Low stomach acid - signs and symptoms

There is quite a long list of symptoms that may be related to or caused by low stomach acid. Just because you have these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean low stomach acid is the issue.  Some of these symptoms can be caused by other factors. But it is worth investigating and considering or discussing with your health practitioner to see what they think.

This is not an exhaustive list but some of the most common acid reflux and GERD symptoms include the following.

Symptoms that may mean you have low stomach acid:

• Heartburn
• Waking up in the middle of the night feeling like you’re choking or coughing
• Dry mouth
• Bad breath
• Regurgitation of acidic foods
• Bloating after meals and during bouts of symptoms
• Nausea
• Belching, gassiness, burping and flatulence after meals
• Increased discomfort when bending over or lying down
• Hoarseness upon waking or throughout the day
• Chronic throat irritation, soreness and dryness
• Hiccups that are difficult to stop
• Bitter taste in your mouth, periodically or (for some people) throughout the day (some people taste regurgitated food or sour liquid at the back of their mouths/throats)
• Gum irritation, including tenderness and bleeding
• Bloody vomiting (possible sign of damage in the lining of the oesophagus)
• Black stools
• Difficulty swallowing (a possible sign of narrowing oesophagus)
• Unexpected weight loss
• Food intolerances

Many of these symptoms are downstream effects where the root cause can be traced back to low stomach acid or issues with digestive function.  Over time they can build up as one symptom can lead to another and so on. Everything in the body is designed to work in sync. So one thing goes out of balance there is a kind of knock on effect on many other systems in the body.

Unfortunately, it’s not always as simple as just rectifying the stomach acid levels, as once people start to experience reflux this can cause very distressing painful symptoms. It needs a kind of targeted approach working on many different areas with different strategies and specific supplements. I will put together a top ten list to help you get started so look out for this.