Understanding Acid Indigestion
Acid Indigestion – I find most people already understand indigestion. The term describes discomfort, bloating, burning(heart burn), and/or reflux(GERD) in the stomach that can occur during or right after eating a meal.
But to understand acid indigestion requires understanding the “acid” part of the term. I find most people are a little fuzzy on what acid has to due with digestion, or indigestion. To grasp what is going on with acid indigestion all we need to know is there are two different acid types to be reckoned with. There is a good acid, and there are bad acids. The good acid is the one that specialized cells in a healthy stomach lining normally produce. It is an inorganic acid called Hydrochloric acid, or HCl. Its purpose is to perform digestion, or breaking down, of the food in the stomach preparing it for absorption in the small intestine and it kills harmful pathogenic bacteria protecting the body from food poisoning- it is the good acid in the stomach. It does not cause the various symptoms of acid indigestion. The problem in acid indigestion is when not enough HCl (hypochlorhydria) is being produced by the stomach to adequately digest the food eaten. This is a common problem. With insufficient HCL the food is not adequately digested and subsequently won’t pass into the small intestine until it is. Otherwise, the indigested food would be absorbed into the bloodstream as poison and allergens. Instead it stays in the stomach where it immediately begins to rot. The rotting food produces toxic organic acids. To get a sense of these problem acids think spoiled meat, rancid milk, and rotten oranges. These are toxic acids in the stomach and are harmful poisons to the entire body. These acids are the bad ones responsible for the symptoms of acid indigestion.
There are essentially 2 solutions used for acid indigestion and its symptoms. One is taking antacids or digestion altering drugs that neutralize acids thereby relieving the symptoms of indigestion and allowing the undigested food and poisonous acids to pass into the intestines for absorption into the bloodstream. This is not healthy. In natural health care we look at symptoms as signs of an underlying problem. In my estimation it is far better to correct the problem than to cover up the symptoms. The other solution is to correct the problem of HCl deficiency. This solution is non-toxic, quite easy, inexpensive, and non-prescription. In our office we use an excellent HCL containing supplement to take along with the meal so that additional HCL will be in the stomach at the right time to help digest the food completely. This not only works wonderfully in alleviating the symptoms of poor digestion, but it also helps prevent the poisonous acids of rotting food from ever forming in your digestive tract, and it supports better nutrition for the good health of your body. Because the body can only use nutrients found in real food to replace and rebuild old or damaged tissues you can see how indigestion can lead to serious problems for one’s health. In fact, when a person has had a problem with digestion for awhile it is often the first place to begin in treating other health conditions that may have developed. Healthy digestion is key to proper nutrition as part of the Whole Basics required for good health.
Please contact me for more information regarding natural digestive assistance and direct any questions or comments to me through my web site www.WholeBasics.com.
Important terms:
- Digestion- the process of breaking down ingested foods for absorption into the bloodstream.
- Indigestion- incomplete or inadequate digestion of ingested foods.
- Hydrochloric acid (HCL)- the inorganic acid a healthy stomach naturally makes for the very critical purpose of adequately breaking down foods before they pass from the stomach into the intestines.
- Organic acids- those acids created as a by-product of foods rotting in the stomach because the foods have not been adequately acted upon and broken down.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended for diagnostic or treatment of any condition. It is provided for informational purposes only.
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