Acid guts

[MrsSAcky]

The title says it all I think.... anyone suffer with acidy guts? Rolling gurgling belly with an acidic ache? It’s driving me nuts 🙈 and I’m trying to pinpoint its cause....

Help? Advice? Thanks x

[Cooper27]

Symptoms can be the same for high stomach acid and low stomach acid, so you need to work out which it is.

First thing in the morning, dissolve 1tsp of bicarb in about 100ml of water, down it. If stomach acid is high, you will belch quite a lot within 3 minutes, if low, you will barely belch at all. Repeat over 3 days to be sure of results.

If low, drink 1tbsp of apple cider vinegar diluted in 100ml of water before meals.

Should clarify; when I say first thing, I mean before eating or drinking anything.

[MrsSAcky in reply to Cooper27]

I’ve just read about the bicarb test... I’ll def give it a go, thank you!

[humanbean in reply to MrsSAcky]

Although vinegar and water can be helpful, I would suggest that 1 tablespoon of vinegar in water is rather a high dose to start with. I think starting with 1 teaspoon and working up to a tablespoon would be a good idea, depending on how you react to the extra acid.

You should also use a straw to drink the vinegar + water to protect your teeth from the acid as much as possible. After eating, rinse out your mouth with lots of plain water.

Don't clean your teeth immediately after eating. Acid softens tooth enamel, but it will harden up again once the mouth returns to normal. If you clean your teeth while your enamel is softer than normal you will just remove your enamel, given time.

There is another option which doesn't threaten your teeth - Betaine HCl which is taken in capsules, but you need to know how to use it properly. Search the forum for the word Betaine and see what comes up.

You might find this thread helpful :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[MrsSAcky in reply to humanbean]

Thank you, I’ll have a look at the thread

[MrsSAcky]

Wow really!! My saucepans are stainless steel but my wok is Tefal Teflon coated 🙈 .... interesting tho, especially as I am hypothyroid

[Marz]

When stomach acid is low - proteins do not break down well. Food needs good acid levels for digestion so that foods in the stomach are broken down into smaller molecules before leaving the stomach - and for the onward journey into the Duodenum and beyond.

So when food remains in the stomach longer - due to low acid - it begins to ferment and it is the upward movement of the fermentation that can cause indigestion and of course the symptoms you are experiencing.

Are you gluten free ?

[MrsSAcky in reply to Marz]

Not gluten free, but have cut back the sliced bread a lot tbh.... lots of meat yesterday with bread 🙈🙈 so in one respect I’ve just answered it myself...

But I can have it with anything tbh, it’s a permanent feeling of yak in my intestines 😞

I have an auntie that suffers v similar, and she’s got a gall stone and is having her gall bladder out in the next couple of months

[Marz in reply to MrsSAcky]

Acid is produced in the stomach - so if your problem is beyond the stomach and in the intestines then it is possibly inflammation. So it would be a good idea to look at what you are eating. Gluten can cause inflammation. Meat can also be difficult to digest - certainly takes longer.