The single, nasty culprit behind dozens of nagging symptoms

Q: I'm a new subscriber to your newsletter who has suffered from heartburn for years. After reading your reports, I am wondering if I have low levels of stomach acid. Could you tell me what symptoms to look for?

Dr. Wright: Many people with low stomach acidity or no stomach acidity frequently report bloating, belching, or burning immediately after meals; a feeling that food just sits in the stomach not digesting; and an inability to eat more than a small amount of food without feeling full. Many of them are constipated, but others have diarrhea.

There are also some physical signs often found in people who suffer from low stomach acidity, such as weak, easily broken, and peeling fingernails, hair loss (in women), gassiness in the upper abdomen, and unusual dilation of the capillaries in the cheeks and on the nose (in a nonalcoholic).

A list of diseases frequently associated with low stomach acidity are diabetes mellitus, an underactive or overactive thyroid, childhood asthma, eczema, gallbladder disease, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic hives, lupus, weak adrenals, chronic hepatitis, vitiligo, and rosacea.

If you're suffering from some of the symptoms or diseases mentioned above, you should talk to your doctor about the possibility of hypochlorhydria.

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