<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> [continued from part 1] --------------------- Q: I've tried the HCl before (different brand) and it seemed to irritate my stomach with pain and heartburn. I've heard HCl is not good for people with gastritic, which I have, so that leaves me in a quandary. A: You are in a quandry. I understand. But you can get out of it by eliminating the source of your gastritis, which is probably food insensitivies & irritating medications. The stomach in it's healthy natural state, as in a newborn, is built to handle stomach acid in quantities down to pH of 1. That's strong enough to eat a hole through your living room sofa, but a healthy stomach lining can tolerate it just fine. What happens along the way is we develop food sensitivities/allergies, take anti-inflammatories, eat irritating foods, etc. that break down the mucous barrier in the stomach & weaken the lower esophageal valve. This sets us up for heartburn, reflux, gastritis, indigestion, malabsorption, yeast & bacteria overgrowth (such as candida & h. Pylori, etc.). Once we eliminate the GI irritants, our stomachs will tolerate the stomach acid just fine. I doubt I could have tolerated stomach acid supplements a couple years ago when I was still ingesting gluten, milk, eggs, and taking some rather harsh medications. I had to eliminate irritating foods & medications to get my gut healed before my naturopath put me on stomach acid replacement. I highly recommend the book, WHY STOMACH ACID IS GOOD FOR YOU by Jonathan Wright MD. It explains the whole thing better than I can. --------------- Q: Val, can you eat some of the foods that were bothering you now? I have been gf for 5 years and still can't eat carbs or beans or eggs and dairy. I have been pretty much on the Specific Carbohydrate diet which is good but more limited than I would like. mc A: MC, yes. I too was on the SCD (specific carbohydrate diet) a year ago & I nearly starved to death! I was allergic to all the staples -- lima beans, navy beans, almonds, eggs, milk (even 24 hour yogurt), bananas, avacadoes, summer squash, etc. But when I tried to add potatoes & rice, I bloated like a balloon. But, since adding the HCl, I can tolerate potatoes, brown rice, corn & other starches. [Thorne BIO-GEST contains starch digesting enzymes that really seem to help.] I'm still very strict about avoiding sugar. I only endulge in that stuff every couple of months. I'm still allergic to plenty of foods, though. I haven't been able to add back any of the ones I'm allergic to, but at least I can say I haven't developed any more food sensitivities. At one point, it seemed I was finding a new food intolernace every week. But now I seem to be in a holding pattern. (KNOCK ON WOOD!) ~Valerie ------------------ Q: With all the reading I've done on celiac, I was not aware that low stomach acid is a common problem of celiacs. Do you know why that is? I mean, is there permanent damage to the gut? I've been GF for 2.5 years and have progressed quite well, but cannot get beyond the intestinal yeast. I'm hoping this is the piece of the puzzle I've been looking for. Thanks again. Lati A: Anything that irritates the stomach, such as gluten sensitivity, food allergies, some medications, even stress, etc. impairs it's ability to function normally. A normal stomach produces enough acid to eat a hole in your couch, BUT a healthy stomach also produces anough mucous to protect it from the acid. An impaired, irritated stomach produces low or no stomach acid as well as digestive enzymes & components. An impaired, irritated stomach also loses it's ability to keep stomach contents tightly locked up in the stomach where they belong. No one knows quite why, but low stomach acid production is almost always associated with reflux, GERD and heartburn. A healthy stomach produces tons of acid & keeps it tightly contained w/i the stomach. Food allergies & intolerances weaken the lower esophageal valve, but no one knows why. It just does. There are only a couple known conditions that actually cause excess stomach acid production (Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome & duodenal ulcer), but these are rare. (Gastric ulcers are actually associated with LOW stomach acid production.) When food allergies/intolerances are removed & acidity corrected, the stomach's abililty to keep it's contents from refluxing improves. Some people regain their ability to produce adequate stomach acid. Some do not. Age can be a factor. The older we get, the less stomach acid we produce. That's why grown ups as a rule have more heartburn & gas than kids. It's because we produce less stomach acid, not more. My naturopath told me that it is very uncommon to restore complete gastric function once it's lost, but it's possible to improve it. He predicted that I will probably need HCl for the rest of my life. (I hope he's wrong!) I hope you are successful with replacing stomach acid. If it is not satisfactory at first, it is probably that you still have hidden food allergies/intolerances or you're taking medications that are irritating your stomach. I strongly advise getting professional help. I would never have been able to figure the whole thing out on my own. ~Valerie ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com * Send administrative questions to [log in to unmask] *