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Too much or too little stomach acid?

Trust your gut again—with a smart approach

Who hasn’t experienced it? Your belly rumbles, your stomach hurts, and your intestines send unmistakable signals! Complaints that each of us experiences from time to time—unfortunately, for many of us, gastrointestinal problems have become an everyday occurrence. The symptoms are varied, and the number of people affected is alarming. Around 20 million Germans suffer from chronic complaints and also feel severely restricted in their quality of life. Reason enough for us to take a closer look at the causes and introduce you to natural treatment approaches and tips.

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Stomach acid – an important digestive aid for our stomach

What exactly is stomach acid? Various cells in the gastric mucosa produce two to three liters of digestive fluid every day, known as gastric juice. This consists of different components: among other things, water, mucus substances, digestive enzymes, the so-called intrinsic factor (which is important for the absorption of vitamin B12), bicarbonate, and also hydrochloric acid—in other words, stomach acid.

Our food enters the stomach chopped up and mixed with saliva—well or only slightly pre-chewed, depending on our chewing habits. But this is nowhere near enough preparation for the food components to be optimally broken down and utilized in the further digestive process. And that’s where aggressive stomach acid comes into play: it becomes active as soon as ingested food enters the stomach, but also as soon as we smell a meal or even just think about it.

In response to these stimuli, our parietal cells—special glandular cells of the gastric mucosa—produce hydrochloric acid and bicarbonate. To prevent the aggressive stomach acid from attacking the stomach itself, there is another important protective mechanism: the gastric mucosa. The bicarbonate is also stored in the mucosa; it neutralizes the hydrochloric acid and thus also protects the gastric mucosa.

Stomach acid breaks food down into its individual components and prepares it optimally for further digestion. In the process, important substances are released from food, for example iron, calcium, and vitamins such as vitamin B12.

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At the same time, stomach acid activates the digestive enzymes contained in gastric juice, which then further process the chyme. But stomach acid has another task as well: it kills microorganisms and bacteria contained in food. Most pathogens cannot survive such an acidic environment.

You can already see: our digestion is a perfectly coordinated system. Like a large machine—if one cog in the gears gets stuck, the whole mechanism falters. Or put another way: if our food leaves the stomach poorly pre-digested, this puts a strain on all the other digestive organs, from the intestines to the pancreas and the liver. In some cases, with considerable consequences for our health.

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When your stomach is acidic: causes and symptoms of excess acidity

The production of too much stomach acid can have various causes: constant stress and hectic pace, an unhealthy diet, little exercise, nutrient-poor and pesticide-contaminated foods, consumption of alcohol and nicotine, taking medication, but also inflammation of the gastric mucosa caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Put the other way around, with our modern lifestyle it is almost a challenge not to become overly acidic.

If the blood is at risk of becoming too acidic, a kind of emergency management takes place: the parietal cells are called upon to produce alkaline bicarbonate in order to bring the body back into an acid-base balance. Since the parietal cells can only ever produce bicarbonate and hydrochloric acid—that is, stomach acid—at the same time, a true vicious cycle begins. Our body permanently produces too much stomach acid.

Short-term excess acidity in the stomach is usually not a major problem. However, with a permanent excess of stomach acid, the protective function of the gastric mucosa eventually declines, leading to what is known as hyperacidity—the stomach becomes overly acidic.

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We then notice this through various complaints:

  • Heartburn (when stomach acid does not stay in the stomach but enters the esophagus)
  • Acid reflux
  • Feeling of fullness, loss of appetite
  • Nausea, vomiting
  • Bad breath
  • Stomach pain or stomach discomfort
  • Damage to the gastric mucosa such as inflammation or ulcers
  • Duodenal ulcer

But at some point, this mechanism also tips over. Due to the constant strain, the parietal cells become exhausted and block, meaning they refuse to produce. The result: too little stomach acid is formed in the stomach. And this too can have devastating effects on our health.

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The underestimated problem:
\nfrom excess acidity to stomach acid deficiency

Did you know that 80 percent of all Europeans have too little stomach acid? A deficiency of stomach acid can therefore be the consequence of excess acidity, but it can also be caused by other factors: long-term use of so-called proton pump inhibitors, i.e. stomach-acid-inhibiting medications; chronic type A gastritis, in which the immune system attacks the parietal cells; or simply increasing age, as stomach acid production decreases over time.

Due to a lack of stomach acid, food can no longer be properly broken down in the stomach. This primarily affects protein molecules, which are then no longer sufficiently broken down. In the intestine, the impaired protein digestion leads to a fermentation process in which nitrogen and toxic ammonia are formed. This cellular toxin not only damages the sensitive intestinal environment, causing the “good” intestinal bacteria to die off due to the alkaline milieu; it can also pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, travel to the liver, and ultimately even reach the brain.

A lack of stomach acid often also leads to severe deficiency symptoms, for example a vitamin B12 deficiency, which in turn can result in iron deficiency and anemia.

You can see that none of this sounds good—and certainly not healthy. But how does a stomach acid deficiency make itself known? Unfortunately, a lack of stomach acid and the associated nutrient deficiency often lead to diffuse, rather general complaints that we do not even associate with an imbalance in the stomach:

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What can you do about it?

First and foremost, you should change your lifestyle as quickly as possible. Even if it’s difficult fo" }, "media": { "images": [ { "url": "https://drreinwald.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/artikel-header-magensaeure-regulation.jpg", "alt": "", "type": "featured", "id": 1149 } ], "featured_image": { "url": "https://drreinwald.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/artikel-header-magensaeure-regulation.jpg", "alt": "" } }, "ai_context": { "faq": { "type": "summary", "source": "generated", "visible": false, "confidence": "high", "purpose": [ "semantic_comprehension", "entity_disambiguation", "answer_generation" ] }, "semantic_qa": { "type": "summary", "source": "generated", "visible": false, "confidence": "low", "quality_score": 0, "purpose": [ "semantic_comprehension", "entity_disambiguation", "answer_generation" ], "items": [ { "answer": "Stomach acid is hydrochloric acid produced in gastric juice. It helps break down food, activates digestive enzymes, supports nutrient absorption and kills many harmful microorganisms.", "question": "What is stomach acid and why is it important?" }, { "answer": "Common signs include heartburn, acid reflux, nausea, bad breath, stomach pain, loss of appetite, a feeling of fullness and irritation of the gastric mucosa.", "question": "What are common symptoms of too much stomach acid?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Long-term overproduction can strain the parietal cells that produce stomach acid. Over time, these cells may become exhausted, resulting in reduced stomach acid production.", "question": "Can too much stomach acid lead to too little stomach acid?" }, { "answer": "Too little stomach acid may cause bloating, diarrhea, foul-smelling gas or stools, bad breath, disrupted intestinal flora, fatigue, nutrient deficiencies and increased susceptibility to infections.", "question": "What are symptoms of too little stomach acid?" }, { "answer": "Low stomach acid can impair the breakdown of proteins and reduce the release and absorption of nutrients such as vitamin B12, iron and calcium, potentially contributing to deficiencies.", "question": "How does low stomach acid affect nutrient absorption?" }, { "answer": "Helpful habits include eating fresh balanced meals, chewing thoroughly, drinking enough water, reducing alcohol and nicotine, managing stress, exercising regularly and eating more consciously.", "question": "What lifestyle habits can support healthy stomach acid balance?" }, { "answer": "Proton pump inhibitors may relieve symptoms short term, but the article warns they do not address root causes and may further disrupt stomach acid balance if used long term.", "question": "Should proton pump inhibitors be used for stomach acid problems?" } ] } }, "faq_detection": { "status": "none", "visible": false, "source": "", "source_label": "", "quality_score": 0, "item_count": 0 }, "related": [ { "title": "Natural Remedies – There Is an Herb for Every Illness", "url": "https://drreinwald.com/en/natural-remedies-there-is-an-herb-for-every-illness/", "type": "post" }, { "title": "The Importance of Vitamin Intake for Human Nutrition, Fitness, and Health", "url": "https://drreinwald.com/en/the-importance-of-vitamin-intake-for-human-nutrition-fitness-and-health/", "type": "post" }, { "title": "Camu Camu – the little vitamin C bomb from South America", "url": "https://drreinwald.com/en/camu-camu-the-little-vitamin-c-bomb-from-south-america/", "type": "post" }, { "title": "Silent Inflammation: The Underestimated Danger in Our Body", "url": "https://drreinwald.com/en/silent-inflammation-the-underestimated-danger-in-our-body/", "type": "post" }, { "title": "Enzymes – Sparks for Health and Well-Being", "url": "https://drreinwald.com/en/enzymes-sparks-for-health-and-well-being/", "type": "post" } ] }