Acid Reflux: Stomach Acid Is Awesome, Too Much or Too Little Stomach Acid is Awful

It’s kind of the like the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears where she finds one porridge too hot, one too cold, and one juuuuust right. In order to be helpful, the level of stomach acid needs to be just right. Unfortunately, many of us are suffering from a stomach acid imbalance and pop antacids like they’re candy without truly understanding what’s going on. First of all, let’s back up and let me make the case for why the stomach secretes hydrochloric acid and why this stomach acid is awesome:

1. Stomach acid helps you digest protein.

2. It helps protect your gut against infection and food poisoning.

3. It facilitates the absorption of vitamin B12 (which is a totally badass and necessary vitamin).

4. It creates signals to other organs to release the helpful digestive enzymes and tells the gut muscles to contract making the digestive process run smoothly. The right amount of stomach acid even signals the flap (aka lower esophageal sphincter) from the esophagus to the stomach to close and open.

When stomach acid is too high it wreaks havoc and can lead to stomach ulcers and overall chaos. I had acid reflux in the later stages of pregnancy and I empathize with anyone experiencing this uncomfortable situation. I’ve even had patients who thought they were having a heart attack and met with a cardiologist only to be told it was stomach acid irritation the tissues near the heart! Too little stomach acid also wreaks havoc and can lead to low B12 levels which can eventually show up as tingling/altered sensation in the limbs and anemia. It can be hard to know if your acid reflux is due to excess or deficiency as the early symptoms manifest the same way. The deficiency acid reflux can be thought of as a gas tank running out of gas where it spurts and sputters and overefforts to get the insufficient gas where it needs to go. Kind of sweet, but also totally uncomfortable.

While it is always a good idea to check in with your primary physician, a quick way to check if your stomach acid is deficient or excess is to either a) take a stomach acid supplement and see if it gets better or worse (note this may seem counterintuitive, but often solves the problem!) or b) an even simpler way is to take a spoonful of apple cider vinegar each day and see if the symptoms improve or worsen. If you get better it was a deficiency pattern. If you get worse it’s usually excess.

For those of you who are constantly reaching for the antacids, it’s important to know there are different types, and there can be undesirable side effects - especially with long term use. Antacids are usually over-the-counter bases (I just went straight chemistry on you!) which neutralize the excess acid. While I STRONGLY prefer acupuncture and herbs over these types of pharmaceuticals, I get that sometimes sh*t happens and you’re traveling or whatever. If that’s the case, and you can’t come see me or get to the magical herbal remedies: consider choosing the ‘best’ antacid for you. My “Chemistry for Dummies” book (yep, how did you think I got through that doctoral class?!) notes that people with high blood pressure may want to avoid the sodium bicarbonate antacids as the sodium ion may increase blood pressure! Those concerned with osteoporosis may want to use the antacid with calcium carbonate. But, large doses may cause constipation. The third group of antacids is the hydroxides (aluminium and magnesium) is a balancing act as aluminium hydroxide can cause constipation in large doses, while magnesium hydroxide can serve as a laxative in large doses. With all these side effects, acupuncture and herbs are looking better and better. . . right? See you soon.

Secret Societies Sound So Much Cooler

A friend and I recently traveled to Cuba. True to form, we made as few plans as possible and decided to go wherever the trip took us. Very zen style travel. There was one exception: a fellow acupuncturist mentioned a secret Chinese-Cuban medicine society. WHAT? I’m already fascinated by Chinese Medicine, but if you tell me there is a secret society of any genre I am going to want to find out more. Armed with only an email address, and too much curiosity, we set out to uncover this mystery.

Turns out, it’s not so secret. Chinese Medicine is legal in Cuba, but has a tenuous history due to social and political issues too complex for my brain. Although, more information can be found HERE:

What we found was the loveliest woman conducting research on the Chinese-Cuban history who brought us through a nondescript door into a beautiful traditional Chinese herbal pharmacy. There was beautiful containers, sculptures, and signs. It’s unclear how accessible these herbal formulas are and we didn’t see any patients utilizing the various treatment rooms for acupuncture and tuina (need a reminder on what tuina is? Click HERE), but it was incredible to be in the space. There was a stained glass taiji symbol (what most of us in America call the yinyang symbol) in the ceiling letting in healing natural light. There were posters (oddly in English) outlining various tuina maneuvers. I was mesmerized and, also, overwhelmed trying to understand as much of the rapid fire Spanish explanations as possible.

My general take aways were: Chinese medicine is mostly accepted in Cuban culture (at least in Havana), but is mostly utilized by Chinese-Cubans. Maybe the locals know how to find the pharmacy, but it would have been impossible to locate if we didn’t have our pseudo guide. Don’t bank on getting an acupuncture session when your in Cuba unless you know people who know people. But, do plan on visiting the China Town in Cuba and experiencing this random merging of cultures.

Also, here are some random Cuba travel tidbits to take the secret out of a successful trip:

1. Make sure you have the required health insurance to enter Cuba (usually included in airfare).

2. Know that you’ll need to get a travel ticket (similar to a visa) to enter the country and determine a ‘reason for travel” - usually “Support of the Cuban people.”

3. Don’t bring American Dollars as you’ll be taxed an extra 10%. Euros seem to be the best bet, but leave 48 hours for your bank here to get the desired currency. Also, we found out that the airport in Havana did not accept the Cuban currency -only certain foreign currency. Which was weird, but be sure to save some extra money for airport snacks. Well, there was no food available except beer and yogurt. The employees for the currency office also hadn’t shown up that day, so we are now stuck with the Cuban currency (good reason to go back!).

4. There are TWO Cuban currencies: one is for the locals, one is for the tourists. Be sure to ask what the price is listed in and use your common sense. We ate at a small stand, it initially looked like it was $12 for a roll, but it was like .20 cents in the local currency. You have to ask the bank to give you a mixture of both.

5. Your American credit cards and debit cards won’t work. Bring as much cash as you think you’ll need and download the western union app just in case.

6. WIFI is available at the nice hotels but you have to buy the internet access cards from the staff there and they only work at that location. Be sure to sign out of the internet/wifi or the card time will keep running even if you aren’t using it.

7. The yellow taxis are so much more expensive. We used a mixture of random cars and the classic cars. Some were sketchy and run down, most were fine. we got where we needed to go. BUT, always ask the price (negotiable) AND if they have change. Otherwise, you’ll end up over paying. One driver said he didn’t have change, but when we pushed back he suddenly had change available. . .

8. We felt safe the whole time. But, there is a strong hustle to make money. This shows up as lots of taxi drivers approaching you to give rides, people selling show tickets, and people saying they have access to cheaper Cuban cigars and rum. Do what you want with this. We respected the hustle, probably got scammed a few times, laughed a lot and didn’t take anything personally.

9. Bring your favorite digestive support because you won’t be able to find it there. Also, take your own bandaids, small medical kit because there aren’t CVS/Walgreens on every corner. I was super grateful for the protein bars, instant coffee, digestive meds, and tissues that I brought.

10. Most bathrooms don’t have toilet paper or toilet seats. Expect to squat (this is my theory on why all the Cuban women have such great butts!) and byo-toilet paper.

11. Have fun. Slow down. Don’t expect amenities. Observe. Sit on lots of benches. Feel the aliveness of this fascinating country. Let me know how it goes and if you learn any new secrets.

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