Last Updated on September 21, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor
We’ve been told by the conventional medical world that too much stomach acid is the cause of reflux and heartburn. In most cases, this actually isn’t correct.
Stomach acid is incredibly beneficial to the body and an increase in stomach acid can actually reduce and many times cure issues like acid reflux or heartburn and improve common issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), leaky gut, colitis, and other gastrointestinal problems.
Let me explain. . .
What Does Stomach Acid Do?
Stomach acid is highly acidic liquid that your body naturally produces to digest your food and it also allows your body to utilize the nutrients in your food. It’s a combination of hydrochloric acid (HCL), pepsin, lipase and other substances and is a necessary part of the digestive process. Stomach acid is also our first line of defense against pathogens, bacteria, parasites, etc.
When the body is relaxed, stomach is released into the stomach and breaks down fats into fatty acids, carbohydrates into glucose, and proteins into amino acids. This breakdown is very important so the body can then use the nutrients in our food.
When the food in your stomach has been mixed with the correct amount of stomach acid, it will reach an acidity of around 2 on the ph scale and then move into the small intestine to continue the digestive process.
Various things that can inhibit stomach acid and raise the alkalinity are stress, eating fast, eating on the go, eating when standing up, drinking alkaline water, chronic elevated cortisol, and anti-acids.
8 Key Things that Happen When There Isn’t Enough Stomach Acid:
- The fats, carbs and proteins cannot break down properly for the body to utilize them. The food will then sit, petrify, become rancid and/or ferment.
- The body can’t absorb or utilize the nutrients in your food such as zinc, iron, magnesium, calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, selenium, etc.
- Overgrowth of harmful bacteria can occur which can lead to ulcers and cancer.
- Because the contents of the stomach aren’t acidic enough, the stomach doesn’t want to release the contents of the stomach into the small intestine (see below).
- When the contents of the stomach reach the small intestine, the gallbladder isn’t signaled to release bile, the pancreas isn’t signaled to release pancreatic enzymes and sodium bicarbonate isn’t released to increase the ph of the digested food.
- Because sodium bicarbonate isn’t released, the mixture of food can burn the mucosal lining which lead can lead to ulcers.
- The proteins that weren’t broken down by proper stomach acid now irritate the villi and can lead to leaky gut. A leaky gut allows fats and proteins to pass through the gut directly into the bloodstream which overwhelms the immune system.
- The undigested food heads to the large intestine and can degenerate and weaken the colon, disrupt the flora, and cause inflammation, IBS and colitis.
What Causes Reflux and Heartburn?
When there isn’t enough stomach acid, the pyloric sphincter – the valve that releases the broken-down food into the small intestine – doesn’t want to open. This leads to food sitting in the stomach for much longer than intended. Eventually the food tends to come back up the other way. Ironically, because the food has been bathed in some stomach acid it burns when it comes back up the esophagus.
So, you’re probably asking, “then why do acid-blockers work, or at least take the burn away”? The acid blockers lower the acidity (aka raise the alkalinity) in the stomach. So when the food starts to come back up, it doesn’t burn, but this doesn’t mean the problem is fixed. The acid-blocker is simply masking the symptoms of a bigger issue.
4 Ways to Raise Stomach Acid Naturally:
1. Don’t eat when you’re stressed or on the go and eat slowly. This is the most important piece of the puzzle. When you eat slowly and aren’t stressed, your body will be in the parasympathetic state, which is the body’s “rest, digest and heal” function. The parasympathetic state allows your body to release the correct amount of stomach acid, enzymes, etc. to digest your food.
2 .Take 1 tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar with a little bit of water before each meal.
OR
3. Take 1 dropper full of digestive bitters before and after each meal.
OR
4. Consider taking HCl with Pepsin or Zypan at each meal. Starting with two at each meal can often be helpful. I personally like Zypan best because it contains both HCL and digestive enzymes. This step is not recommended if you have a history of stomach ulcers.
So remember, you need stomach acid! Eat slowly, in a relaxed state and consider some of the remedies I mentioned above – I think you’ll start seeing some great results.
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I think someone must have just read Dr. Wright’s book for the NTP course…. Yay! =) I loved this book! Keep up the good work, Carrie!
Awesome! Cant wait to test it out! Thank you!!
I’ve enjoyed your cook book and your many health tips. I tried to print out your article on How to naturally heal low stomach Acid. It just doesn’t print out well, I had to do a lot of cut and paste. I like to print out good info so I can refer to it. At 80, I don’t retain information like I use to… Joanne
I don’t have a print option on my site for articles like this, but you could copy and paste it into a word document and then print.
That was very helpful. Thank you.
Can it be apple cider vinegar pills?
Fantastic information. I’ve been working with a naturopathic doctor for months now and have been able to get off of Prilosec after 20 years of being on it. She believes that I have low stomach acid. I’ve been using apple cider vinegar for a few weeks now and have seen lots of improvement.
So happy for you!
Please God Bless you and say this helps me. Doctor. Take this med, eat fructose high fruit and veggies with no fibre. Which remedy is best as ACV has fructose in it. Please help me.
Legally, I can’t give personal health advice unless you’re a client. I recommend talking to your practitioner.
Try sauerkraut.
Sites like these that can keep people out of the pharmacy are awesome.
I just wish more doctors were healers rather than drug pushers
What about people who have hiatal hernias? I I have been struggling with Gerd for many many years. If I don’t take the PPI medications, I am in a lot of pain and I have done a lot of damage to my esophagus over the years. I am afraid because apple cider vinegar and the other things cause a lot of pain. Do you have any suggestions for people like me who already have damage from acid?
I recommend talking to your practitioner about the best course of action for you.
I like this article, thanks for the tips! I think apple cider is really good for this as well as other issues so it’s a good habit to drink it everyday 🙂
I know I have low stomach acid; thanks for the great tips! I especially like your idea of a little ACV before meals – it’s so simple and inexpensive!
I’ll try this.
Thanks
The only time I suffer from intense stomach discomfort or acid reflux although it doesn’t go up my esophagus, is when I drink alcohol. I have tried the apple cider vinegar and it doesn’t help for this problem. Do you have any advice for me? Other than don’t drink alcohol ?
Alcohol lowers acid in the stomach, so taking an HCL supplement when you consume alcohol could be a good way to remedy that issue.
I have hypothyroidism and lichen sclerosis I’m so fed up. I am also very sensitive to stuff around the house and my dogs. I take antihistamine most days. I don’t use bleach and damp dust. I do use hand wash though with antibacterial and surf or daz washing powder. I tried eco ball pellets but my washing smelt like cabbage when drying yuk. It didn’t kill the bacteria on clothes. Any suggestions please?
Hi Carrie! I am so thankful I found this!! I’ve been taking the ACV for a few days with food & it’s working:-) Will my body eventually start making the correct amount of stomach acid on it’s own?
Have you ever tried white vinegar? I use it all the time. It seems like it will make your clothes smell but it does not. It helps tremendously with towels that smell funky. I use a cup per wash!Wish you the best!
Would you do the acv in place of digestive enzymes ?
You can give that a try. Or, if you want to increase both stomach acid and digestive enzymes, the I recommend Zypan. Of course, talk to your practitioner about what’s right for you.
One of my ailments is gastroparesis, very limited on my intake. Would you have any tips to share. I do take ACV once daily with my Chaga tea. thank you
Good info thank you. I was at an appointment with my Functional Medicine doc yesterday talking about this very thing.
I would add that sitting upright at a table when you eat, instead of slouching on the couch, will improve the way your body deals with the food you eat.
When you have Fatty Liver would you want to take any product with Alcohol?
We used to take a supplement but stopped and started spraying Herb Pharma bitters before we eat but not sure it’s good for the liver and if it’s doing anything.
Thank you,
Robyn
At my local sprouts supermarket there is an alcohol free bitter with apple ciser vinegar. Can find ones online too
Unrelated to the acid, chewing gum after a meal also can help move things along. I was on losec for a gut issue (not acid) but got acid rebound every time i dropped dose. Gum helped me get through. What ppl also dont realise about losec is most ppl get the side effect of significantly slowing down gastric emptying which then leads to the problems discussed here. So can cause the very issues yr trying to avoid. While it can protect yr gut in extreme cases, long term its not good and or leads to its own problems. Natural first if you can! And even if you have to take it be aware what it can do to you.
As far as the digestive bitters. There is the Moonshine brand that you recommend and there is a non-alcohol Swedish bitters by Flora that I found. Would that work just as well? It is half the cost.
I would like to ween myself off my HCL. I have been taking it for several years now. My MCV level, an indication of HCL production, is above 90 meaning I am not absorbing B12 due to inadequate production of HCL. My FM Doctor advised me to take hcl with every meal until my MCV number lowers below 90. Do you have anything to say to this? Your advice would be appreciated.
I’m not familiar with that brand so I’m not sure. If you still aren’t making enough HCL, then I would look at the stress that’s causing that because stress is the root cause of low HCL. That stress looks different for each person (it could be blood sugar imbalance, it could be emotional/mental/physical stress, it could be environmental, the skincare products you’re using, etc), but it’s something worth looking into.
I have Pernicious Anemia and also cannot absorb B12 so I take injections. From what I understand, even with an increase in HCL the cells are still not making Intrinsic Factor to bind with the B12, so it will never be able to be aborted through the stomach in that case. Is that correct or will HCL help?
If that’s what your practitioner told you, then I would then ask what the root cause is of the cells not being able to bind with the B12.
I have been making my own beet kvass and drink about two ounces first thing every morning. Should I also drink 1 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar with water before every meal?
Thanks
Anne
Kvass is great for the liver, and is different than using ACV before meals to improve digestion. If you’d like to help improve your digestion, then I recommend using both each day.
What do you do if you have to take nexium daily for gerd and hiatel hernia?
Legally, I can’t tell you what to do with your medications, so you’ll need to talk to your doctor about that.
How long does a hypothyroid/Hashi person need to use these strategies to raise their stomach acid? Indefinitely, or would one get to the point where stomach acid is at a normal level and doesn’t need these supportive tools?
It often takes a few months, but of course, everyone is different. You could use the supplements for a few months, and then slowly start weaning off (always making sure you’re eating slowly and relaxed) and monitor how you feel as you go along.
The abbreviation for hydrochloric acid is HCl not HCL. The atomic symbol is comprised of either one capital letter (Hydrogen, H) or of one capital and one lower case letter (Chlorine, Cl).
Thanks! That was a grammar error, so I made the edit!
Were you suggesting to use ACV, digestive bitters, and HCL all together? Just curious. I’ve been on HCL since about March, and although I’m better than I was I’m still not there. I have that upper bloating/heaviness, especially after dinner. My ND doesn’t want me to take more than 7 HCL per meal. Does it usually take quite a while to build stomach acid back up? I also have Hashimotos and celiac disease so I’m sure these issues contribute as well.
I never recommend taking them all together. Only try one thing at a time. Yes, it often takes a while to train the body to eat in a relaxed state so you can increase stomach acid.
Thank you for all the information. I am reading every thing I can to be better informed about hashimotos disease as this is what I have been diagnosed with. Your website has so much great information and breaks it down so it’s easily understood. Thanks again!
You’re welcome!
Thank you so much for this info! With a recent diagnosis of hashi’s and leaky gut, I started taking a super small dose of hcl. It burns horribly and gives me a lasting stomach ache, and I’ve read that could mean my gut lining is such a mess it can’t tolerate the acid yet. Any tips on where to go from here?? I know I need the increased acid.
I recommend first starting with ACV and then if that doesn’t help, moving up to bitters, and then if needed, moving up to HCL. It might be that you took too much.
Can I do this if I have a stomach ulcer?
You’ll want to avoid this if you have a history of stomach ulcers.
Ummm…mind, blown.
I had a stomach ulcer a few months ago and was given PPI’s to reduce stomach acid to allow the ulcer to heal. As a result, I have digestive problems caused by low stomach acid. Can I take HCI supplements if my ulcer has healed?
Taking HCL is not recommended if you have a history of stomach ulcers. It would probably be helpful to reach out to a Functional medicine doctor or functional nutritional therapist to help you walk through how to slowly increase the stomach acid in a safe way.
Hello, so which one is best to start with, apple cider vinegar, digestive bitters, or HCL? I’ve had stomach issues for years and they put me on omeprazole, which seemed to help for a while, not so much now. Eating is hard and I don’t feel well much of the time. I have raw apple cider vinegar and thought that may be a good place to start? Should I start with a tablespoon, or start smaller? Thanks!
I recommend following the instructions in the order they are written.
Thank you for your prompt response.
What are your thoughts on taking bitters if candida overgrowth is present? Since the bitters contain alcohol content.
I would ask your practitioner what they recommend for you.
Greetings from London! Hello, your article is very interesting, I am a Hashi’s sufferer and I have started to introduce a few of your diet and lifestyle changes. I bought ACV capsules, are these just as good as liquid ACV?
I think liquid ACV is a better option, but if you only have access to capsules, then those might be helpful.
Do you have recommendations for those who had their gallbladder removed?