Fw: newsgroup message about stomach acid

[Guest guest]

Hi group, I have been considering taking the stomach acid tablets like

has talked about here before. We got into a discussion of this over

on a.s.a and someone posted the following information, which I found very

informative, so I wanted to share it with this group. Wishing you all the

best of health and happiness in the New Year, Liz G

~~~~~~begin quoted message~~~~~~

> Yes there are other symptoms. Here is an excerpt from:

> http://www.medical-library.net/sites/hypochlorhydria.html

> (When time permits, I suggest you read the entire text at

> their site. But, if you read nothing else, see the list of

> associated disorders at the bottom.)

>

> Hypochlorhydria

> Normal digestion is a complex cascade of events beginning

> when food is placed in the mouth and ending with

> elimination about 24 hours later. Normal digestion requires

> thorough chewing, mixing of food with enzymes, efficient

> swallowing, followed by exposure to a large quantity of

> acid and enzyme in the stomach. About two hours later, the

> chyme (food in the process of digestion) is moved on to the

> small intestine where it is bathed in bile, bile salts and

> more enzymes. More absorption occurs, and the chyme is

> mixed with bacteria to aid in digestion. After being moved

> to the colon, water is reabsorbed, and vitamin E is

> manufactured by " friendly " bacteria.

>

> Digestive disturbance can happen anywhere along the

> intestinal tract resulting in less than optimal digestion

> and a state of relative malnutrition. Many of these

> conditions are rare, and it is unlikely that you or your

> loved ones are suffering from them. It is possible,

> however, and if they are present, your doctor should be

> able to diagnose and treat them. While each disease is

> important, especially to the well-being of the person who

> has the disease, my purpose here is to alert you to a

> condition which is both common, frequently undiagnosed and

> usually untreated: hypochlorhydria.

>

> Hypochlorhydria is the underproduction of hydrochloric acid

> by the stomach. Hydrochloric acid, or HCL as it is called,

> is responsible for two important functions: (1) it begins

> the breakdown of protein by simply frying it in acid, and

> (2) in the presence of food it activates an enzyme

> called " pepsin, " which further breaks down protein.

>

> Many people who have too little stomach acid are being

> treated as if they have too much. The reason for this is

> that the symptoms are similar. Because ten to fifteen

> percent of the population is hypochlorhydric, there are

> many people out there who are being misdiagnosed and

> mistreated. A full fifty percent of people over age 60 are

> hypochlorhydric and, of all the patients coming to a

> doctor, up to fifty percent of these have underlying

> hypochlorhydria. The image of the overactive stomach is so

> common, many people are treating themselves with antacids

> without even bothering to consults their physicians.

>

> Stomach acid serves many important functions, not only in

> digestion, but also in keeping the body free from disease.

> Many bacteria enter the body with food. Some of them are

> not friendly to human life. In a normal stomach, these

> bacteria are doused with acid and die. In a person with

> hypochlorhydria, these bacteria are escorted into the small

> intestine along with a generous food supply. It has been

> shown that people with hypochlorhydria have more than their

> share of infections. The ever present yeast organism makes

> its entrance via the mouth. Many people with the so-

> called " yeast syndrome " are unable to get rid of their

> yeast because the organism continues to reinfect the body

> through the mouth.

>

> Frequently, stool analyses of people with hypochlorhydria

> reveal the presence of undigested protein fibers. While

> able to digest enough protein to live using their own

> pancreatic enzymes or enzyme supplements, these people are

> not getting the full benefit of the food they eat. The

> final result is that these people do not feel as good as

> they could and have no idea why.

>

> Certain symptoms of hypochlorhydria make life very

> unpleasant for a person as well as for other people around.

> The collection of gas in the stomach results in frequent

> burping, a troublesome and embarrassing symptom.

> Unexplained bloating, belching and " heartburn " frequently

> are diagnosed as symptoms of hyperacidity and wrongly

> treated with antacids, when what is really going on is

> insufficient acid production. The resulting imbalanced

> bacterial flora further down the digestive tract produces a

> lot of hydrogen sulfide gas, and this does nothing for your

> social standing.

>

> Some people have done all they can think of doing for their

> health: vitamins, exercise, etc., and still do not feel

> right due to the poor nutritional status of unrecognized

> hypochlorhydria, often combined with an underactive or

> overactive production of enzymes by the pancreas.

>

> A voracious appetite may be related to hypochlorhydria

> simply because the person is not getting full nutritional

> value from food eaten. The body tries to solve this by

> demanding more food. " I am hungry all the time " should ring

> the hypochlorhydria bell.

>

> The " big belly' is a common sight on the streets of

> America. In most cases, this is contributed to by

> hypochlorhydria and a relative absence of digestive

> enzymes, which should be derived from raw food. This

> combination of circumstances results in excessive eating

> and stasis of food in the colon. The excessive eating

> occurs because incomplete digestion causes a condition of

> undernourishment and hunger. When incompletely digested

> food reaches the colon, the colon reacts by slowing down,

> causing chronic congestion of food in the colon.

>

> After being stretched like this for a few years, the colon

> can hold several gallons of food. Many people are

> not " fat, " nevertheless, their big bellies hang on their

> bodies like giant water balloons, except it is not water.

>

> Some people with hypochlorhydria report that food seems to

> sit in the stomach far too long after a meal. Others say

> they can eat only a small amount of food before feeling

> full. Still others are constipated while others have

> diarrhea. Many have no symptoms referable to the digestive

> tract.

>

> That is not to say that they have no symptoms, however,

> because the number of non-intestinal disorders which are

> associated with hypochlorhydria is truly astounding.

> Because these diseases can be helped by nutritional means,

> it is reasonable to consider them nutritional in origin.

> Here is a list of those diseases associated with

> hypochlorhydria:

> Allergies

> Chronic fatigue

> Autoimmune Diseases

> Weak nails

> Thyroid disorders

> Dry skin

> Diabetes mellitus

> Poor night vision

> Gallbladder disease

> Hypoglycemia

> Asthma

> Weak Adrenals

> Vitiligo

> Rheumatic arthritis

> Acne rosacea

> Lupus erythematosis

> Chronic hepatitis

>

>

> Me again. Sorry for the length of this post, but it's hard

> to know where to stop, without being incomplete.

>

> There are many other sites which, taken together, give a

> better picture of the whole process.

> This one is rather long and technical, but some good stuff:

> http://www.healthy.net/library/articles/galland/dybiosis1.ht

> m

>

> This one is more specific to rheumatoid arthritis, and how

> diet can help:

> http://www.nutritionsciencenews.com/NSN_backs/Aug_98/arthrit

> is.html

>

> This one has a nice treatment of the digestive process:

> http://www.villaparkpharmacy.com/abs10.htm

>

> Finally, this one is rather long and can be preachy, but

> has some points worth reading:

> http://rheumatic.org/hcl.htm

>

> Let me know if any of these symptoms fit your case. The

> more I look at this " model " of autoimmune disorders, the

> more sense it makes to me. It would help to have some feed

> back from others.

>

> Good health to you.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for posting this article, Liz. I have been on Zantac a number of

times over the last ten years. The last two times, it made my stomach

problems worse after a while, so I definitely agree that this article makes

sense. I read in PRESCRIPTION FOR NUTRITIONAL HEALING that you can add a

little lemon in water to your meal, or a little vinegar and that helps if

your stomach acid is low. There is also a test described in the book (if I

remember correctly) using these to see if your acid level is too low.

rheumatic Fw: newsgroup message about stomach acid

>From: " Liz G. " <pioneer@...>

>

>Hi group, I have been considering taking the stomach acid tablets like

>has talked about here before. We got into a discussion of this over

>