How To Balance Low Stomach Acid To Improve Acne And Rosacea
Creating and maintaining the appropriate acid balance in the stomach is a hugely important yet challenging task. When acid imbalance is prolonged, it may result in unhealthy absorption and digestion within the GI tract. It's important for stomach acid to be in balance not only because it help us break down and absorb nutrients, but it creates a much needed and important barrier to invading organisms.
Hydrochloric acid (HCL) is naturally secreted in the stomach in order to digest food and be absorbed into the bloodstream. Many people have a deficiency of this acid, which can lead to other vitamin deficiencies and chronic imbalances. After the age of 50, the body's ability to produce HCL begins to decline. Chronic stress also tends to deplete HCL, characterized by consistent indigestion, and resulting nutritional deficiencies.
Stomach acid is secreted from parietal cells, which are in charge of making HCL. This highly acidic environment helps to break down proteins, activate digestive enzymes, and facilitate absorption. Parietal cells are hugely important because of the role they play in making the HCL.
Normal function of parietal cells can be affected by different factors, such as chronic inflammation, stress, or free radical activity. They can also be damaged by the overuse of antacids. When HCL is low, the food in the stomach is not digested quickly, and therefore the food lingers longer than it is suppose to, resulting in fermentation, and the increase of the wrong type of acid.
Balanced HCL levels also help to destroy organisms swallowed in food (preventing parasitic infection). Therefore, having low stomach acid carries an increased risk of yeast, mold and bacterial infections – invaders that don't belong in the GI tract and otherwise would be relegated out of it with proper biochemical balance. In extreme cases, low HCL, also known as hypochlorhydria, can lead to stomach cancer if left untreated.
Fortunately, there are many natural ways to increase HCL in the stomach. Adding a natural version of hydrochloric acid in supplement form can help improve absorption of nutrients and aid in digestion. However, when it comes to digestive enzymes it's important to remember that when used in excess, the body begins to rely on them therefore creating less on its own. Digestive enzymes can be a useful approach for a short period of time, or can be used with foods that are difficult to digest.
Low HCL And Acne/Rosacea
Many clients have come to me with rosacea, that butterfly-like red rash that stretches across the bridge of the nose and cheeks, sometimes also covering the forehead and chin. Then there’s acne rosacea or just acne that is also a major complaint.
By the time they find me, they’ve usually accumulated a list of western interventions trying to get their complexion back which includes topical creams, steroids which thin the lining of their gut (creating more gut infections/issues) and give the adrenals a run for their money, or antibiotics (which ultimately make your digestive and skin health worse…ugh).
Back when I had raging Candida and lots of gut infections, I had very bad rosacea. People would comment on how “flushed” I was all the time and I would feel embarrassed (and get more red ;). I had no idea it was connected to low HCL!
As the saying goes, if I only knew then what I know now…
Well, now you know that rosacea and acne are connected to low HCL.
There are about 5 key medical doctors who’ve studied gastric secretions with rosacea to find out in clinical trials that 75% of patients with rosacea have low stomach acid.
To speak further to the root cause, Japanese researchers have found that 2/3 of individuals with rosacea are actually infected with H. pylori (Helicobacter pylori) which routinely causes low stomach acid and ulcers.
These studies were originally published all the way back in 1931 in the Cal West Medical Journal and are starting to come back around again. Mainstream medicine and dermatologists often ignore this link and continue to treat rosacea aggressively with pharmaceuticals that further exacerbate the true imbalance, hence my reason for writing this blog – to share a little truth and hope it spreads and helps a lot of folks who don’t think there is any other alternative.
A Food-Based Way To Balance Stomach Acid
I love learning from Asian practices on how to use food as medicine. That is where this recipe for the “Ginger Pickle” was born. In India, they use a homemade pickled ginger for training the body to secrete adequate stomach acid. Also, in Japan, pickled ginger is routinely served with raw fish to protect the system from any potential parasites in the fish.
The Ginger Pickle works famously and is easy to prepare. I show you how in the video above. Here’s the recipe:
- One full ginger root peeled (the size would cover the palm of your hand 1.5x), peeled and shredded with a carrot shaver or cheese grater
- Juice of one full, organic lemon
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Mix together and put in a jar. Let “pickle” overnight and take ½-1 teaspoon before bigger meals daily for 2-4 weeks.
Supplements To Balance Stomach Acid (And The HCL Challenge)
I like to use the little-known Trikatu, an Ayuverdic herbal blend of herbs and spices that acts almost like an adaptogen. It helps the body produce more of its own HCL and digestive enzymes, thereby increasing nutrient absorption. It’s also a gentler approach than using straight, HCL – although I have witnessed immeasurable times the near-magic that HCL supplementation can do as well.
This is why I’m sharing with you what is called the HCL challenge. In the HCL challenge, we supplement with HCL to the point of burning, and then back off by 1. By repeating this process, one can challenge the body to begin to produce its own natural amounts of HCL again.
Before you jump right into taking HCL, you should read up on Dr. Wright’s info from his book, Why Stomach Acid is Good for You because he highly advises against taking HCL if you are taking any kind of pharmaceutical or over the counter anti-inflammatory like Prednisone, aspirin, or ibuprofen. These medications can damage the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and adding HCL to the mix could aggravate that or increase the risk of an ulcer.
Here are more details about The HCL Challenge, by Dr. Natasha Turner:
“This simple test can help you determine whether you have the appropriate level of hydrochloric acid in your stomach for optimal digestion. You should not complete this test, however, if you have ulcers or are currently taking antacid medications.
Instructions:
Begin by taking 1 capsule of betaine hydrochloride (BH) before your largest meal of the day. You should feel a burning or warming sensation in your stomach or upper abdomen. You may also feel slightly “acidic,” or as though you have indigestion. Any reaction of this nature indicates you should stop taking the pills and that your stomach acid is sufficient. This is a good test to repeat each year since stomach acid levels tend to decrease with age as well as stress.
If no reaction is felt after taking the BH, repeat the process the following day with 2 pills before your largest meal. If you still do not feel anything, continue to increase by one pill per day until you feel any change in your digestive system or you reach the maximum of 14 pills. Remember, you should feel something after one or two pills – this is normal. Taking more without feeling any response is a definite indication your stomach acid level is low.
Once you reach the point at which you feel the warming or burning sensation, it’s important to not cease taking the HCL capsules. In fact, you have just uncovered your level of deficiency. Simply take one less pill the next day and remain at this number of pills daily until the warming sensation returns. Continue to decrease in this manner by one pill each time you feel the warming sensation. This weaning down process restores your stomach acid levels.
Be patient and stick with it. This process will ensure you have just the right amount of stomach acid – not too much and not too little – for excellent nutrient absorption, one of the key secrets to looking and feeling your best every day.”
What Brands Of Betaine HCL Are Best?
As you know, I research supplement quality sort of obsessively because efficacy directly correlates to the quality of the supplements.
In the video above, I had Solaray but that was only because I ran out at home and that was all they had at Whole Foods the night before the show. It contains maltodextrin, so if you are going to supplement with HCL or employ the HCL challenge…
I much prefer the quality of these four brands of Betaine HCL:
Other Strategies To Support Stomach Acid
- 16 oz of room temperature (mineralized) water with 2 teaspoons of raw organic apple cider vinegar upon waking.
- Stress management, such as breath work, yin yoga, or meditation.
- Test pH levels in the urine and saliva. Ideal pH is between 6.8-7.2.
- Increase dietary antioxidants
- Chew your food!
- Increase consumption of garlic. Allium, a substance that occurs naturally in garlic, helps prevent ulcers caused by the Helicobacter pylori (h. pylori) bacteria.
- Decrease consumption of coffee, tea, tobacco, sugar, alcohol, spices from hot peppers/hot sauce, and fried foods – all deplete HCL and thin the gut lining.
- Give your body time to digest. Try to go to bed before 10pm when digestion becomes active again.
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Hi! I love all of your resources! I see you have multiple programs, which all interest me. Do you have a price for having access to everything?
Hi Belen! Write into the team at [email protected] and they can help you 🙂
Love all you share with us.
Saw your guest spot on controlling stomach acids.
Easiest way to peel ginger is with a teaspoon. You can YouTube it. Blessings
Hi Grace- thanks for the tip! We’ve had several people write in and tell us, so we’re excited to give it a try 🙂
What happens if you’re at a certain level of HCL but the burning feeling never returns, so you can never decrease by one? Do you need to stay on that level forever?
Hi Anna – we would recommend decreasing back down by one and then using the ginger pickle recipe and ACV to maintain levels.
I have rosacea bad but I also suffer from acid reflux and hiatal hernia so if I don’t have my dexilant i suffer. What can i do?
Well written. I was associate director with Dr Wright at the Tahoma Clinic. One additional thing to pay attention to is thyroid hormone status. Production of HCl is very energy dependent. Normally,enough is produced to make your stomach 3 million times more acidic than your arterial blood. The T3 moiety of thyroid hormone combines with oxygen and glucose to create energy similar to how gasoline,oxygen and spark plugs create energy. Hydrochloric acid production declines with because production of thyroid hormone declines with age. Many children are often born not producing adequate hydrochloric acid. This makes them more vulnerable to infections and Candida overgrowth. As thyroid and hydrochloric acid production mature,they “grow out of” these conditions. 2 lab values to check. If TSH is above 1.0,hypothyroidism is likely. This can be confirmed by symptoms and physical exam.Part of physical exam is to take temperature under big toe. Below 90 degrees F indicates hypothyroidism. If MCV is above 86,this means red blood cells have enlarged due to inadequate absorption of B 12. HCl is required for adequate absorption of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
Hi THJ team,
I have a couple of questions regarding the HCL challenge:
1. How soon should one wait before having the meal after taking the pills?
2. How long would it take to feel the acid feeling described?
3. Is the acid feeling very obvious and strong, or can it be subtle?
Thank you,
Karel
Hi Karel! Great questions, the feeling can be subtle and should not take more than a few minutes and once you feel that it is fine to start eating. 🙂
I take PPI’s because I have Barretts Mucosa caused I am told by acid reflux, so where does that leave me in iterms of too much or too little HCL…confused.
Hi.. would anyone know how I could test if my 5 year old daughter has low stomach acid? She has dysbiosis but when I gove her Betain HCL 25 mg she complains of a burning sensation and her stomach hurts… I guess I need to understand more why her current levels of HCL in the stomach
I took my first HCL pil tonight before dinner and now, 2 hours later, my stomach feels very active. Not exceptionally warm or burning. Is this normal? My Chinese doctor explicitly told me not to eat ginger because that would aggravate rosacea. Do you have any comment on that?
Thanks for this information.I’m sure it’s helping many people make sense of their gut-related skin issues.
Thanks for the support 🙂
So you can supplement OR you can do the pickled ginger right? Or are you meant to be doing both?
Hi Ian- We would recommend trying the ginger pickle first and then moving to the HCI caps.
I have been diagnosed with bile reflux for the past 6 years. I take omeprosole every day to control the discomfort of the bile. I eat very healthy, nothing I have tried allows me to stop taking the medication. I don’t find much information about the bile reflux , but what I do read doesn’t give me any hope of getting off of it. I am a certified health coach. I read a lot . I am interested in your program . Can you tell me if you have had experience with the bile reflux?
Hey Bonny,
A SMALL amount of bile is refluxed even in normal people as part of digestion but if it is problematic then consider that either the sphincter at the end of the stomach is weakened by infection like H. Pylori and/or you need a really good liver cleanse. I know folks who have had acne into adulthood but when the toxic chemicals were removed from the liver their skin cleared up. If I got the name of the drug right then it is one of those devil’s bargains. MDs attack stomach acid when that is not the problem. I’m not saying that you won’t have erosions that need help (slippery elm) and that increasing stomach acid slowly won’t be without discomfort but the body is quite mechanical in its approach. If you don’t have enough stomach acid to digest your food then the setpoint for the sphincter to open will not be reached so there will be no emptying of stomach contents. It will literally rot in your stomach to protect the rest of your body. Enter propulsid and other OFF-LABEL drug use to FORCE the stomach to empty thus polluting the rest of the body. Ain’t medicine grand? Once the spirochetes have dug in they either weaken muscle tissue and/or shut the parietal cells down because they don’t like the acid either. Make your stomach unfriendly to the squatters to get them to leave.
Has anyone had weight gain, due to these stomach issues?
I’m losing weight, not gaining it. I’m eating less as I almost feel no hunger
Should a person use the pickled ginger and the HCL supplement together or just one or the other?
Does chronic anxiety stop hcl production?
Are you supposed to swallow the ginger or just chew on it? On your video you said to just chew it and then spit it out, but here it’s not mentioned.
Hi Kate! Chew the ginger and spit it out like Christa says in the video. We’ll update that on the blog as well. Thanks for pointing that out and have a great day!
I have suffered Rosacea since I was in my teens.I have been taking proton pump inhibitors for a while and i believe that my anxiety is sky high when i am taking proton pump medication.Now i am reading about Rosacea is caused by to little stomach acid,i am feeling confused to know what to do.Can anyone help.
I
Hi Beatrice, You may want to checkout Christa’s recent interview with Dr. Trevor Cates who discusses her book on how to create clear skin from the inside out. Follow this link to watch the episode. https://thewholejourney.com/how-to-create-clear-skin-from-the-inside-out/
Thankyou Stacey,i will look at the link that you kindly sent me.I have stop taking proton pump inhibitors ,they don’t suit me at all.
Hi Christa,
My son is suffering with rosacea. He is only 1 and a half and I keep getting comments about his rosy cheeks! I am still breast feeding and am trying to get to the root of the issue but failing. Any suggestions for dealing with this condition in little ones?
Hi Deb, Thank you for writing to us. Since our programs are designed for children 12 and up we have to defer you to your pediatrician for further testing.
Christa, you can peel ginger with a spoon. It gets into those knuckles better.
I’m just starting to do this thanks to our lovely blog commenters. Thanks Patti!
Do you pickle it in the fridge or just at room temperature?
Hi Adriana, You’ll want to let the ginger pickle overnight in the refrigerator.
Have you tried the now brand, it has good reviews by more buyers
Thank you so much for this information! I had a baby 7 months ago and about 2 months ago had this terrible “acne” out break. I thought it was hormonal but as it continued to get worse, I contacted my doctor who is a naturopath. She suggested this route as a way to help my skin, though she didn’t call it a challenge. I decided to Google it and look into a bit more before I started and your page has been very helpful in explaining things further. Thank you! (I can’t wait to see & share my results.)
I have acne and it’s gotten better over the years by cleansing and eating better but I know there is something missing. If I do the Candida cleanse will that balance my stomach acid or should I do the stomach acid test before the candida cleanse?
Hi, I’ve been having a lot of issues with my tummy of lately, no matter what type of food I am eating, my stomach is producing foul smelling gas and stools, also I am having a bad time absorbing proteins, also its making me really anxious, any help as to how I can get back to normal? Anyway, my friend once advised me to try “Fruit elimination” period for several weeks to reduce the amount of fructose coming in and it is because the stomach is supposed to be an acid tank. She also added that supplementation would be a great help, forskolin has an active chemical that initiates a chain reaction that cause fat cells to release their energy and melt away. I hope that it works to me, but still I want a recommendation from you all.
Thanks for this information Christine, I’m sure it’s helping many people make sense of their gut-related skin issues.
Hi Christa,
Is it safe to start building your stomach acid with the pickle recipe and supplements while on a candida diet cleanse with supplements? I suffer from a persistent candida infection, acne/rosacea, and low stomach acid. I know they are all related, but I don’t want to overload my body by taking too many supplements/treating too many things at once. Where is the best place to start?
Just want to warn people who wants to take HCL. If you are on Hycrotisone for your adrenal fatigue, DO NOT take HCL!!! It will thin your stomach lining, causing you more susceptible for pathogens and other digestive problems.
Christa Orecchio .whats the best formula for constipation if i can’t move my bowels and planning to be pregnant?The leaky gut formula helped me a big deal but since it’s finished am constipated or rather my bowels are too slow.Thx .your quick response will be highly appreciated.
The spoon technique for peeling ginger works fantastic! There is much less waste of your ginger purchase.
I love this technique karebear and had totally forgotten about it. thanks!
How long with the ginger pickle keep in the refridgerator?
7 days
I found an easy way to peel ginger. Using a teaspoon, scrape the skin off. Because the spoon is ‘bowl-shaped’, it is able to easily scrape off the knobs and scoop-scrape the area where the knobs join the main root. You don’t have to worry about sharp edges, so you can go fast. (I can’t remember where I saw this on the web, but I tried it and it worked for me!)
Yes!!!! That’s awesome thank you Pamela!
So, what happens if I’ve tried the HCL stomach acid challenge, got up to 10 pills/meal and still felt nothing? I was using the Thorne Betaine HCL + Pepsin with 1.04g of HCL and 40mg of Pepsin per every 2 capsules. I was nervous about harming myself. Anyone have any feedback?
I believe the challenge is safe up to 14 pills but at that point if you still feel nothing (I’ve seen that with Celiac Disease), you’re best guided by a practitioner.
Hi Christa & anyone out there who is doing the ginger pickle with a vegetable peeler. I suggest to use the edge of a teaspoon instead, you’ll find it the perfect tool for both that and turmeric, and it will make short shrift of a cumbersome job. I learned this kitchen wisdom from having been married into the Chinese culture for 19 years! Hope you find it helpful. Oops I see someone already shared that tip. Sorry!
I’ve just used a potato peeler in the past and it works really well and quickly. For those hard to get around nubs I just cut those off with a paring knife. I actually usually cut those off first and then peel and you are good to go. 🙂
I don’t know what’s wrong with my system but it’s super sensitive to peppermint and ginger now… can’t have at all even it tea or my stomach balloons up for over a week. [sigh]
On the candida cleanse so we’ll see…. 🙂
About peeling ginger: Put ginger in fridge overnight either in plastic bag or
glass container with cover. The next day the tan ginger peel should rub off
easily w/tip of spoon. I think the ridged edge of grapefruit spoon works best
but any spoon really. The trick is to let the moisture from the ginger saturate
the ginger skin – makes skin rub off easier than cutting it off w/knife.
I have an easy way to peel ginger! Just use a spoon and scrape it. The peel comes right off with very little effort. No knives or potato peelers needed. Just a spoon!
I love ginger and pickling it sounds like fun. I will have to try this just for the ginger!
You are so great, Christa! I always learn so much! By the way, everyone, the easiest way I’ve found to peel ginger is to take a spoon and use the edge of it to just scrape the skin off. Easy peasy!
I don’t understand why you would peel good clean organic ginger. Can you explain?
According to naturopathic physician Dr. Peter Glidden salt and calcium are required for producing sufficient stomach acid. The body uses the Cl from the salt to form HCl. Because people are told that salt is bad for them, they cut down on salt intake and this lowers stomach acid levels. So we have chronic insufficient acid levels in the stomach and can’t digest our food properly. Another reason to stay away from the advice of conventional medicine.
Love that you shared this insight, Christine. Thank you. Makes perfect sense and also makes sense why we crave salt when we are adrenally-fatigued, bc the body produces less HCL under stress.
I’m wondering whether simply eating salt (in the form of miso soup in this case) would work so quickly to produce HCl. I should think it would be more of a long-term project to get your body to produce an adequate quantity. Just opining, here, that’s all.
This is great!! But I have a hiatal hernia and GERD and have been taking Prevacid/Omeprazole for years. Had Bravo test done which confirmed GERD. Should I continue taking antiacid? Is there a remedy for hiatal hernia? Thank you very much for all you do, Christa!!
How do you recommend taking Trikatu? Before every meal? Thanks for the great info!
So I use Cheyenne Pepper in my morning smoothie along with Ginger and Cinnamon sometimes, so is that not a good thing? I heard that eating more peppers aids in weight loss..
So tea is not good for you stomach???
Stomach acid is something that is curable. Digestion problems such as regurgitation, stomach gas and constipation are easily curable. Banana is a good cure for stomach acid and heartburn.
Acid reflux treatment
Thank you for explaining the importance of helping our body produce its own acid. After dealing with the death of my father in April, I found my stomach was out of whack. I thought about taking HCL supplements but was quite nervous. I would rather introduce foods or herbs. I’m going to a naturopathic doctor on Friday and will show her this page 🙂
Thank you so much my boyfriend has an imbalance of acids in his stomach and this explained the whole process of acids in the stomach very well. And the tips given at the end are extremely helpful!
Wow! This information is a surprise and informative! thanks. This is the best explaination i have ever heard. great job.