Symptoms, Causes, and Cures for Weak Stomach Acid

Hydrochloric acid plays an essential role in healthy digestion and disease prevention

Many efforts to treat reflux do more harm than good because the root of the problem is misdiagnosed. CHAjAMP/Shutterstock

People often talk about “acid stomach” being a bad thing. To tame a burning belly, they might drink milk or chug Pepto-Bismol and blame the fiery feeling on too much stomach acid.

But rather than needing to decrease the amount of hydrochloric acid (HCl) in the stomach, many people actually need to increase it. It turns out that HCl is a potent sterilizer of all kinds of contaminants due to its highly acidic pH. Outside your body, HCl is actually potent enough to burn a hole in your carpet!

HCl’s Role in the Body

HCl is your body’s front line of defense against hostile gas-producing bacteria and parasites, so low levels of the acid make us more susceptible to infection from salmonella and other bugs in food and water.