Low Stomach Acid: The Root Cause of My Chronic Abdominal Pain and Iron-Deficiency Anemia

Hypochlorhydria is a condition characterized by low stomach acid, specifically low hydrochloric acid (HCl). Hydrochloric acid is the strongest acid the stomach produces and is crucial for digestion and immunity.

Hyperchlorhydria is when you have too much stomach acid, also known as acid reflux or heartburn. Many times, hypochlorhydria is mistaken for acid reflux, as poor digestion caused by low stomach acid can create gas bubbles that rise into your throat and burn.

This most likely explains why my GI doctor thought I had acid reflux. It wasn’t from too much stomach acid, but from not enough.

Stomach acid is responsible for many digestive functions, including breaking down food, especially complex proteins; initiating digestion; activating digestive enzymes, which further aid in breaking down food; and absorbing nutrients.

Stomach acid is also crucial in preventing bacteria, viruses, and pathogens from food from wreaking havoc on our bodies by creating an inhospitable environment where they can’t thrive.

When you have low stomach acid, your body is unable to properly break down food and absorb nutrients. This leads to nutritional deficiencies, like iron-deficiency anemia, calcium deficiency, magnesium deficiency, B-vitamin deficiency, to name a few.

Furthermore, when you can’t digest your food properly, it has to go somewhere. And that somewhere is your digestive tract, where it ferments and can lead to small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).

And this, my friends, is what causes nutritional deficiencies that lead to iron-deficiency anemia and severe abdominal pain and bloating 🎤 🫳🏼

Most common, immediate symptoms of low stomach acid include:

• Abdominal pain 
• Bloating
• Burping
• Gas
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Undigested food in poop
• Reflux
• Heartburn
• Indigestion
• Nutritional deficiencies

Over time, severe nutritional deficiencies caused by low stomach acid can lead to:

• Intestinal infections
• Brittle nails
• Hair loss
• Paleness
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Weakness
• Numbness or tingling in hands or feet
• Memory loss

As you can see, a lot of these symptoms of low stomach acid overlap with the symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia. Which also happen to just overlap with a lot of different health conditions.

In hindsight, all of the signs point back to me having low stomach acid.

Abdominal pain. Bloating. Gas. Diarrhea. Extreme fatigue. SIBO. Several nutritional deficiencies, including iron-deficiency anemia.

I’m just grateful I finally figured it out.

Okay, so what causes low stomach acid?

• Atrophic gastritis, the result of chronic inflammation in the stomach. This is the most common cause of low stomach acid, where the cells that secrete stomach juices atrophy (weaken) and stop working. Causes include bacterial infections, autoimmune disease, and alcoholism.
• H pylori infection, a common bacterial infection that eventually decreases stomach acid, which can eventually result in the bacteria taking over since there’s not enough stomach acid to ward it off.
• Acid-reducing medications, such as antacids, H2 receptor blockers, and proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), as they were originally intended for short-term use. Long-term use can eventually cause the acid-secreting glands to stop working.
• Chronic stress. There is research to suggest chronic stress can inhibit the secretion of stomach acid.
• Zinc deficiency, as zinc is necessary for the production of stomach acid.
• Age. People 65 and older are more likely to have low stomach acid.
• Stomach surgery, particularly gastric bypass, can reduce stomach acid production.

As far as I’m aware, chronic stress stemming from my childhood and sticking with me through adulthood is the root cause of my low stomach acid. #adversechildhoodexperiences

I think food sensitivities may also contribute to low stomach acid production, just based on my own experience, but I haven’t found any conclusive research to prove that so take it with a grain of salt.

Regardless, I have found that no matter what I eat or how stressed out I am, taking a stomach acid supplement (Betaine HCl) before I eat either breakfast or lunch (if I wait until dinner, everything builds up and ends in disaster) almost always prevents any abdominal pain and bloating later in the evening.

These are all supplement brands I know and trust, and the seller on Amazon is also trusted.

On the rare occasion I experience gut pain these days, I rub a couple drops of Digize essential oil on my abdomen and focus on taking deep breaths. I usually notice relief within an hour, rather than the next morning.

How to test for low stomach acid

I’m going to state the obvious here, which is to speak with your health care provider.

If they don’t listen to your concerns about possibly having low stomach acid, then find someone who will. I know it’s a lot of work having to find new doctors, but it’s worth it to have someone who listens to you.

It is your health after all, not theirs.

It’s also important to get to the bottom of why you have low stomach acid in the first place. If there’s an h. pylori bacterial infection running rampant, you need to get that fixed as soon as possible so it doesn’t cause more issues. And if your low stomach acid led to SIBO, you should probably definitely get that resolved as well.

With all that being said, my naturopath had me do a Betaine HCl “challenge” to determine if I had low stomach acid.

Essentially, you take 1 betaine HCl capsule (650 mg) prior to your largest meal. If you feel burning with one capsule, you most likely do not have low stomach acid. If you do not feel a burning sensation with one capsule, you will repeat this again the following day with 2 capsules, and so on until you feel a burning sensation.

As an example, if you start feeling a burning sensation after 3 capsules, then moving forward, you will take 2 capsules before your largest meal of the day to increase your stomach acid.

Because I am not a doctor, I do not recommend taking this supplement without the guidance of a health care provider, as they need to help you manage it.

And with that, I leave you with hopefully a little hope that blossoms into reality.