Most people with stomach problems and indigestion think they have too much acid — when in truth, their digestive problem is caused by insufficient stomach acid! Low acid levels make it impossible to properly break down foods. This causes partially digested foods to rot in your digestive system — and wreak havoc on your health! But there’s good news…
After working with thousands of patie aused by low stomach acidity. In nearly all of these patients, symptoms have been relieved and digestion improved when they took supplemental hydrochloric acid.
And scores of research studies support this doctor’s findings! For example, numerous studies show that hydrochloric — the essential and good acid found in your stomach — declines as you get older. One U.S. study printed in the Journal of American Geriatric Society found that over 30 percent of men and women over the age of 60 have little to no acid secretion! Another study printed in Gastroenterology found that up to 40 percent of postmenopausal women have no basal gastric acid secretion. A landmark Japanese study printed in Biotechnic & Histochemistry showed that a whopping 60 percent of Japanese men and women over 50 suffered from low stomach acid levels.
Your stomach acid level may be dangerously low if you are over the age 50; a postmenopausal woman, experience frequent heartburn pain; have a desire to eat — even when you’re not hungry, feel uncomfortably full after a meal, frequently burp, belch or pass gas, experience regular constipation or diarrhea or feel soreness or burning sensations in your mouth.
Studies dating back over 100 years show that supplementing with hydrochloric acid quickly and safely restores your digestive health and supports healthy gut function.
Many people regularly take Tums, Maalox or a variety of over-the–counter and even prescription medicines for occasional indigestion. But now scientists have discovered this can cause a rebound effect. When you take antacids or other digestion drugs, you neutralize and kill all acid in your stomach — including the essential and good hydrochloric acid! It’s similar to how antibiotics kill all bacteria — the good and the bad! But stomach acid is critical to life — so your brain quickly sends a message to your stomach to speed up production of more stomach acid. So when the drug wears off, you’ve got an imbalance of stomach acid and even more pain than you had in the first place!
The above information is excerpted from the HealthNews, Special Digestion Issue, Fall 2006.
For more information please call Dr. Liyan Lu at 661-513-9265, Ping’s Acupuncture and Herbs Center.