Hitting the #2 spot on the list for America’s Top Selling Pharmaceuticals is the most popular and widely prescribed medication for indigestion. Although the stomach acid reducers seem to be the ideal solution for gastrointestinal distress, these medications may not be as effective as intended for many people. The reason: they impair the normal processes of digestion.
It seems counterintuitive that we would want to suppress the one major source of acid that our body secretes, like somehow the divine creator who made us all biologically perfect somehow got this one thing wrong. In actuality, it may not be that an excess of stomach acid is responsible for symptoms of indigestion, but rather a lack of acid.
Stomach acid, called hydrochloric acid (or HCl with a lower case “L,” the chemical abbreviation for hydrogen chloride) is secreted in gastric juices from parietal cells in the stomach, which is triggered by the smell and presence of food. Along with digestive enzymes, HCl is a component of the digestion process that plays a variety of integral roles, including:
• Sterilizing food and water and serving as the body’s most powerful defense against microbes and pathogens (bacteria and parasites) entering the body through the mouth.
• Activating enzymes in the stomach needed for the proper break-down of protein.
• Absorbing calcium carbonate.
• Turning off gastric secretions in the stomach when entering the small intestine.
• Signaling the release of bicarbonate from the pancreas to stabilize the pH of the intestinal contents.
• Softening the food mass for proper nutrients assimilation and easy elimination.
Without an adequate amount of HCl, all the above digestive functions are greatly compromised. Along with poor diet choices, low stomach acid secretion is often the primary reason for digestive disorders, contrary to popular belief.
Enzyme and HCl inadequacies can result with increasing age, a lack of live foods in the diet, diets high in refined and overly processed foods, and medications. The good news is that with a healthy diet, digestive enzyme formulas that include betaine HCl can work together to naturally support healthy digestion – so you just might not need a pill or chewable that suppresses stomach acid after all.
Want to be sure that your digestive enzyme formula contains HCl? Be sure to check out Genesis Today’s new GenEssentials™ Digestion, which can be purchased at New Dawn Natural Foods, 3536 Arsenal St., 314-772-9110.