Slight acid stomach early on what to take/do?

[LexieA]

I have just started noticing some acid in my stomach along with slightly bad feelings, like super early signs of a food reaction/headache. I've been eating bananas lately which I couldn't do at ALL before and that may be what's triggered it. Too much sugar.

What are actions other people might take when feeling this. For example, I could totally fast and drink just water or weak herbal tea until it all gets out of my stomach and everything settles down. Or I could eat something not hard to digest but that will mix with and push stuff through my stomach. I have to be very careful though if I already have acid in there and it's imbalanced. It would have to be something really bland or diluted, like thin vegetable broth or something. I don't use antacids. Other things I'm trying are taking a warm bath for a short time and walking around gently and stretching a little. Trying to rest my mind. (Hard to do because I'll start panicking. )

I mainly wonder about either fasting from food for maybe 8-12 hours or going the other way and having some food to try and get this out of my system.

 

[Wheatwacked]

Alka Selzer. The combination of aspirin and bicarbonate takes about 15 minutes or so to calm my gut. Followed by whatever food I tolerate. Cream of Rice is a good choice. Mung bean glass noodles have a low glycemic index and is great in chicken soup. I use No Salt Chicken Broth and add Tamari (no wheat soy sauce), a sheet of Sushi seaweed (iodine for healing) dipped in the soup then cut up, mushrooms, scallions, parsley, etc. thin sliced, mung bean noodles, 3 ounces or so of a protein like shrimp or chicken, and an egg poached in the soup for my evening meal. Been eating it a while, haven't got sick once.

[Ennis-TX]

Got a cold this week end, threw my gut in a wack. been eating nothing but nut meal porridge for the past few days. Base is 2 cups liquid/nutmilk, 2 heaping tbsp coconut flour 2 tbsp almond flour/butter and sometimes add in a tbsp of ground seeds. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly and it thickens up. I sometimes add in additional nutritional yeast and egg white stirring til it thickens up. You can go savory or sweet with it......I use this as I can not handle carbs/sugars. I sometimes water it down with a extra 2 cups water.

[Wheatwacked]

A handful of chickpeas or some hummas

[LexieA]

4 hours ago, Wheatwacked said:

Alka Selzer. The combination of aspirin and bicarbonate takes about 15 minutes or so to calm my gut. Followed by whatever food I tolerate. Cream of Rice is a good choice. Mung bean glass noodles have a low glycemic index and is great in chicken soup. I use No Salt Chicken Broth and add Tamari (no wheat soy sauce), a sheet of Sushi seaweed (iodine for healing) dipped in the soup then cut up, mushrooms, scallions, parsley, etc. thin sliced, mung bean noodles, 3 ounces or so of a protein like shrimp or chicken, and an egg poached in the soup for my evening meal. Been eating it a while, haven't got sick once.

I could get some Alka Selzer. I haven't had any for awhile but it's pretty mild. Cream of rice sounds really nice, I forgot about that. All of the other things sound great too, but I'd probably have to wait a few days to have shrimp or chicken. But I could make it with just broth and then add the other bits the next day. The egg poached in soup sounds amazing for some reason. Thank you.

By the way when I've asked around here for glass noodles before everyone looks at me like I'm crazy. Even at Whole Foods they have no idea what I'm talking about. I think I'll just buy them online. I don't know why they are so mysterious around here.

 

[LexieA]

4 hours ago, Ennis_TX said:

Got a cold this week end, threw my gut in a wack. been eating nothing but nut meal porridge for the past few days. Base is 2 cups liquid/nutmilk, 2 heaping tbsp coconut flour 2 tbsp almond flour/butter and sometimes add in a tbsp of ground seeds. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly and it thickens up. I sometimes add in additional nutritional yeast and egg white stirring til it thickens up. You can go savory or sweet with it......I use this as I can not handle carbs/sugars. I sometimes water it down with a extra 2 cups water.

Ennis that sounds incredibly good. I'd have to experiment. I haven't tried nutritional yeast. I've been scared of it mainly because I don't understand yeast except in baking. It all sounds super wholesome though. This digests pretty well then? For some reason this sounds like it could be a Native American dish. I'd like to try it sometime.

[LexieA]

1 hour ago, Wheatwacked said:

A handful of chickpeas or some hummas

Hummus is a great idea too. I'd have to just have a little bit at a time. I have none of these things here at the moment, lol. But unfortunately this still happens kind of a lot where I get this acid and never know what to do because most of my food is raw or cooked veg or fruit and that doesn't sound very nice when my stomach is not happy. So I'll get all of these things in my next shopping to have on stand-by.

Thanks so much.

[Ennis-TX]

49 minutes ago, LexieA said:

Ennis that sounds incredibly good. I'd have to experiment. I haven't tried nutritional yeast. I've been scared of it mainly because I don't understand yeast except in baking. It all sounds super wholesome though. This digests pretty well then? For some reason this sounds like it could be a Native American dish. I'd like to try it sometime.

Nutritional Yeast is something completely different....stick to KAL brand or BRAGGS brand they are safe. It is a inactive yeast and is a super food chock full of all kinds of vitamins/minerals. Has a deep nutty/cheesy flavor. I use it to make vegan cheese sauces, vegan cheese, seasonings ,etc. Sweetener and vanilla and it taste a bit like cream cheese....I just love the deep nutty flavor.....I have 2-3tbsp of it a meal in a side, dip, or sauce to maintain certain nutrients. You can get a HUGE 22oz container of it on amazon for $16 Go ahead and look it up then look at the nutritional profile for it....you will see why I call it a powerhouse food. Amusingly other companies make some epic stuff with it like Rythem Foods uses to on their kale chips....wish btw make a great garnish crushed over or mixed in scrambled eggs.

[LexieA]

Ennis, to change the subject, have you ever thought of writing a cookbook? I'm serious.

Okay, I'm gonna start with a wee little container of nutritional yeast first, then work my way up to the huge container, haha. I'll give it a try though. I'm going to try plugging it in to cronometer and see how it would change my nutrients. I need them, believe me.

[Wheatwacked]

Hokan Bean Thread Cellophane noodles. also called Saifun. Publix supermarket has it on the Ethnic food aisle bottom shelf below the Tamari, with the other aisian noodles.

[Ennis-TX]

21 minutes ago, Wheatwacked said:

Hokan Bean Thread Cellophane noodles. also called Saifun. Publix supermarket has it on the Ethnic food aisle bottom shelf below the Tamari, with the other aisian noodles.

Two options for online noodles that are lower carb, the cellophane noodles as suggested but I really do swear by Miracle Noodles which are No to low carb. They have and adjustment phase...they are pure fiber noodles. They can cause issues if your not used to them, or if you have bad gut bacteria. But they have enabled me to enjoy pasta, rice, and noodle dishes without issues....>.< I always keep their MRE meals in my fridge for when I got to eat on the go. But anyway for a lighter easier ramen, or noodle soup they are also great, Good for pasta, fried rice, and risottos also without the heavy feeling.  I suggest a sampler pack to get a feeling for each before doing a case purchase. Also keep a eye on them for sales. I normally nab a case when it goes on huge sale every few months. PS you HAVE to rince and preboil, then rinse again to give them a neutral taste.

Open Original Shared Link
Open Original Shared Link
 

[Wheatwacked]

Same stuff, different brand.  Ingredients Mung Bean Starch. Cellophane. I don't know why I thought glass. The Hokan Saifun is $2.09 for 3 noodle cakes 3.75 ounces. ingredients: mung bean flower and water. After it is cooked I snip it with scissors.

Saifun noodles are known as: Mung Bean Threads, Cellophane Noodles, Bean Threads, Silver Noodles, Jelly Noodles, Fen Szu, Sohoon or Tanghoon

[plumbago]

On 1/15/2018 at 1:45 PM, LexieA said:

I have just started noticing some acid in my stomach along with slightly bad feelings, like super early signs of a food reaction/headache. I've been eating bananas lately which I couldn't do at ALL before and that may be what's triggered it. Too much sugar.

What are actions other people might take when feeling this. For example, I could totally fast and drink just water or weak herbal tea until it all gets out of my stomach and everything settles down. Or I could eat something not hard to digest but that will mix with and push stuff through my stomach. I have to be very careful though if I already have acid in there and it's imbalanced. It would have to be something really bland or diluted, like thin vegetable broth or something. I don't use antacids. Other things I'm trying are taking a warm bath for a short time and walking around gently and stretching a little. Trying to rest my mind. (Hard to do because I'll start panicking. )

I mainly wonder about either fasting from food for maybe 8-12 hours or going the other way and having some food to try and get this out of my system.

 

Personally, I would be panicking if my stomach acid were NOT a whole lot more than just “slightly acidic.” You want it to be VERY acidic! The pH of gastric juices is among the most acidic thing there is, and it should be. So there may be something I’m not understanding. Does your stomach feel like it’s burning? Do you have reflux?

I have never taken an antacid, and I caution against their overuse.

Whatever you do, a healthy amount of water should help, I would think.

[Posterboy]

On 1/17/2018 at 1:46 PM, plumbago said:

Personally, I would be panicking if my stomach acid were NOT a whole lot more than just “slightly acidic.” You want it to be VERY acidic! The pH of gastric juices is among the most acidic thing there is, and it should be. So there may be something I’m not understanding. Does your stomach feel like it’s burning? Do you have reflux?

I have never taken an antacid, and I caution against their overuse.

Whatever you do, a healthy amount of water should help, I would think.

LexieA,

I agree with Plumbago.

On 1/17/2018 at 1:46 PM, plumbago said:

Personally, I would be panicking if my stomach acid were NOT a whole lot more than just “slightly acidic.” You want it to be VERY acidic! The pH of gastric juices is among the most acidic thing there is, and it should be. So there may be something I’m not understanding. Does your stomach feel like it’s burning? Do you have reflux?

I have never taken an antacid, and I caution against their overuse.

Whatever you do, a healthy amount of water should help, I would think.

The symptom's of low stomach acid and high stomach acid are similar so it is easy to confuse the symptom's of one as the other.

Dr. Myatt explains this well in her online article about stomach acid.

Open Original Shared Link

quoting

"But My Symptoms Feel Like Too Much Acid…"

Strong stomach acid and pepsin quickly "emulsify" fats and proteins, making them ready for the next step of digestion, passage into the small intestine. When these digestive factors are weak, food remains in the stomach for longer and it begins to ferment. Gas pressure from the fermentation can cause bloating and discomfort and can can also cause the esophageal sphincter to open, allowing stomach contents to "backwash" into the esophagus.

Even though weak stomach acid is the central cause of this, even this weak stomach acid, which has no place in the esophagus, will "burn." This burning sensation confuses many people, including doctors, who then "ASSuME" that excess acid is to blame. Too little acid, resulting in slowed digestion, and gas which creates back-pressure into the esophagus is the real cause of almost all "heartburn" and GERD."

so  you can see how they can easily be confused for each other.

you no doubt are having stomach acid issues but it is because it is too little or too much?

Timeline helps us determine which it is.

If it happens when we eat something it is already to low to  digest the food we are eating.

if eating something cause the heartburn/gerd to improve (especially meat) then your stomach acid is really too high especially if this happens between meals.

because eating something will naturally dilute/lower the stomach acid pH.

I wrote about my stomach acid being misdiagnosed on my celiac.com posterboy blog.

( have summarized most of what you need to know in this reply but the post is still there if you want to study it more for yourself.

if your not taking an antacid now then taking BetaineHCL should improve digestion.

If it does then raising your stomach acid by lowering you pH should improve your digestion.

study on the best way to take powdered stomach acid before trying this.

but I found taking 3 to 4 capsules in the beginning was easier than taking only 1 or 2 in the beginning .. .  until I could back it down to only needing one per meal or now none per meal to aid digestion.

which is what we are shooting for.  The place where our body is now producing our stomach acid naturally at a healthy level.

if you feel a "warm sensation" in your stomach you have reached a good level.

I hope this is helpful.

I only know it helped me.

*** this is not medical advice but I hope you have as a good experience with it as I did.

Usually peopledon't  have a trouble taking BetaineHCL unless they have an ulcer or already taking PPI's which are actually lowering  their stomach acid contributing to a viscous cycle of being locked into taking PPI's long term.

if PPIs are taken for more than 6 months they can be almost impossible to stop/quit because of the acid rebound people experience when trying to stop taking them cold turkey and why they recommend stepping back doses by 1/2 gradually so they don't get overwhelmed by the stomach acid your stomach is  able to produce again naturally itself (hopefully). . . if taking betaineHCL jump started your ability to produce stomach acid again. . . if not taking betaineHCL (Powdered Stomach Acid) can replace what the body is missing much like taking a hormone.

chris kresser has a good online article on this subject as well.

Open Original Shared Link

he says it well.

quoting chris kresser.

"If heartburn were caused by too much stomach acid, we’d have a bunch of teenagers popping Rolaids instead of elderly folks. But of course that’s the opposite of what we see."

**** this is not medical advice but I hope it is is helpful.

posterboy by the grace of God,

2 Timothy 2:7 "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things".

 

[LexieA]

On 1/17/2018 at 2:46 PM, plumbago said:

Personally, I would be panicking if my stomach acid were NOT a whole lot more than just “slightly acidic.” You want it to be VERY acidic! The pH of gastric juices is among the most acidic thing there is, and it should be. So there may be something I’m not understanding. Does your stomach feel like it’s burning? Do you have reflux?

I have never taken an antacid, and I caution against their overuse.

Whatever you do, a healthy amount of water should help, I would think.

I don't know, it's probably best described as a lot of bile, sometimes yellow, sometimes green (sorry) and a lot of mucus (sorry_) and when I eventually throw it up  (if it gets to that point) it's burning in my throat, so I equate it with acid. Also because of the term "antacid" I think of it as a lot of acid but I guess it's a lot of bile, mucus and I thought the extra stomach acid produced dealing with whatever food I ate.

I've done the wrong thing though because now I'm in the pain I was dreading, with swollen eyes and everything and really bad depression now and hopelessness. I keep feeling like it's all futile and too late. That however hard I try I can't figure everything out in time to be well.

[LexieA]

@PosterboyOne thing is though I never get heartburn. And this only happens when I've consumed something for consecutive days, like I had the bananas and too many nuts. But if PH has something to do with it then maybe when I'm eating more vegetables and broth that's why I usually feel much better, it's more alkaline. On a ph urine test whenever I'm feeling like this I ALWAYS have a reading towards the acidic part. When I feel better it always goes towards the alkaline level and usually in the ideal level.

Part of it started when I was under high stress in the first place. A few years ago. I couldn't eat as much/well because I was very worried about things. The realization about celiac came later but basically my world fell apart and I've fought but never felt really okay again.

Then at the worst before I knew about celiac disease I was vomitting for days. Now I can eat many more foods but it's still very touchy if I don't strictly eat vegetables, broth, lots of water and small amounts of fats and protein.

I'm scared to take anything artificial. I've only recently been able to take very small amounts of probiotics. Is there no way to repair your stomach acid without taking pills? Would going on a strict alkaline diet help?  I read everything you wrote except the link which I don't know if I can concentrate right now.

Thank you.

[LexieA]

I didn't mean my world fell apart because of celiac but because of something else. Finding out about celiac disease actually gave me hope.

[plumbago]

12 hours ago, LexieA said:

I don't know, it's probably best described as a lot of bile, sometimes yellow, sometimes green (sorry) and a lot of mucus (sorry_) and when I eventually throw it up  (if it gets to that point) it's burning in my throat, so I equate it with acid. Also because of the term "antacid" I think of it as a lot of acid but I guess it's a lot of bile, mucus and I thought the extra stomach acid produced dealing with whatever food I ate.

I've done the wrong thing though because now I'm in the pain I was dreading, with swollen eyes and everything and really bad depression now and hopelessness. I keep feeling like it's all futile and too late. That however hard I try I can't figure everything out in time to be well.

Perhaps you know that mucus is actually very alkaline. It's what protects the lining of your stomach from gastric acid. And bile, compared to gastric acid, is alkaline too. I'm sorry you're still feeling so badly, but I'm not sure why you think stomach acid is the source of your problem. I'm not saying it's not, but until you're tested....

[Posterboy]

LexieA,

This thread might help you.

You say you never have "heartburn/GERD".

You can have something called Silent Reflux.

It  could also be NERD.

some of these links are in this thread but I will post some releavent information in this reply as well.

here is a good overview of the difference in this fox news article.

Open Original Shared Link

but if your throwing up it is probably from Bile Relfux. . . . instead of acid reflux.

I actually wrote a blog post on celiac.com about these conditions.

the NYTimes article called Bile Reflux a "Shadowland" in Medicine and part of the reason for the title of the post.

here is the NYtimes article about some of the issues you are describing.

Open Original Shared Link

throwing up is actually a protective reaction.

and this normally protect us from poison's or food poisioning etc. but when our biofeedack loop is broken down like having bile in the stomach instead of the small intestine . . . it can be hard to break this cycle.

The green portion is probably the bile portion.

It is actually very caustic as Plumbago pointed out.  this would/coul scald our insides (lower GI/Small Intestines).

Normally stomach acid is neutralized by bile after it leaves the stomach . .. not while in the stomach.

I wouldn't never recommend anybody do this on purpose . .. but if you are already puking your food up then simply buy a pH test kit.

testing your food/chyme/puke (food outside the body) you will quickly get an idea of how acidic/basic your food chyme (digested food) is.

It will almost be a pH of 4.0 or more.

the paleo nurse explains this well why strong stomach acid is important to your health.

Open Original Shared Link

quoting the paleonurse.

"In the infinite wisdom of the human body, the stomach was designed to produce the acid that is necessary for proper digestion of food.  When functioning properly, the parietal cells of the stomach secrete hydrochloric acid that bring the stomach pH to a range of approximately 1.5 to 3.0"

if it is a higher pH than this you can benefit from taking BetaineHCL to restore your stomach acid to more natural level. . . especially if you are not already taking PPI's since a proton pump inhibitor is lowering stomach acid. .. . by their very ability to cut off almost all stomach acid production.

**** this is not medical advice I only know taking powdered stomach acid (BetaineHCL capsules)  helped me.

I was not barfing my meals though. . . so your experience my be different.

Maybe Ennis_tx will comment because he has some of the same symptom's/issues.

But if I was puking I think I would be curios to know what my pH really is?

And not Assume? anything at this point.

If you test your stomach pH with easy to buy pH strips you will know whether it really is high pH (low stomach acid or a little stomach acid as your describe it) or low pH (really high stomach aid) that is causing the issue's.

Once you know for sure you  will know who to go about correcting it.

Supplementing with BetaineHCL is fairly harmless . . .unless you have an ulcer.

And you will/would probably know it instantly if you take some BetaineHCL and it feels like someone is putting out a cigarette in the middle of your stomach.  It is acid burning your sore/ulcer.

thankfully eating protein/food quickly neutralizes/raises stomach acid especially when taken with a glass of water.

staying hydrated with a meal also helps improve digestion so be sure to take some water/drink like a tea or juice etc. for example if you want to the BetaineHCL to work properly.

Milk has the opposite effect.  If you feel a burning milk can coat the lining of your stomach helping to erase/ease the effect of strong acid.

And why people who eat hot **** five alarm peppers aka known as Hot heads keep milk close by if they need to dampen the fire in their stomachs from eating too many peppers. . . . and drinking water can aggravate this practice of eating the hottest peppers you can find.

I hope this is helpful.

I have rambled on long enough.

be sure to read the sickboy user in the medhelp thread of how he helped his GERD/bile reflux.

here is medhelp link for easy reference included in the "silent reflux" thread if you haven't read it yet.

Open Original Shared Link

he was suffering for 5 years and got better so don't lose hope.

It can seem very daunting but people on this board do get better.

we have used different methods but people do get better.

again this is not medical advice just things that have helped me.

good luck on your continued journey but it is not a long way back if you know the way.

2 Corinthians (KJV) 1:3,4

3) “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4) who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them (sufferer still suffering)   which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

posterboy by the grace of God,

 

 

[plumbago]

This is really a general post about alkalinity and being in the news these days.

Alkalinity is totally trendy, but I encourage people to educate themselves about this and not rely on trends. I don’t mean to suggest that I know everything there is to know about this, but, for example this site (http://www.foodenzymeinstitute.com/articles/digestion-in-the-stomach.aspx?list=bydate) states:

[Certain enzymes are] only active within the pH range of 3.0 to 5.0 and require the acid to maintain that pH. Pepsin is very specific in its action and is simply incapable of digesting food enzymes, which are very large molecules and are more than just protein.

This sites (https://www.livestrong.com/article/459954-the-acid-base-balance-in-the-digestive-system/) states

Antacids increase the pH in the stomach, which might make the enzymes in the stomach less effective.

I think the focus on alkalinity and acidity in our foods currently en vogue is a huge distraction and a big waste of time. To me, it represents the two steps backwards in the notion of progress.

I’ll end with Dr Andrew Weil — Open Original Shared Link

“Don’t waste your money. Alkaline water is being aggressively marketed for its purported health benefits. It is touted as the solution for everything from helping the body better absorb nutrients to reducing the risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and heart disease, as well as boosting energy, helping you lose weight and slowing the aging process. It is also said to be “more hydrating” than any other type of water.

Alkaline water is supposed to achieve all this by correcting the body’s pH, its acid-base balance. In fact, the human body needs absolutely no help in keeping its pH constant. “

/rant

[Whitepaw]

You mention bananas and nuts. Have you tried a low FODMAP diet?  Look up Kate Scarlata's website and Karen Frazier for good overviews, food lists, and recipes.