It is important to maintain a healthy volume of acid in the stomach because of the various important roles it plays in our body including:

Important for Protein Digestion

HCL starts the process of protein for easy digestion. If you have ever used vinegar to marinate meat, you might recall how it could degrade your meat when left overnight. Vinegar is not as acidic as the stomach so you can imagine what exactly the stomach acids will be doing to your meats and other protein foods for easier and quicker digestion.

Stomach acid sterilizes the food

Even when cooked or pasteurized, the foods we eat often contain bacteria and other microorganisms Your stomach acid help to annihilate unwanted organisms that enter the stomach, helping to protect us against these unwanted invaders.

Stimulates the release of Bile and Enzymes

Bile is essential for protein digestion and our stomach acids stimulate the release of bile from the liver and gallbladder and HCL also stimulates the release of digestive enzymes from the pancreas.

Activates Pepsin

This is a proteolytic enzyme necessary for effective protein metabolism in our body. These enzymes in their inactive forms known as pepsinogen need activation by stomach acid.

Activates Intrinsic Factors

The glycoprotein – Intrinsic factors produced in the stomach is essential for the absorption of vitamin B12 are activated by stomach acid.

Opens the Pyloric Sphincter

The movement of foods from the stomach into the small intestine is being facilitated by the pyloric sphincter. One of the functions of the stomach acid is to activate these sphincters.

The Problem with Low Stomach Acid   

Digestion of protein molecules, as well as some key minerals, becomes inefficient with hypochlorhydria. These undigested protein molecules enter the small intestine and cause stress or burden on the pancreas ability to produce enough enzymes to metabolize them. This situation depletes pancreatic storage, stresses the intestinal lining and results in amino acid deficiencies as the undigested proteins have not been broken down into their amino acid components for absorption.

These large protein molecules irritation for the gut lining, and can cause leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut condition allows these undigested proteins to slip into the bloodstream and can trigger the development of auto-immune activity in the body, SIBO, parasite infection, and Candida overgrowth.

If you're experiencing gas, greasy stool, diarrhea, bloating, nausea, or other issues with digestion get in touch and schedule a consult! I stock a digestive supplement called Zypan that can help to address those problems. Zypan is a blend of digestive enzymes and acidic compounds that supports stomach acidity and digestive enzyme supply when these are unbalanced or low.