills and they are all too large for her to swallow comfortably. She will likely need to take at least five 650mg pills at first. She did the challenge and was able to take seven pills without any warmth or burning. But actually swallowing the pills was extremely difficult for her and there’s NO WAY she could do this every day. She also has a problem drinking liquids with meals which also makes taking numerous large pills very difficult. The nature of her stomach problems requires her to keep her stomach as dry as possible around the time of eating.
So my question is, does anyone out there know which brand of Betaine HCl pills are the smallest in size and most easy to swallow? She takes a vitamin D supplement that comes in tiny pills and she’s able to handle those. Is there any form of Betaine HCl that comes in that size? I haven’t been able to find a way to figure this out and it’s driving me up the wall! There doesn’t seem to be any kind of “search engine” for Betaine HCl products where you can search by physical pill size. Her stomach problems seem to be connected to low acid so she really needs to take these pills! HELP!
I find it very difficult to take pills as well and what has helped me is eating raw unprocessed sauerkraut twice a day. I also take the juice of half a lemon in warm water before meals
This is a late response but I’m currently taking 350mg Betaine HCL from the brand Nature’s Life. You can find it on http://www.nutrafamily.com I think, but I bought it at my local health food store.
If you are currently on a vegan diet would introducing animal by products (cheese, yogurt and eggs) help with low stomach acid? I cant bring myself to eat meat again but would be open to switching to a vegetarian diet. I’ve been having major problems over the past few years that I thought it was my gallbladder but I had an ultrasound and it’s super clean. My doctor wanted me to take prilosec but it just didn’t make sense to me. I’m always in fear of eating because I don’t know if I’m going to be ok or in pain afterwards so I tend to skip meals. Any insight would be really helpful. Thank you.
If you’re on a vegan diet, then you’ll quite likely need some digestive support to add in those animal foods. The foods alone don’t increase HCl. It’s a vicious cycle – you need HCl to break down protein into amino acids to create the HCl…
I would highly recommend working with a practitioner on this. A medical doctor (as you’ve already seen) is just going to recommend more acid suppression and that’s only exacerbating the issue. If you’re willing to eat some animal foods, that’s a great start, but you will likely still need further support.
Hi Margaret Ive read some of the replys from people and unfortunately none of them include all of the symptoms I experience after eating generally I feel miserable I just want to curl up and die right now I’m in bed I have pains under my shoulder blades pain out through my side electric shocks Which could accur any where twitching muscles at the back of my legs constantly cold even in the hight of summer bloated feeling.gas cramps and last but not least if I eat to be full I throw up everything and here is the strange bit this could happen up to three hours after eating and tastes the same as it did before I swallowed it I could go on with other symptoms but I don’t want to bore you and your viewers Please help and don’t recommend these mainstream medical idiots as I’ve been foolish enough dealing with them for years and for the record I eat healthy I’m 54 years old I have a thin body.
Patrick, I’m so sorry about what you’ve been dealing with. Sounds really uncomfortable. With symptoms like that I’d need to do a thorough health history with you. Please reach out to info@eatnakedkitchen.com if you’d like to set something up.
Any recommendations for functional health practitioner in the Dallas area? Thanks!
Unfortunately i don’t know anyone personally (I know someone a few hours south of Dallas, but probably to far to travel – she does work with clients remotely, though?)
Check here: https://www.functionalmedicine.org/practitioner_search.aspx?id=117 and see if you can find someone near you.
Hi,
I have been taking betaine for about 2 years since being diagnosed with low stomach acid. Is there any hope of ever repairing my stomach to not need betaine? Although extremely excited my nutritionist found my problem I’m tired of trying to remember to take these pills before eating. Do you have any alternatives to betaine. I’ve used apple cider vinegar.
Thanks Kate
It’s important that you’re taking sufficient HCl to actually have it decrease. Sometimes it’s a case that you haven’t titrated high enough with your dose to be truly sufficient – so you are in a holding pattern, but not actually resolving the problem. This is something you need to work with your practitioner on. Also, take the Betaine mid-meal towards the end of the meal> That gives your body the greatest chance of using its own HCl before relying on the supplement.
If you’ve done all this, then it could be that you’re low in zinc, which is an important co-factor for creating HCl. There’s a simple test for this that you can do with a practitioner to find out if that’s the case. Lastly, if you tend to be a high stress person and live in “overdrive”, that has a huge impact on the body’s ability to produce sufficient HCl.
In most cases, you can wean down to a very low dose or even off it completely, but these factors need to be taken into consideration and for some people, unfortunately it’s just what they need to do to digest fully. All of this is stuff you can work on with your practitioner, though. I would highly recommend working with someone very experienced in this work so they can guide you and customize recommendations to your specific situation.
Hi Margaret!
I’m so happy to have stumbled upon your blog. I am serious need of advice, as my nutritionist is on maternity leave and I don’t have anyone to turn to.
I was recently put on Betaine HCL (about a week and a half ago) alongside two heavy probiotics to treat dysbiosis, and what my nutritionist believes is Hypochloridria (I have literally every symptom and a stool test showed results that led her to believe so). I am only taking 1 pill with my larger meals once a day (twice at the most) and my acid reflux symptoms have become so much worse. I don’t feel the warmth or burning sensation upon taking the pill, but an hour or two after eating everything in side me feels like it’s on fire. I can’t find any information on this whatsoever. Do you think it’s a bad idea for me to take these supplements? I don’t want to end up burning my esophagus.
Thanks so much!!
Jenna, I strongly encourage you to continue working with your practitioner on this. Usually it’s a case of needing to titrate up SLOWLY, but you need to do so with the support of a practitioner, not alone. Please reach out to whomever recommended this and work with them. It sure sounds like you need it, but you want to proceed cautiously.
You’ve only added enough extra hcl to increase what refluxes but not enough to close off the lower esophageal sphincter. What I did was every few minutes keep adding a capsule til the reflux stopped. It works. But remember if you really did get too much baking soda works quickly to back down the amount and stop discomfort.
Thank you for this very informative article. My HCL is low, and it effects my protein digestion. I’ve been a Vegan/Veget. for 5 years. I’m now having to start eating fish again to help increase my protein intake (I cant do chicken or turkey, I just can’t). If protein can’t be digested well, would that effect ones blood sugar? Secondly, why does the body stop or significantly producing HCL, wouldnt a vegan/veget get another source of protein, perhaps like beans?
If you’re not digesting protein properly, it will absolutely affect your blood sugar. This is one of the first things I look at when someone has serious blood sugar handling issues – that and fat digestion. A vegan/veg diet doesn’t have nearly the same amounts of protein in it — if you do a comparison of how many chickpeas you’d have to eat to get the equivalent protein from a small serving of meat or fish, you’ll soon see what I mean. And thus the body doesn’t produce it in as high amounts – you only produce it in response to the protein present in your stomach needing to be digested. This is a catch-22 of vegan diets: not enough protein to warrant sufficient secretion of HCl, and then not enough amino acids (what proteins break down into) to create the HCl to begin with.
I have always had low stomach acid, extremely low. It’s one of the reasons I have never had a cavity or any kind of tooth issue at 50 years old. About two months ago though i went completely vegan and the low acid problem is bothering me. I am looking into food combining and will try your tip on using raw apple cider, but are there any other tips for someone that refuses to ever take part in supporting the catastrophic suffering of commercial farm animals. I have found that giving up dairy was really good for me and it would seem had been masking some issues, but even though i don’t believe meat or eggs were giving me any problems I still will not eat them. I have friends that thrive on a vegan diet and I am determined to be one of them. Thanks for any advise.
Marcy Marcy ! Thank You! For speaking out ! Murdering Animals to eat is plain immoral and wrong! This site does not address the heath and moral issues of killing animals and putting torture and craziness into one’s body and mind.
I believe this is a universal Truth and harm will come to anyone who partakes in this murderous tone and action.
Really, Margret, you can do better then recommending killing animals to better ones health can ‘t you? This seems completely offensive to all Life.
Wow, such great information. I’ve had undigested food in my stools for quite some time, and I’m always hungry. Not right after meals though, but, for instance, I wake up in the night feeling starved, even with having protein before bed.
Does this sound at all like it could be related to stomach acid levels?
Sure does!
Hiii
Lovely article. I am suffering from indigestion after excessive use of antibiotics.I am feeling that I hot inadequate stomach acidity to absorb my nutrients. I’ve trued ACV and lemon but not much improvement. I need to try beatine hcl. Do you recommend? I lost weight by the way.
Thank you
Thanks for this site. I have been having on-going digestive challenges for several years, had 2 endoscopes and 2 years ago revealed a v small area of reflux around LOS. I have refused PPI’s as I believe it is not hyperacidity and they are more harmful and not curative. I have tried several of the suggestions which people have suggested on this site with some varied success but continue to be up and down and struggle with a predominant symptom of nausea. Do you know of any functional practitioners here in the U.K? Thank you
Hi Lindsay – unfortunately I don’t have any contacts for you in the UK. I wish I did… I’ll keep my ears peeled and post here if I learn of someone.
I can recommend 2 in the UK that do Skype consults. Let me know how to get this info to you. I have used both myself.
Is it possible to have all these symptoms EXCEPT ” acid reflux” ? I’ve never really had any burning but I do have all the other symptoms and I’m really trying to figure out what is going on!
Thanks !
Absolutely, Jayme. Many people have lots of these symptoms but have never had acid reflux or any kind of heartburn in their life!
Hi, I am struggling with persistent bloating (all day) and I even wake up in the morning slightly bloated and I hadn’t eaten in 14 hours!! Am taking hcl and am currently up to 6. It seems to be controlling the heartburn but not the bloating and tightness which is far worse after a meal. I am light weight and don’t eat huge amounts! My doctor said I could have candida also which he has given me antifungal meds as I seem to have all ththe symptoms.
Haven’t had it tested though as it costs a fortune in NZ. I also have low B12, sins levels. The constant bloating is really getting to me…..any advice?
I meant zinc levels
Jodie, it’s very likely that there’s more going on here than just Hypochlorhydria. I’d recommend working with a functional practitioner to do some testing and get at the root of the issue. I know of a couple of good practitioners in NZ if you’d like some recommendations. Why don’t you write in to info@eatnakedkitchen.com and we’ll get you that info?
Hi
My doctor and dietician keep insisting that I have a stomach ulcer caused by excess acid and that I should avoid any foods that trigger acid production. I was prescribed PPIs but after taking them for a few weeks I got so bloated that I could barely move and none of my clohes fit. When I stopped taking them and started taking a probiotic, the bloating got better but my upper stomach still burns. It gets really bad when I’m hungry, almost like a low blood sugar feeling. The burning pain gets really bad and I get shaky and nauseous. I have to eat every three hours and if it gets delayed only a little, this happens. After eating I dont feel as anxious and shaky anymore and the burning gets better, but rather than going away the pain changes to sharp stinging pain… I suffer from heartburn after most meals. I also get extremely constipated if I eat any form of insoluble fibre. Another doctor said that pain after eating cant be caused by an ulcer and that I have IBS. I had tests done about 7 years ago. The acid study came back normal but the xray test showed that my stomach takes a bit longer than normal to empty. So my question is: can delayed emptying of the stomach cause damage to the stomach lining that causes the burning feeling and can it be caused by too little stomach acid? Or can it really be too much acid? And what should I do?
I would expect that yes, it is most likely due to low stomach acidity — in fact delayed emptying of the stomach is often due to low HCl because what triggers the pyloric valve to open is sufficiently acidic stomach contents. BUT (very very important caveat) I wouldn’t in this case go and supplement with HCL directly. You’ll want to do some upper GI healing first, and also rule out H-Pylori which causes low HCl. In your case I would absolutely recommend working with a practitioner.
Hello…
Thank you so much for this article….i have been suffering for almost 2 years…
Lately, I am always bloated….have really bad breath constantly even though U brush my teeth more than 5 times a day…im tired….have constipation and bleeding piles….
My dr told me I have IBS which i refuse to believe as they use that term to diagnose everything they know nothing about.
I am just so frustrated that i even follow a strict candida diet with very little succuess and trying to be vegan makes thr problem worse…
Pls help…im desperate and suffered for a long time.
I also have anemia….can this be a case of candida in my system or is it def low stomach acid…?
In a situation like this, Nala, I strongly encourage you to work with a practitioner seasoned in addressing complex digestive issues. IBS is a “something’s off and we don’t know what it is” kind of diagnosis – there’s always a root cause, but the traditional medical model doesn’t have much to help you figure that out. A practitioner who works with functional tools can help you tremendously. The root cause is different from person to person, and it’s a safe bet that low HCl is a part of the picture, but it’s likely more complex than that.
I think low stomach acid is difficult to find. On internet you can find test with soda bicarbonate which is very unreliable. I did a test with whole my family in the morning and everybody was positive, so everyone had low stomach acid. Impossible ! Right? Here in the university of Ghent that say low stomach is very rare and you must be very ill to have it. There is a blood test call gastrin blood test . If this blood values are within range you don’t have any problems with stomach acid. The only problem you can have if this gastrin levels are within range that your mucus lining of your stomach can be damaged which results in stomach problems after eating some food. Don’t force your stomach with extra HCL and pepsin without to know if your digest problem is caused by an acid problem!
With all due respect, Jan, this is simply not the case. Almost every client I see has low stomach acid and benefits tremendously from boosting their HCl levels. The only test that can confirm stomach acid levels (and it’s still an imperfect test) is the Heidelburg test. I’ve been working clinically with this for over 9 years and I can tell you that it has profound benefits and almost everyone I work with starts out low.
Hi,thank you so much for an amazing article ?.
Me vegetarian for over 3 years (last 6 months vegan) and now back to eat fish.I can see myself in couple of the points..?.
Prior to acid reflux I had 2 months strong gas(maybe over 50-100 times a day) blaming the legumes..Than I tried to realease the gas (first forcelingly) by burping.The trigger of terrible (never felt that feeling) was that I overate and lie down and fall asleep when I woke up that was it!Now I’ve been having permanent (24h-to nostrils and throat,like a fountain) acid reflux for about 2 months..Dr gave me gaviscon-not big effect(although help me sleeping before and caused bleeding from nose).Today I took 4 tablets of multi enzyme with HCl and it seems my stomach start working and gassing possitively again..? want to get rid of the pump like feeling.. Overall good feeling so far..
Im sorry to say but you got it all wrong regarding protein digestion and mineral absobtion. Its the bacteria in your gut that make the minerals bioavailable in your system, not the acidity in your stomach! Eating too much meat is going to make your body very acidic and the overly complex protein will most likely not going to be fully breaken down and result in putrefaction in the body which is even more acidity. Now some people are more geared than others to deal with meat digestion, but if you have low stomach acid i assure you the answer is not eat more meat!… you are most likely designed to live off mainly vegetal source, the answer lies in you microbiome. The bacteria in your gut that constitute 90% of gene material in your body and are the builder of your immune system! Eat fermented food like your ancestor did and eat lots of soluble fiber like acacia fiber. This will allalize body and increase electricity. It will reduce inflamation and build immunity. Now if any animal product you may need you should consume grass fed bone broth and liver once in a while, and probably some grass fed ghee and jome made kefirs.
Yes! I totally agree. I still think it’s important to also raise stomach acid levels though. I haven’t been eating meat for a while but I still suffer from malabsorption, gas, burping, bloating, etc. Working on healing my gut by eating whole food plant based diet.
That’s interesting. I’m vegan and I’m in the best health of my life despite all of the (false) negative consequences listed here. I am so happy about the fact that I will never die of a heart attack since my arteries will be 100% clear for life because I don’t eat meat! And I will also avoid the boat load of other unthinkable terminal illnesses that animal products are directly linked to, since the World Health Organization now lists processed meat as being AS carcinogenic as formaldehyde! 🙂
Hi, have read the article and had a quick read through the comments and see no reference to fermenting and probiotics.
I’ve been making milk Kefir for 8 weeks now and no longer suffer from bloating or reflux along with other noticeable benefits!
You people are so fortunate. I don’t have low stomach acid. I have NO STOMACH ACID. I have to pop at least 12 Betaine HCL 650 mg capsules just to get the pain and bloating under reasonable control. But it only lasts 4-5 hours and then I need some more. I’ve taken as many as 27 capsules in a single day. Bacterial Overgrowth is often present and I use an antibiotic for 24 hrs ONLY just to get the bacteria under control. I don’t want to become immune to the antibiotics, especially since I know bacterial overgrowth is going to come back any day because of the lack of stomach acid. Best just to try and control the overgrowth and limit it. One strategy I’m thinking about instituting is rotating 3-4 different antibiotics on a weekly basis. For instance, take antibiotic #1 in week 1 on Monday only. Then in week 2 take antibiotic #2 on Monday for 1 day only. Do the same with antibiotics 3 and 4. I have had 2 primary care doctors who have no clue about Hypoclorhydria. The first Gastroenterologist I saw misdiagnosed it as Gastroparesis and gave me Metamucil (fiber notoriously hard to digest) and Famotidine which eliminates stomach acid. Are you freaking kidding me?? That combination of course is the worse prescription ever prescribed by a doctor. I knew immediately fastroparesis wasn’t it anyway because the symptoms don’t fit. I then tested myself with the baking soda and found I was basically running on acid vapors. No belch for 5-6 hours and only then the tiniest hint of of a belch that was barely perceptible. I’ve tested myself 3 times with the same result except the last time there was no belch period no matter how many hours. The second Gastroenterologist I saw seemed more interested in making money off of doing an endoscopy ( I already had one) than listening to what I was telling him. He did so much talking I did not even get the chance to tell him all the symptoms. I also found him to be dishonest. He claimed my baking soda test “was not very scientific” Last time I checked Chemistry was a science. You mix Sodium bicarbonate and hydrochloric acid and you must get carbon dioxide and you MUST then belch end of story. Like I said, more interested in making a buck by performing unnecessary procedures. Right now I’m pretty desperate because of the fight with the bacterial overgrowth. I might give one more GE doctor a try. If that don’t work I will probably implement my own treatment plan in full. I have no other recourse.
Phillip, I hope you’ve found relief since you wrote this! Have you worked with a naturopath or functional med dr? It seems like you are exacerbating your symptoms by taking antibiotics. Instead of killing bad bacteria, you need to get them in BALANCE. We all have and need bad bacteria and good, just need to make sure they are balanced. You need to introduce more good bacteria by the foods you choose to eat: lots of fruits and veggies and fermented foods. Please stop taking the antibiotics!! 🙂
Hi Margaret ! Thanks for your article! I will take it on board. So glad I found this!
I’ve been vegan for over six years now and suddenly a few months ago my bowel movements changed completely. From regular and healthy bowel movements I now pass very hard stools once per day if that. I get gas and bloating after almost every meal and constant stomach pains after I’v eaten. The weird thing is, I haven’t changed my eating habits at all and it just seems that suddenly I’ve had these effects with no reasoning as to why.
Sometimes I skip meals altogether when I’m at work because I know it will just be too uncomfortable for me to remain in this condition in the workplace. I’ve been to a doctor with no success for diagnosis apart from IBS which I don’t feel is a very accurate statement. I’m hoping it’s hypochlorhydria. Will try these tips to see what happens.
I thought all amino acids came from plants. The animals eat the plants for their amino acids. So how can our stomach know if the amino acids came from plants or from meat? I found this very anecdotal.
Brian, amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Those foods highest in protein, will be the highest in amino acids. Hence: animal proteins are the highest. This isn’t annecdotal – this is basic nutrition science.
Basic nutrition science is that beef has 15g/100g of protein and soya has 35g, nuts and seeds have 17-25g and other legumes as well. It’s a myth that meat is high in protein. Check it out yourself.
Animal protein is very hard to digest while vegetable protein very easy.
I’m not sure where you’re getting your nutrition data, but 100g of grass-fed steak has 23g of protein. 100g of tofu has 15.8g of protein.
I would also like to point out that not all protein is created equal, although nuts and seeds do contain protein, they generally do not contain all essential amino acids and even the ones that do contain all 9 essential amino acids likely have small quantites or have poor digestability. Animal protein, whether from meat or animal products (I.e., milk, cheese, eggs), contain all essential amino acids and are highly digestible.
No that is completely the wrong way around. Animal protein is the most available protein for human beings. Vegetable protein requires a very healthy gut to be able to extract the required amount. As someone who was a vegetarian for 15 years, I became incredibly sick as I was not able to derive enough protein from my plant sources. Eating meat again has changed my life. I do however now have the above condition, just as described, as a result in part of my vego period. This article is very good and accurate. Thank you!
Well, according to this logic then just adding extra plant protein to any meal would be the same as a regular portion of animal protein, right?
Unfortunately plant protein doesn’t stimulate gastric juices and HCl secretion in the same way. And you’d have to eat a huge portion of plant protein to get the equivalent to even a small serving (3oz) of animal protein.
I experience many of the listed symptoms – especially the feeling of dinner still being in my stomach by morning and having no appetite for breakfast. But the food product that I can not tolerate at all is yeast. I gave up eating breads 18months ago and have felt so much the better for it. I can eat flour/gluten-containing food without issues so long as it doesn’t contain yeast and is not fermented (soughdour bread is also out). Pizza and Indian naan bread are the worst because they are very doughy (not fully cooked) – just 15mins after eating these I would burp continuously for hours which made me feel nauseated. Where was all this gas coming from? It had to be fermentation in my stomach. I also don’t feel good after eating red meat. The burping from yeast-containing foodstuffs is only the beginning of my problem – what transpires next is a slowing of my digestive system with nothing passing for up to 4 days sometimes, making me feel heavy, sluggish and grumpy (I’m a once-a-day person usually!). Since I omitted yeast from my diet, my skin, especially the backs of my hands which were contantly dry, often with cracked knuckles, has improved dramatically. Whenever I eat soft cheeses like brie and camembert (that contain natural yeasts) my hands become dry again and I experience bowel slowing. I also want to mention that all my life I’ve loved acidic foods – anything pickled in vinegar, acidic fruits. I don’t crave acid but I prefer acidic foods over foods with a neutral pH – I always assumed this was flavour-related but could it be my body knowing it needs extra acid in order to digest food? The downside to this predilection for acidic food is that my tooth enamel is badly worn requiring much dental restoration work every 12 months. I don’t normally contribute to web forums but I have not been able to find mention of my specific issues so I thought it might help others with similar symptoms to know they’re not alone.
Hi Margaret. I’m based in UK, never had tummy troubles other than a bit of bloating. Hadn’t vomited for 20 years until 6 months ago. A few months after that I had 2 courses of anti’bs for a supposed sinus infection. Since then I’ve had weird symptoms of burning in the eyes and tongue, almost like a vapour/acidic feeling – silent reflux, usually when I’m hungry, or a couple of hours after eating. I feel very full and bloated after eating with burping. GP prescribed Omeprozol which made it worse and nauseous. I don’t get any significant heartburn, but high ribcage pain sometimes, the burning is always in the eyes and mouth. I’m wondering if I have low stomach acidity rather than acid reflux. Desperate to get back to normal eating. Did two mornings bicarb test, no burping followed.
Val, get your gallbladder checked. Your doc will probably suggest a HIDA scan and/or Ultrasound.
Did you figure it out ?
You need to restore your digestive bacteria that have been decimated by the antibiotics. This is crucial. Get yourself on a strong probiotic and don’t eat much grains, or sugar for a while.
Hey Val
I have the exact same symptoms. And after 4 months I still haven’t figured out what causes it. Have you found out what caused you this condition? For me it also started after taking antibiotics.
Antibiotics will create significant disturbances in the GI tract and can absolutely be the trigger for bigger issues like this to set in. I’ll say the same thing to you as I did to Val: I’d strongly recommend doing some work with a functional nutritionist. You can absolutely heal this but it will take some guided work
Hi Val – my apologies that I am only seeing this now. There are many underlying factors that this could be and it’s quite likely that hypochlorhydria is a piece of the puzzle, but in a situation like this it’s unlikely that is the whole picture. I’d strongly recommend doing some work with a functional nutritionist – me or someone closer to you in the UK. You can absolutely heal this but it will take some guided work.
Thank you for your website and your time and information. You are a real Godsend.
I’ve been on a WFPB diet for about three months now- recently I’ve had six incidents of stomach pain after eating that were resolved with drinking lemon water. I often eat in a rush with my crying baby as background “music”. I’m going to try the ACV as you mentioned and hope that will help further. Thank you!
i recently had the 24hour ph test, highest i noted was 7.9, in the morning after having a banana and 2 cups of tea, lowest 5.5, mostly on the day the device was inserted, mastly stayed around 6 one i was able to eat and drink, im still waiting on the results of the test, barium meal swallow showed by gullet contracted in various places causing reflux, endoscopy showed some inflammation but within normal range, i never get hungary, all this started after being taken of my medication after 30+years, i was totally fine before then, ate what and when wanted, took about 5 monthes for me to wake up with bad heartburn and pain in my upper back that gradually got worse, ruled out h pylori 3 times, back on the meds am and pm and although symptons subsided the heartburn hasnt, some days better than others, would it be a good idea to try th baking soda test, i normally cant use toothpaste with that in as it makes me heave.
After having diverticulitis three times and being referred to a surgeon (which I refused) I decided to take my digestive health into my own hands. I’ve been taking HCI and Super Enzymes along with probiotics for years and haven’t had diverticulitis since. I also avoid grains (gave up cereal …a staple in my diet for many years) especially any with gluten. When I do eat gluten/grains I pay for it. I was born with eczema and have had increasing allergic reactions as I’ve aged. I’m positive that allergy meds are not helpful in the battle to balance out digestive issues.
Amazing testimonial, Cathy! Thank you so much for sharing. SO MANY digestive issues can be helped with this approach! I’m thrilled to hear you’re doing so well.
So I’m confused how this all works when you have leaky gut and no gallbladder? I have attempted to take 1 Now Super enzymes with each meal, or just an HCI tablet and i get the acid phlegm or tumny burning. I can’t digest meat or chicken or pork without the difficulties you describe in your article.
I wake up choking on acid or sleep too long and its up my nose. 🙁
I’ve been taking regular digestive enzymes, but i am confused, as you can see, about the addition of these other enzymes when just 1 of them sets me off.
Andrea, I’d strongly recommend that you work with a practitioner rather than try to troubleshoot this on your own. This is where the guidance of a functional nutritionist or doctor can be invaluable. I have lots of ideas for you, but I would need to do a full intake with you to know more background and make proper recommendations.
What I will say is that without a gallbladder, digestive support is critical for the long term. Your ability to digest fats and detoxify is severely compromised without additional support – but for legal and safety reasons I can’t make clinical recommendations without knowing your full history.
You lost me pretty immediately on all the meat hype. Which is when i started to suspect “paid endorsment” which I now see you do infact take.
I had stomach cancer and cured it by cutting out all meat and dairy. With my condition i had severe pain and gas and bloating all the time. I also was paleo, which was a decision i made to attempt to fix my severe gas and bloating, only to learn months later about my abdominal tumor.
Through my journey i took nutiritonal classes and cooking classes to learn how to heal naturally, and I did.my naturopathic soctor recommended these things to me, she also inyroduced me to other patients of her who cured themselves through a plant based diet. Every class i took on holistic health/nutirion, at acredited colleges, we were taught the same facts, meat is carcenogenic. Period. Once animal protien is heated up to the point where ots’safe’ enough for us to consume, its been convertedvto a carcinogenic slab of “flavor.” Quitting meat literally cured my stomach cancer, after western doctors told me i needed chemo, which may have killed me and would have lowered my constitution for the rest of my life.
Im sorry but if you are promoting meat, animal protien, you are not informed. Or, youre taking “endorsments” to push it.
Savanah, first off, as I think you’ll find reading through my site, I’m not a promoter of any one type of diet for everybody. There is no such thing. That is the beauty of bio-individuality. What can be a very healing and therapeutic diet for one (be it Paleo, ketogenic, vegan, vegetarian or something in between) can be a very health-challenging diet for another person. You have to take the whole picture into consideration. In your case, clearly a plant based diet was integral to your healing. But for others, that very same diet can be extremely challenging on the digestive tract. I’m not “pushing meat”, and I’m certainly not paid to push any one nutritional paradigm. This article is simply saying that the loss of taste for meat and a vegetarian diet are common signs of Hypochlorhydria.
Do you take any money in anyway from the meat or dairy industry?
Not a penny.
I have stopped eating animal meat for almost 10 years. I do eat sushi occasionally.
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetic 2014. I manage my blood sugar by food, no modern medicines.
My diet choices are fairly simple: hard boiled eggs with vegetables, limited fruits.
From my blood test results, I realized that my weight is a key factor to improve my health.
My BMI is 21, an improvement from 17( due to diabetic). I am not over weight at all. But don’t mind to drop few pounds to improve my lipid and a1c readings.
I adapted a low calorie diet this past weekend. For just two days, I experienced digestive discomfort: bloating, cramping. I was really confused if I were hungry or full everyday afterwards.
I felt discomfort every time I sleeping change my position in bed. (on my back, left side, right side; it felt the stomach is settling each time).
One night, 2am, I fed myself a little oatmeal to settle my stomach, but by dawn, I felt the sensation of throwing up and I threw up with acid juice which I never experienced in my life before.
And my blood sugar reading were over 150 each morning, a way higher than my typical reading (110). I have stopped this diet immediately. Not knowing what is wrong with myself, I added boiled chicken/soup in my diet to ensure I got enough electrolytes, and I have no idea I thought that would help me.
But my digestive challenge remains. I had few strawberries last night, boy, I pay the price.
My question is: does adding meat back to the diet helps the stomach acid’s production?
Phyllis, often it’s not enough to add the meat back into your protocol without supporting stomach acid levels at the same time. I strongly encourage you to work with a functional practitioner experienced in helping vegetarians transition back into omnivorous diets, especially given the strong reaction you had.
I’ve noticed that when on a vegan diet, after about 2 weeks all issues with stinky sweat and reflux disappear completely. I’m not a vegan but when I do occasionally eat this way for an ongoing period I always feel better.
This is very common and part of the cleansing that happens on a vegan diet. It will depend on your biochemistry and diet history how long you’ll feel good on this diet, however. It’s not one that most people can sustain for a long period. For some, they can sustain it for weeks, some can sustain it for months, some (more rare) can sustain it for years. A vegan diet is a very cleansing diet, but the body needs to build as well. And the vegan diet isn’t a building diet. There are appropriate times for cleansing and appropriate times for building. So it’s all about balance and understanding the context.
So, would you recommend Hcl supplements if acv isn’t working and with or without pepsin? I am vegan but would do an hcl protocol to get my levels back on track…I’ve been diagnosed with Sibo, parasites…have tried everything under the sun and this could be the last part of the puzzle…do you need the pepsin?
Kim, I wish I had an easy answer for you, but the reality is that working with SIBO and parasites with a vegan diet is incredibly challenging. Yes, in your case I’d be looking at HCl supplementation, but I’d also be looking to add some animal proteins back into your diet. It is almost impossible in my clinical experience to resolve these issues on a vegan diet.
Hello, A month and a half ago I was diagnosed with GERD after going to the hospital. They didn’t fully diagnose me just went off what I said about my symptoms. Just this past week my acid has been horrible after eating fried pork and plantains. I never knew my acid was that bad, because I ate pork before. I went to the hospital they put me on prevacid made everything worse. Then the very next day I went to see a gastroenterologist. They prescribed me Omeprazole. It was the worst medicine I ever took. Made my back hurt, ribcage pain, and ears tingling. So my doctor switched the medicine. In a week I go in to take my endoscopy. But I think I have hyploclarida.Everytime I eat, I feel bloated,nausea, like the food has something bad
Yes, that does sound like classic hypochlorhydria – especially since the PPIs made it so much worse. I’d strongly recommend working with a functional practitioner who can help you bring things back into balance more naturally.
Can high ketones in urine also be caused by low stomach acid? I have been tested for diabities and do not have. I have most of the symptoms for Hypochlorhydria.
Elevated urinary ketones are usually a by-product of the body being in ketosis – which means it’s burning fat for fuel rather than carbohydrates. That actually doesn’t have a direct relationship with HCl production to my knowledge.
I was diagnosed by my primary care physician with GERD, since then I have tried pantoprazole, nexium and Famotidine…none have helped at all. I changed my diet about a month ago to try to manage the acid, and continually take the Famotidine, I have lost 11lbs and I’m 5’3″ and weight 127lbs… I start to feel better but if I intake anything that remotely may cause acid, I’m paying for it. I also recently lost my appetite for meat. Most mornings I wake up nauseous, fiery and super and painfully bloated… awful breath all day, except when I eat and soon after it comes back. I had an endoscopy last week, all that was found was acid relux. I am so desperate to figure out what’s wrong with me!
I’d highly recommend working with a functional practitioner, Brittany, to figure out the root cause of this. It sounds very much like hypochlorhydria but with those extreme symptoms it could be caused by something like H PYlori, which requires testing and a formal healing protocol
You may be experiencing hypochlorhydria due to stomach bacteria…namely H. Pylori. This bacteria reduces the acid so that it can survive in the stomach. Many of the symptoms of H.Pylori infection are the same as those noted here.
yes, absolutely, Sandra, H Pylori can be a main driver behind Hypochlorhydria. Testing would confirm.
I don’t mean to frighten anyone, but it is extremely important to get acid reflux and/or GERD under control, as there is a direct correlation of these conditions contributing to Pulmonary Fibrosis, especially with silent reflux. Pulmonologist are finding acids back up into the esophagus and can escape into the lungs causing inflammation and eventual breakdown of the alveoli which then causes interstitial scarring. PF is an incurable disease, and if the acid continues to cause inflammation it can damage the lungs leading to an eventual oxygen dependency. It is only curable by undergoing a lung transplant. Interestingly, my husband was diagnosed with PF and he suffered chronic heartburn for years, ate late meals right before bed due to shift work, and always sleeps on his right side. A CT scan shows more scarring in the right lung, which his pulmonologist at UCSF says is becoming more common in the patients that they see.
I’m an ethical vegan and can’t imagine eating meat again, but my own chronic heartburn since going vegan is leading me in that direction…
Hi Margaret.
I have fibromyalgia which includes very bad IBS, which i control well with a low carb, low fodmap diet. I’m lactose intolerant, cannot digest any sort of carbohydrate (any small amount of rice, oats, fruit etc. sends my ibs out of control). I do fairly well eating mostly eggs, meat, oils, and low carb greens and other veg, however even so i wouldnt say my digestion is good. I take a probiotic every morning and try to incorporate ACV drink.
Recently i got despondant and craved all the sweet things i cant have and went on a week long rampage of eating dates and bananas. Consequently my IBS flared up like never before maybe a week after that. I started experiencing awful flatulence and pain even once i stopped the sugars. This got me thinking maybe i have an underlying SIBO issue, that started feeding off those sugars and sent my body into a frenzy. So i got researching SIBO and found out about low stomach acid. I did the DIY bi carb in water test in the morning on an empty stomach and no sign of any burping AT ALL. After a while i had a little ACV drink and managed 1 tiny little burp.
Does low stomach acid seem likely for my issues???
Thanks a lot.
Emily, it seems highly likely that low HCl is a piece of the puzzle, but it also is almost guaranteed that it’s not the whole picture. It sounds like there’s a lot going on and I’d recommend working with a practitioner who can help you identify the underlying factors that are causing the IBS to resolve those. This is what I do with clients and it’s very helpful to actually healing, not just managing symptoms with a restrictive diet. Low HCl is almost always one of the pieces that drives IBS and SIBO, but it’s not the only thing.
My Dr has me on HCL and digestive enzymes as I don’t digest proteins well. However it seems my ph levels become very acidic when I take them. I have chronic kidney disease. My understanding is that the kidneys manage the ph levels and I am concerned that taking the digestive supplements may cause problems for my kidneys. Thoughts?
How are you testing your pH levels? The body has many different pH levels, depending on what you’re looking at. Just in the digestive tract alone there are multiple different pH levels depending on what stage of digestion you’re talking about.
You’d want to keep an eye on your bloodwork — that will tell you if the HCl is impacting the kidneys.
Wow! Finally I understand what’s wrong with me. Now to
try & find a doctor to work with. I went through every test with no answers. Some weeks are worse than others. This weekend has been miserable.
I’m so sorry to hear it’s been rough, Jennifer. Honestly, most Drs aren’t going to work with you on this, unless it’s a functional doctor. A good functional nutritionist is your best bet.
Help please. I have been having same issues. Bloating after a meal. Can’t sleep if ate too much. Can’t eat meat. My sweat smells and l am dehydrated. I leave gas often after a meal otherwise l can’t relax. I get headaches all the time specially after l ate. I sleep too long. I sweat on my face and body at night have asthma also as well as post nasal drip. My stomach causing me problems about 3 years now. Doctors done blood test for allergies nothing came up but tbh l don’t think they know what they are doing either. Can anyone help?
Rose – this is likely hypochlorhydria and you’d want to work with a functional nutritionist to help you sort it out. There is some testing that can be done, and some supplementation, but this is the kind of thing you want to work with a practitioner to resolve.
I have a symptom that some food that I eat setting in my stomach and didn’t empty properly,I don’t have nausea or bloating wat does it means?
It could definitely be Hypochlorhydria.
my other symptom is burping after I ate
Hi,Margaret. I almost cannot eat anything without taking HCI. If so, especially if I drink ANY liquid, I will be sick the next day. I will feel terrible-not able to get out of bed-and a bad headache. This usually persists til I finnaly vomit til my stomach is emptied. To me, I feel like the food is rotting inside of me, and giving me food poisoning. It has progressively gotten worse and I have missed a lot of work due to being sick in bed all day. I know I have hypochlorhydria, as I have seen remarkable improvement when taking HCI. 3 or 4 650mg caps, or more, at meals. A couple more if I am real thirsty and drink a glass of water (room temp only). What is your assessment? What is a “Functional” nutritionist or practioner? Thanks for your time
Hi Karl. Apologies for only seeing your question now. It slipped through unfortunately. From what you’ve shared, it does sound like hypochlorhydria is a piece of the puzzle for you and that your body is incredibly sensitive. A functional nutritionist is someone who’s going to do some testing and help you determine what is the root cause of these symptoms – and then help you via diet, supplements and lifestyle to correct any imbalance they find so your body can heal from the inside out.
I really never have heartburn but I do have that “heavy” feeling after eating meat. I also have gas on occasion but usually only after eating a fast food meal, which is rare. Sometime I notice that my food seems barely digested in my bowel movement and passes in less than 12 hours. I eat well but my AlkPhos levels are consistently low. Could this be hypochlorhydria?
Absolutely it could be hypochlorhydria. Low AlkPhos is closely related to that (and zinc deficiency)
Hi I recently have been waking too early in the morning in with bad hunger pangs. I keep almonds by my bedside to help the feeling. I have right ear pain and have been recently feeling like I am wheezing. I finished a course of antibiotics a couple weeks ago for a possible ear infection. My digestion has been off since. My Dr said I had reflux and prescribed famotdine bc he said o had too much acid. I am wondering if perhaps it’s the opposite and I don’t have enough. I was also experiencing some bloating and belching and feeling like I couldn’t get a good full breath. I didn’t take the med yet and have started taking acv. Could it probably be not enough acid?
That could be part of it, but I’d work with a functional practitioner to get to the root of things beyond that because I doubt it’s low HCl that is entirely responsible for this. It’s most probably a big piece of it, but likely that’s not enough to fully resolve your issue.
Do you have any tips on how to help with stomach acid without going back to eating meat and dairy? I have had these issues before and after going vegetarian, and didn’t see an improvement or a worsening in the symptoms. I didn’t go vegetarian due to lack of taste for meat, but for ethical reasons, so I was wondering if that is possible?
The vegetarian diet is extremely hard on the gut and digestion for this very reason. I’m not confident you’ll resolve your issues on a vegetarian diet. You won’t restore HCl levels for one thing, and so many of the protein sources are very hard to digest… Here’s a post I wrote on that very topic: https://www.eatnakedkitchen.com/confessions-of-a-recovering-vegetarian-how-i-made-peace-with-eating-meat/
What you mean is, I should eat more acidic foods if I have acidity? You said its due to low acid in my stomach. Wont acdic foods with low ph levels be the remedy?
I wish it were that simple, but it doesn’t work that way. the amount of acid required is really significant, and eating something we deem to be acidic isn’t nearly enough. When we supplement with HCl, there’s no way you could “eat” that. It would burn your mouth and esophagus. It’s a very low pH that the stomach needs to achieve and acidic foods wouldn’t get you nearly to that level.
Hey I was vegan for two years, an intense athlete *note this- and felt starving on so many nights I went to bed(real story and the struggle)also never had acid reflux or allergies to anything , now I started eating meat again 6 months ago and oh my lord, I have acid reflux with almost everything, confused on what to eat and burp after everything even when I drink water. Extreme fatigue and feeling tired every time I eat. Also randomly suddenly can’t tolerate gluten which I never had a problem with. I just feel negative after I eat most of the time and dont have a taste and really been avoided meat and dairy at this point. Because I don’t know if it’s the vegan diet I did for two years or eating meat and dairy again. I’m in a bad digestive state that’s for sure cause heart burn reoccurring and can’t eat to many raw foods. Thank ful for your time. Any advice is appreciated. I’m stuck.
It’s really hard to know exactly what caused what here, but it’s not uncommon to have a lot of difficulty digesting meat after a vegan diet for all the reasons I explain in this article. The impact overall to your digestion would likely also make you more sensitive to other foods, and gluten is a huge culprit for most people. I’d recommend that you work with a strong practitioner who knows how to do a thorough gut healing protocol while identifying and removing inflammatory foods.
Thanks for the information!
What about ‘Hidden Hypochlorhydria’?
After doing a heidelberg test the physician told me I have it, but sadly there is very little information regarding it anywhere.
Thanks in adavance!
This is also called “silent reflux” and is basically the same thing as hypochlorhydria, but without the symptoms. The approach for rectifying it is exactly the same.
Hi, I actually have a question about this. My doctor prescribed me omeprazole 3 days ago and I’ve been taking it for 3 days, 20 mg once every morning, however I actually think I have too little stomach acid. My question is that when I follow the diet that you wrote down here should I keep taking the omeprazole at the same time? I know you mentioned that the medication lowers stomach acid. I haven’t been able to find answers for the my question and most of the time when people do answer it’s really vague.
Hi Kimberly. We need to be vague in response to a question like this because I don’t know your full health history or why your prescribing doctor is making that recommendation. What I can tell you is this: taking the omeprazole is going to lower your stomach acid even further, and if the root cause of your issues is LOW stomach acid, it will alleviate symptoms in the moment, but exacerbate the root cause. I cannot recommend to you that you go off the medication your doctor prescribed, but I do think it warrants a conversation with him/her. In terms of the dietary changes I’m recommending here, they will help ease pressure on the digestive system, but they won’t raise your HCl levels or compensate for low levels of HCl. This is probably still more vague than you’d like. If you want to go deeper, we’d need to schedule a formal consult so I can get a full sense of your overall health history, current diet, and make informed recommendations.
Hello, I been feeling couple of symptoms such as being bloated after eating big meals, headaches that come and go, couple of rashes , a lot of acid , gassy , undigested stools and constipation. What can you tell me is the problem ?
Hi Gerardo, Sorry to hear your not feeling well. Those are all legit symptoms that should be addressed. I can’t assess your problem without knowing your full health history, though. It’s quite likely that Hypochlorhydria is part of the problem but not the full picture. I wish I could be more specific via message since it sounds like you’re in immediate need. The best I can recommend here, without our working together, is that you take note which meals you feel bloated after. Every symptom you mention is related to food and digestion. Follow all the recommendations in the post as a starting point and see if that helps. If you’d like to schedule to work with me, you can do so here.
How accurate is the baking soda test to test for Hypochlorhydria? My doctor diagnosed me with SIBO based on upper GI bloating, I decided to forego the breath test. Is it common to diagnosed SIBO as Hypochlorhydria and cause a mistake?
The baking soda test is rudimentary at best and I’d strongly recommend doing the proper and full breath test to confirm or rule out SIBO. The protocol for SIBO is intense and you don’t want to go down that road unless you have to. The symptoms of SIBO are common for many different root causes, so it’s important to do full GI testing to rule out other factors. Another thing to consider is that SIBO is an end result, not a cause. So you want to be looking for what allowed that SIBO to develop in the first place. And yes, Hypochlorhydria is almost always a piece of the puzzle (although rarely the only factor)
Hi, I can really relate to these symptoms, recently, I started Betaine HCL, Doctors Best brand, and my appetite has decreased significantly. Is this normal? I used to be hungry all the time, and for once after eating I don’t get hungry as easily. Thanks for the article.
Hi Paul, yes, appetite will typically decrease as Hydrochloric levels optimize. Glad you’re feeling better. Thanks for sharing!
Hello i feel like my stomach has no acid. I also have Helicobacter pylori. When i take betaine i can sometimes take 6 pills before meal and yeah it helps me in digestion but i feel literally no burn neither discomfort in my stomach even after 6 pills. And it’s weird cause most people need much less.I feel like it helps me and after
sometime my stomach acid goes back to literally zero again. What do you suggest. You think helicobacter has connection with lowering my stomach acid? And should i try to remove it? Or should i increase the dose to 7 pills before meal and see what happens? Please help me
P.S I really rarely have heartburn
Hi Olaf – yes, absolutely, H Pylori will affect your body’s ability to secrete HCl. It damages the parietal cells and impacts their ability to produce HCl. Because H Pylori thrives in a low acid environment, it’s essentially making a nice cozy home for itself. You definitely will want to work with a practitioner to eradicate the H Pylori, repair from any damage it has done, and at the same time rebuild your HCl levels so that your stomach becomes an inhospitable environment for it, thus preventing its recurrence. I work with this issue all the time, so you can either reach out about working one-on-one, or find a practitioner in your area to address the H Pylori.
Hi Margaret,
I have already received treatment from h pylori and later was re-test and I am no longer have it anymore. I have started taking HCl with pepsin up to 10 and I still don’t really feel any discomfort. I also drink apple cider vinegar before each meal. Anything else you could recommend?
I don’t know the dose of the HCl you’re taking (they’re all different), but you don’t want to exceed 4,000mg of Betaine per meal. if you’re doing that and not feeling anything, then you may be missing important co-factors such as zinc and/or iodine, which are both involved in the production of HCl. This is definitely the time when you want to be working with a practitioner who can help you rule out other contributing factors. Also, if you’ve had H-Pylori, it will take the body some time to restore parietal cell function and be able to secrete its own HCl.
I have been experiencing extreme bloating after eating.stomach feels very tight and heavy.i look 6 months pregnant .I also have very fowl smelling watery wind too.i sometimes have undigested food in stools.could this be low stomach acid
Absolutely, it could be stomach acid, but quite honestly with the severity of the symptoms you’re describing, it’s likely more than just hypochlorhydria at this point. I’d recommend working with a functional nutritionist who does testing for both gut healing and food sensitivities and can guide you in more depth than just the stomach acidity.
Hi Margaret,
Thank you for the article. I have been mainly vegetarian since 2014 and late 2018 began experiencing some reflux, presumably due to low acid.
My question is, would a re-introduction of red meat stimulate the production of higher levels of HCL?
Hi Neill,
Not necessarily. You’ll have to give your body some assistance and do repair work. Best to find a good Nutritionist that can support you through the process.
Hello
Something you have written in your website is quiet incorrect. A pH of 15 corresponds to an Alkaline environment NOT acidic. You state tat the pH of 15 corresponds to strong acidity, this is very incorrect! 7 is the level of neutrality, below 7 e.g. 5.8 the environment (e.g. stomach fluid) is very acidic.
However, I totally agree that acid reflux is majorly caused through hypochloridria and this is an issue which a majority of health practitioners and GPs etc do not seem to understand simply because their medical training mainly uses “traditional” teaching methods. People who understand “functional” rather than “traditional” medicine get this very clearly!
Hi Ronald, I think you may have misread the post. It states 1.5 not 15. Thanks for your concern though and for taking the time to comment.
Interesting article, thank you.
Your point on really relaxing and slowing down around eating can’t be overstated enough.
As useful as supplements and dietary manipulations can be, personally, addressing my mental state and, by relation nervous system health, has given me the quickest and most significant results.
Hi Margaret, I am 22 years old and I’ve been experiencing severe acid reflux for the past 2 months. My doc just prescribed omeprazole but I heard about how the reflux can come back even stronger once you get off of the PPIs. So I don’t plan on actually taking the pills. Right now I take Betaine HCL 350mg with each meal and avoid my trigger foods. Anyway, this article resonated with nearly all of my symptoms (1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11, and 12).
I was wondering if you know any health practitioners or nutritionists in the NYC metropolitan area? In previous comments u mentioned working with a practitioner to supplement enough HCL so that one day your body will produce enough itself. Thank you immensely, I will pay almost anything to find a healthy balance again.
Hi Daph – we work with clients all over North America and Europe, so that is one option for you. You can learn more about becoming a client here: https://eatnakedkitchen.com/work-with-us/. Another great resource is this practitioner list for a list of practitioners around the US who use the same tools and approach I do in my practice. It certainly sounds like this is a key piece of your health puzzle – so I’m glad you’re digging in!