As people age they produce less and less stomach acid. And yet who are the people most likely to be on acid-blocking or acid-reduction medications like PPIs? The elderly. And people who take PPIs are told they are necessary to reduce levels of stomach acid. The lack of logic is glaring but is rarely discussed or brought to people's attention. PPIs can be helpful for a short time in people who have ulcers, and also in people taking NSAIDs (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
The problem of having too little or absent stomach acid (hypochlorhydria / achlorhydria) is a common one that occurs in many different conditions. See the following link :
Title : Achlorhydria
Link :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507793/
There are valves at the top and bottom of the stomach to allow food in and to allow partially digested food out into the intestines for further digestion.
The question people need to ask themselves is what makes those valves open and close? And what makes them open and close at the right or wrong time? Reducing stomach acid is just a way of suppressing a symptom, it actually makes the underlying problem worse.
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I learned about the opening and closing of the stomach valves from this series of articles :
https://chriskresser.com/what-everybody-ought-to-know-but-doesnt-about-heartburn-gerd/
The above link is to the first of 6 articles, but it might be easier to just download the free e-book offered on the same link.
Once I understood about the opening and closing of the top and bottom valves of the stomach the whole subject made a lot more sense.