Excess Stomach Acid, or Not Enough?
We follow several nationally known nutritional doctors. One thing several of them agree on is that most stomach digestive problems are not caused by excessive acid! This is exactly the opposite of the prevailing practice in medicine, which is to prescribe a boatload of antacids for almost any stomach ache or pain. We are persuaded by the arguments presented by the following experts and share their expertise with you here…
1. Dr. Bruce West has put together a very good summary on the topic, and we’ll share excerpts with you below.
2. John Trowbridge, MD (a legend in the alternative health field), likes to say, “First, fix the gut.” Brief and to the point, his writing influences our position.
3. Jonathon Wright, MD, has been saying for years that “correcting a minor problem (in the stomach) can help you achieve (health) breakthroughs modern science has deemed impossible.”
4. Dr. Bruce West, MD, agrees. The majority of stomach problems come from too low an amount of stomach acid – and it is a major cause of disease to boot!
If you follow the nutritional experts, you’ll learn that increasing stomach acid helps increase immune response, improve vision and memory, increase energy and much more.
Dr. West tells of how he lived with his grandmother over 50 years ago. His grandmother was scared of cancer and began deteriorating. She had constant nausea and stomach pain. She was losing weight and was becoming weaker and weaker. Finally, she decided she had stomach cancer and was going to die.
Her family osteopath put her on 10 drops of hydrochloric acid in a glass of water to drink with meals. In 48 hours her 2 years of “cancer” suffering was cured. The problem – low stomach acid!
Stomach Acid and Aging
Stomach acid production decreases in a high percentage of people after the age of 50. Not surprisingly, the plague of antacid prescriptions has made this problem even worse. The truth about stomach acid, from Dr. Sears, is important to know:
1. Most indigestion and reflux (a term unheard of 20 years ago) is caused by too low stomach acid, not too much acid.
2. The acid indigestion pain, often thought to come from high acid, actually comes from a low-acid stomach. With low acid the stomach can’t fully digest food and these undigested foods “rot” or ferment in the stomach. Fermentation is the real culprit in heartburn, acid indigestion, reflux, etc.
3. Without enough stomach acid, you cannot absorb the nutrients your body needs to maintain good health. You are, partially, starving, unable to absorb nutrients need for optimal health.
4. Low salt diets can lead to low stomach acid because salt is needed by your body to produce enough stomach acid.
5. The Destruction of harmful bacteria in the food in your stomach and fighting infections is dependent upon adequate stomach acid. Without adequate stomach acid, harmful bacteria may grow in your stomach!
6. Low stomach acid and chronic use of antacids are the main causes of acid indigestion and all the associated problems that go with it.
7. In older people, low stomach acid can increase the risk of pneumonia and other infections, because the immune system is dependent upon adequate stomach acid.
8. Taking HCL or product designed to support natural production of it, such as Standard Process’s Zypan 8500 is highly effective in maintaining adequate stomach acid and fighting infections.
What to Do?
First, try eliminating the grossly over prescribed antacids. They do nothing to correct the cause of most indigestion and cause serious problems and side effects!
And, try taking HCL or a product designed to support the body’s production of HCL, such as Zypan 8500 made by Standard Process.
Dr. West describes a patient that had chronic indigestion and related problems. She was prescribed acid-blocker drugs for life. They gave some temporary relief, but failed to continue to provide relief. Eventually, she was back to square one – actually worse!
The first thing he did was to have her take what he calls the ‘Zypan Test’. This is a simple, in home way to help determine if you suffer from low stomach acid.
1. You simply take one tablet of Zypan 8500 with a meal. If burning or tingling takes place, you probably actually have excess stomach acid and don’t need the Zypan.
2. If digestion problems are improved but persist, take two tablets with the next meal.
3. If digestion problems are improved but still persist, take three tablets with the next meal.
If 1-3 tablets don’t resolve your indigestion, but no burning or tingling takes place, an over acid stomach has been ruled out. Too much stomach acid is not your problem, but you will want to consult with your physician to identify the root cause of your ailments.
If you had low stomach acid, digestion will have improved – with less burning, bloating, burping, reflux, heartburn, etc. You simply take 1-3 tablets of Zypan, as needed, for a few months.
In consulting with our customers, we have found that 1 tablet after a full meal is usually enough. (Note: we have been hearing that 1/2 a tab to 1 tab with large meals is enough.) In some cases, customers report that the Zypan seems to stimulate natural production of stomach acid and, eventually, they no longer need Zypan. (Note: we have heard this quite often.)
Zypan is available in 90 tablet and 330 tablet sizes. This is not a product we make or distribute, but we feel it is a beneficial nutritional supplement and one we recommend frequently. To purchase, click on one of the Zypan Links below. (Our links will take you to Amazon.com where you can purchase, either:
Standard Process Zypan, 330 tabs per container, or
Standard Process Zypan, 90 tabs per container.
(We do participate in the Amazon Affiliate program and will receive a small fee for helping you connect with this product on Amazon. We use this revenue to help fund the maintenance of our website. In full disclosure, we’ve found better prices elsewhere, including on eBay, if you don’t mind their process.)