Can someone please tell me what we can take as a natural PPI alternative? What helps with stomach acid secretion?
Also which vitamins and minerals should hypothyroid people should be taking in order to help with proper digestion. I struggle with fat digestion as well(sluggish liver/gallbladder).
The symptoms of too much and too little stomach acid are so similar that it is hard to tell them apart. Hypo folks tend to have too little stomach acid. To help with this diluted apple cider vinegar is recommended.
If you're trying to find a natural alternative to PPIs then you are looking in the wrong direction.
PPIs shut off most stomach acid secretion.
An extremely common symptom of hypothyroidism is low stomach acid.
A hypothyroid person who takes PPIs probably ends up with zero stomach acid.
Most people with low stomach acid feel a lot better when they actually increase the acidity of their stomach, rather than taking antacids and/or PPIs to reduce it. People do this in various ways.
1) Taking Betaine Hydrochloride (Betaine HCL) + Pespin.
2) Drinking/sipping Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in water just before and during meals.
3) Some people use lemon juice rather than ACV, or use a combination of lemon juice and ACV. Search the forum for info on ACV.
4) Note that some people can't avoid PPIs altogether e.g. if people are taking regular NSAIDs for pain relief, or are being treated for gastric/peptic/duodenal ulcers. I took a lot of ibuprofen (an NSAID) in my 20s and ended up with a duodenal ulcer. If I'd taken them with PPIs I would probably have avoided the problem.
Understanding how stomach acid works, how the gut works, and how digestion works is a huge subject, impossible to put into a single post. If you really want to understand it then I can recommend the following links - they are worth the effort to understand what is going wrong with your gut :
chriskresser.com/what-every...
chriskresser.com/the-hidden...
chriskresser.com/more-evide...
chriskresser.com/how-your-a...
chriskresser.com/how-your-a...
chriskresser.com/get-rid-of...
In the above series of articles the author blames various things for acid reflux and other related problems, but doesn't mention the thyroid specifically. He mentions that in this article :
chriskresser.com/the-thyroi...
Hope this helps.
Thank you for your reply. I actually read somewhere on this site about vitamins and mineral deficiencies that cause low stomach acid and how we can correct digestive issues through natural approach. Maybe it saw Thamine? I'm eating healthy but still struggling so I think i need some extra support with supplements and that's why I asked this question.
If you want to find out how to increase your stomach acid, then searching for "nutrients which increase stomach acid" will bring up loads of articles.
But whatever suggestions come up they aren't substitiutes for PPIs.
I forgot to mention...
Stomach acid is actually Hydrochloric Acid.
One of the essential ingredients the body needs for making stomach acid is salt - sodium chloride. If you are eating a low salt diet that will sabotage your stomach acid production.
I'm not avoiding salt but I'm prone to high BP. I was advised to add half teaspoon of salt to my drinking water. After doing that I felt as if my soles of both feet were on fire. I use pink himalayan salt only.
Do you know how much cider vinegar is recommended?...at least to start with!
Start with a teaspoon in a glass of water. Depending on your reaction to it, and what benefits you get (if any) you can raise that up to a total of 1 - 2 tablespoons of ACV in water if you need to, but only increase ACV in amounts of half - 1 teaspoon at a time until you find how much you need.
Start sipping the ACV and water through a straw to avoid contact with your teeth as much as possible just before you start a meal and continue sipping it throughout the meal.
Acid liquids and food soften up tooth enamel, but saliva "washes" the acid off teeth if given the chance, and the enamel will harden up again. To avoid stripping the enamel off teeth with ACV, get into the following routine :
1) After you've finished your meal rinse and spit a few times with plain water to neutralise any acid.
2) An hour after you've eaten you can clean your teeth if you want to or think you need to.
Hi. In case you haven't already found it, here is a link to Micki Rose's stomach acid page. She has an acids and enzymes fact sheet which may give you some pointers (it will be linked off one of the articles). purehealthclinic.co.uk/?s=s.... Best wishes
Fluctuating digestive sypmtoms 
HCL & Pepsin / Digestive Enzymes reaction
Help please with chronic digestion issues.
Struggling to swallow and digest food.
