Does anyone know the cause of excessive stomach acid?
I had a heidelberg test and my stomach is extremely acidic. This explains the stomach pains I've been having for the past 6 months, but its pretty weird because I'm also hypothyroid and low ferritin and other things that usually go with low hcl.
I can't find any info on what causes high hcl, because it seems like nobody has this problem.
My naturopath prescribed slippery elm. She said my focus should be on protecting my stomach lining and that I shouldn't be trying to reduce the hcl, since we don't know why it is there.
She suggested that it could be somehow due to heavy metal poisoning. Other thoughts I've had are a possible reaction to celiac, although I don't know for sure if I have this. I seem to have a mild candida, could my stomach be responding to this?
Any thoughts on what could cause this or if there's something I should be doing would be helpful!
I tried the licorice for awhile, and it felt a lot better, but the pain came right back when I stopped taking it. Slippery elm also helps - I think both of them protect the lining - its just that I really wonder what causes it.
Thanks for the suggestion re: alkaline therapy - I'll look into what that is
The Liver Flush Support Forum has some programs to improve digestive health and if you can improve intestinal health and kill some of the harmful bacteria in your upper gut that are pushed up into the stomach the acid problem may clear up. Also do a search for 'Dr. Schultze stomach acids'. People report his remedies are quite efective. One of the results was from a person who had high stomach acids, like you.
I couldn't find it today but Clark treated high stomach acids by using more acids in the form of Betaine-Hcl or hydrochloric acid drops with meals.
For Celiac Disease and other gluten problems it's important to either have the lab tests after following a gluten challange diet or follow a strict gluten free diet for at least 3 months. Many Celiacs findthat most of their problems clear up on a gf diet over time.
Do you have high HCL right after meals or in between meals. I f you have high HCL in between meals than you might have some bad bacteria in the stomach. Do you eat meals high in fat/protein? Eating some greens with a meal should help. Some added fiber might help( apple pectin), Marshmallow root, slippery elm.
Yes, between meals. I don't feel any discomfort when I eat, but in the middle of the day or a while after a meal. At first I thought it might be gluten, because the first time it happened was after a heavy meal with wheat, but since then it hasn't correlated with anything and can happen in the morning even when I haven't eaten anything. Bacteria is interesting, but not sure why it wouldn't be knocked out by now...
If you have discomfort a few hrs after a meal it could be duodenum discomfort due to candida/bacteria overgrowth. Sometimes the body will produce extra HCL to fight bacteria/yeast. Do you have loose stools/diarreah? That is usually a sign of too much HCL production.
If you cant trace it to any foods than the above following might be it. Bad Bacteria overgrowth usually causes loose stools, whereas candida will cause more constipation.
This is interesting. I am on an anti-candida diet at the moment, so maybe it will resolve. My stools are optimal right now, so I can't judge by that, but it doesn't seem to respond to any particular foods, so this theory sounds plausible. Thanks!
As you get older, as your health deteriorates, or as your body's pH levels get thrown out of balance, your body may be unable to produce proper levels of gastric acid. Gastric acid (which is what the stomach uses to break down food) is actually a bit different than hydrochloric acid. Gastric acid contains a very small percentage of hydrochloric acid and a very large amount of other elements. My theory is that when your stomach is not functioning at optimal levels, the gastric acid is being produced in lower quantities, containing a higher percentage of hydrochloric acid and a lower percentage of the other elements that should be present. Therefore, the gastric acid being produced is much more acidic, causing heartburn and improper stomach digestion that can lead to all kinds of other health problems. Many people take heartburn medications that neutralize the stomach acid (using calcium or other alkalizing elements), but this can actually just make the problem worse.
I have had the same problem and the thing that has helped me the most is taking either lemon water or apple cider vinegar mixed in water a couple times a day. Although these are acidic, they are considered to be alkalizing to the body and for me have seemed to help normalize gastric acid production.
Thanks, this is really interesting. I've never heard this about the components of gastric acid, but I will try the lemon water and see how that goes. For a while I was taking digestive enzymes, because I heard that everyone with hypothyroid needs them, but then it seemed like they were making things worse. I wonder what else is in the gastric acid that needs to be replaced. Anyway, I'll try your suggestion. Thanks!
Digestive enzymes need the proper amount of gastric acid at the proper pH level in order to break down food.
Take the lemon water separate from food (30 mins. before or two hours after eating) so as not to cause an increase in feeling of acidity.
Also you might try avoiding certain foods like, fried, spicy (like hot chilies, etc.), garlic (especially raw), vinegar (except for apple cider vinegar), coffee/tea, mustard, large beans (such as kidney, pinto, etc.), large quantities of nuts. Just pay attention to how you feel after eating and try to see if you can identify foods that are creating extra problems.
Foods that may be helpful for the stomach are lightly cooked vegetables (especially squashes, pumpkin [if you can tolerate the sugars], green peppers, onion), long grain brown rice, oats (if your body tolerates them). Other foods really vary from person to person, sometimes fermented foods can be good, sometimes they can increase symptoms of acidity.
I am on an anti-candida diet, so many of the foods you mention (good and bad) I don't eat. The thing is, it really doesn't respond to food (at least not candida-safe food) and the heidelberg test measures stomach acidity in the morning after a 10=hour fast. They give you a shot of baking soda and measure how fast your stomach reacidifies - mine was 3x faster than normal.
Its not very painful and I don't feel it often these days, maybe thanks to the slippery elm. In the morning I wake up at 6 and take one pill with a few sips of water and go back to bed. Often about an hour or two later, before I've had breakfast I'll notice the feeling of rawness - as if i'm feeling it because my stomach is empty.
I know often people think their stomach is acidic because they feel a burn, but its really to do with too little acid allowing the fluids to leak outside the stomach. Mine is definitely too high acid and the slight pains are inside the actual stomach and not always in the same place, although there is one spot that I feel the most...
Based on your comments I just looked up what gastric acid is made from and, as you said, it is a small percentage of hydrochloric acid and a lot of it is potassium chloride and sodium chloride.
I have low blood pressure and low sodium, even though I eat quite a lot of Sea Salt (I think this is to do with an adrenal problem) but have recently been drinking salt water during the day to address this. I noticed the salt water making my stomach feel better, but thought the minerals in the sea salt were simply neutralizing some of the acid in the moment.
However, now I'm thinking your theory makes sense and that my gastric acid has been too high a percentage of hcl and not enough sodium chloride. Maybe continuing to drink the sea salt water will solve this issue.
Candida really screws with my sodium levels. I think its the alcohol by-products and the chemicals it produces that causes sodium loss. For some reason when I eat more fiber I get more sodium loss. I think the candida is fermenting the fiber in the colon creating alcohol by-products thus causing sodium loss. When I avoid fiber(especially raw fiber) I dont have to take as much sodium. One of the functions of the colon is electrolyte balance. So maybe the candida is screwing with that. I usually have to supplement with extra sodium in the morning it makes a huge difference with appetite and energy.
Candidas by-products,chemicals, and enzymes it produces screws with a lot of the functioning of our organs.
I wanted to post an update that this issue seems to be resolved. I haven't had another Heidelberg test, so I don't know if my stomach is making any less acid, but I haven't felt the pains in a couple of days - and this is after 6 months of feeling it most days - so at least my stomach lining seems to be healing.
The possible solutions are either the Salt water (diluting the hcl?) or the fact that I have started taking large amounts of Vitamin C. I read that vitamin c heals ulcers, so maybe its that. Or a combination.
Thanks to everyone for discussing with me and sharing your thoughts.
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What causes high hcl? 
