What does stomach acidity do?

• Activates the gastric enzyme — pepsinogen, necessary for the digestion and breakdown of proteins
• Digests and breaks down food
• Kills microbes that enter the stomach with food
• Hydrochloric acid and enzymes help break down food and turn it into a liquid state. The amount of hydrochloric acid produced is regulated by the nervous system and hormones that are produced in the walls of the stomach and duodenum. Excessive amounts or low levels of hydrochloric acid in gastric juice can cause complications and problems with digestion

Low acidity

• Disrupts protein digestion, since some enzymes remain inactive
• Insufficiently breaks down nutrients, which causes fermentation and rotting of food in the intestines
• Causes bloating, heaviness in the stomach, a feeling of fullness, bad taste and smell in the mouth, belching, flatulence, constipation
• Increases the risk of developing infections, atrophy, stomach cancer, excessive bacterial growth in the stomach and small intestine, frequent fungal diseases
• Worsens the digestion of food and the absorption of nutrients, the body does not receive the necessary nutrition and energy

Symptoms of low acidity

Bloating, heaviness in the stomach, feeling of fullness, bad taste and smell in the mouth, rotten belching, heartburn, flatulence, constipation, rumbling in the stomach.