Many people don’t know that acid exists in the human body and the food we eat solely depends on the acid for effective digestion to take place in the stomach. The stomach has parietal cells that produce hydrochloric acid within its walls. Changing the level of stomach alkalinity or acidity have a range of complexities related to it, and this can be justified by ultimate real-life experiences from patients who have experienced the situation.
This acid helps in the neutralization of harmful organisms that may be contained in the food we take. This makes it easier for other digestive juices in other parts of the stomach (Hatlebakk et al., 2016). Hydrochloric acid helps in the breakdown of food substances for the body to fully utilize them. One may, however, ask why the acid does not burn our stomach but the answer is because the stomach walls have linings of alkaline mucus which protects it from hydrochloric acid. Despite this, there are times when the acid level in the stomach goes higher than average, that it is to mean the Ph level goes below the normal. The low acid level in the stomach is associated with heartburns and as well acid reflux (Zhang et al., 2015). The low acid in the stomach makes food to take much longer time to get digested, and this may make it be forced back to one’s esophageal sphincter. This creates a burning sensation which is almost same as acid reflux. When such an occurrence occurs, it is advisable that we take proton pump inhibitors since they reduce the levels of acid in the stomach and that is what causes the bringing sensation we feel when food comes back to the esophagus.
On the other hand, raising acid levels especially beyond the limit may as well cause complexity when the level of acid goes lower than normal (Hatlebakk et al., 2016). Neutralization of stomach acid especially when it goes beyond the required level leads to a vicious cycle of associated digestive problems. The problems may include vitamins and minerals malabsorption, digestion problem and even food allergies. A term hypochlorhydria is used to describe low levels of stomach acid. In normal circumstances, low level of acids in the stomach is caused by lack of balance diet, infections especially bacterial ones, stress, proton pump inhibitors which are used to reduce acidity level and lastly abuse of antacid (Savarino et al., 2016). Most people associate heartburns to high levels of acid in the stomach. Contrary to their opinion, it is the opposite which is true. Heartburn is usually associated with low levels of acid in the stomach. Heartburn is the burning sensation felt in the chest especially when acid is regurgitated back to the esophagus. It is a problem associated with low levels of acid in the stomach (Savarino et al., 2016). It is caused by acid reflux in that acid reflux is responsible for ensuring that after the food passes to the stomach, the sphincter muscles of the esophagus are tightened to ensure that nothing passes back. The problem comes when the sphincter muscles are weakened and allows acid from the stomach to pass back to the esophagus. It is therefore advisable to see a doctor whenever you experience heartburn since it may be caused by hypochlorhydria which as defined earlier is lack of enough acid in the stomach or hyperchlorhydria which is defined as the presence of excess acid in the stomach, that is low stomach acid.
In conclusion, it is advisable that whenever you feel heartburn, you see a medical practitioner for assistance since self-treatment may make things worse (Zhang et al., 2015). You may decide to take a certain medicine with a purpose of getting yourself, but in the end, you end up messing the situation and getting even complicated. If it is self-treatment then better be in a position to determine if it is low acid level or high since both to some extent exhibit same signs.
References
Hatlebakk, J. G., Zerbib, F., des Varannes, S. B., Attwood, S. E., Ell, C., Fiocca, R., … & Lundell, L. R. (2016). Gastroesophageal acid reflux control five years after antireflux surgery, compared with long-term esomeprazole therapy. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 14(5), 678-685.
Savarino, E., Marabotto, E., Furnari, M., Zentilin, P., De Bortoli, N., Marchi, S., … & Savarino, V. (2016). OC. 07.1 REFRACTORY PATIENTS WITH NON-ACID REFLUX DISEASE AND THOSE WITH EROSIVE AND NON-EROSIVE REFLUX DISEASE HAVE SIMILAR RESPONSE TO ANTI-REFLUX SURGICAL THERAPY. Digestive and Liver Disease, 48, e95.
Zhang, N., Ma, L., Sun, X., Yang, B., Wang, X., Clarke, J. O., … & Chen, J. (2015). Mo1125 Quantitative Assessment of Acid Reflux and Its Clinical Significance. Gastroenterology, 148(4), S-613.
