Good Morning All,
Hypochlorhydria arises when the stomach is unable to produce hydrochloric acid (stomach acid).
The stomach requires an acid environment for several reasons:
First, acid is required for the digestion of protein.
Second, acid is required for the stomach to empty correctly, and failure to do so results in gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Acid is required to sterilize the stomach and kill bacteria and yeast that may be ingested.
And an acid environment is required for the absorption of certain micronutrients, in particular divalent and trivalent cat-ions such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, selenium, boron and so on.
As we age, our ability to produce stomach acid declines, but some people are simply not very good at producing stomach acid; sometimes because of pathology in the stomach (such as an allergic gastritis secondary to food intolerance), but sometimes for reasons unknown.
Accelerated ageing because of malabsorption.
Wind, gas and bloating as foods are fermented instead of being digested, i.e. irritable bowel syndrome.
A tendency to allergies. The reason for this is that if foods are poorly digested then large antigenically interesting molecules get into the lower gut, where if the immune system reacts against them, that can switch on allergy.
Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD
Iron deficiency (anemia).
B12 deficiency.
A tendency to Candida dysbiosis or bacterial dysbiosis [imbalance in the natural flora of the gut].
This material is reproduced with permission from Dr. Sarah Myhill’s patient-information website (http://www.Drmyhill.co.uk). If you would like to read the complete article please check out the website.
As with all health issues you should discuss stomach acidity, testing, and management with your professional healthcare team.