Achlorhydria (lack of stomach acid)

[Cece]

Hi everyone!

Hopefully someone can help me.
I completely lack stomach acid. Feels like everything is fermenting and I feel terrible all the time. The problem is that my stomach lining is so irritated and HCL supplements and even C-vitamin causes my stomach to start cramping and burning, even small amounts.

I also have a severe candida infection and I can only control it with diflucan (fluconazole) 100 mg a day.
I know I would have to change my diet to protein and fat but thanks to my lack of stomach acid I get really nauseous and can't digest them properly.

I'm now taking digestive enzymes (digest Gold) and pancreatin (creon) but I stil feel terrible.
I'm still eating cooked foods because I'm scared of the bacterias when I dont have enough HCL to kill them.
Mostly fish and chicken, fruits, vegetables, rice, corn and buckwheat.  Can't digest dark meat at all.
Would it help to go completely raw?

Also the doctors have found that I have very high Calcitriol which indicates that I have a major inflammation somewhere in my body. They are suspecting Lyme disease. But I'm scared of taking antibiotics when I already have such severe candida AND I'm really underweight.

Has anyone had similar problems?
Any ideas what to do?

Thanks!!
Your C

[cherimoya_kid]

If you really need to kill the candida fast, a 3-day coconut oil fast will get that done. However, that's really extreme, and I'd suggest just adding a couple of tablespoons of virgin raw coconut oil a day to your diet for a week or so, and see if that helps. Different brands digest differently, so try several different brands if it gives you gas or loose stools.

As far as stomach acid, unrefined sea salt, like the Celtic Gray salt, tends to work very well. 

A lack of stomach acid isn't going to kill you if you try to start eating raw.  Aajonus Vonderplanitz, a raw meat educator who recently died in an accident, said he had very little stomach acid because a nerve to his stomach was cut during an when he was young.  He certainly never had problems eating raw.

What I would suggest is trying some wild-caught ocean fish, like tuna, in a raw or very lightly-steamed state.  If you don't like that, then get some never-frozen grassfed beef/buffalo/lamb and try that, again in a raw or lightly-steamed state. Just eat a little bit more each day, start out with a half-teaspoon or so.  If you need to, have some kind of sauce with it.   This can be easily done at a sushi restaurant, and cheaply, too, because you won't be eating very much fish the first several times.


The inflammation in your body could have several causes, but one of the causes is likely to be the excessively-cooked nature of the food you are eating. Are you eating grassfed meat or wild-caught fish?   Give us an idea of your daily diet, EVERYTHING you eat, and the approximate amounts. Include any supplements, teas, herbs, etc..

Also, have you had your vitamin D levels checked?  Inflammation is often related to vitamin D deficiency.  The Now brand supplements are very effective, I take those.  It's also important, at least for some people, to get sunlight in addition to oral supplements.

[jessica]

Start by taking a probiotic and try to cut down on eating fruits, corn, rice and buckwheat.  Aim to go one day at a time without any of these foods.
Try to do a lower glycemic paleo diet similar to that of marksdailyapple.com or whole9.com.
Focus on eating your meals on a regular and very relaxed schedule. 
Drink teas between meals to enhance digestion, peppermint, ginger, dandelion root, fennel, dill are all good digestive aids.
Add some raw fats to your diet like a raw egg yolk to each meal.
Make sure you are eating the very best quality foods you can find, pastured, organic, wild.
Try coconut oil and calcium bentonite clay internally and topically.  Use a good baking soda and clay scrub for the body and stay away from any chemicals.
Get out in the sun and sweat, just get out and sweat and get your circulation going, get your lungs and lymph system working to clean your blood of candida.
Get plenty of rest.

[TylerDurden]

There is no need to worry about bacteria as there has never been a mass-food-poisoning epidemic or whatever in the rawpalaeodiet community.

Basically, raw foods require far less stomach acid produced by the body in order for them to be digested. That is what I found out:- I used to have appalling stomach-aches due to excessive stomach-acid among many other issues and they stopped completely after I went all-raw.

By all means use probiotics and enzyme supplements, but these artificial versions are nowhere near as good as the genuine enzymes and bacteria in raw foods. Eventually, after you have gotten used to fresh, raw meats, it would be best for you to try eating, aged raw meats as well, in other words "high-meat", as it virtually  completely predigests itself so does not need any real digesting by the human body.

[sabertooth]

Hi everyone!


I also have a severe candida infection and I can only control it with diflucan (fluconazole) 100 mg a day.


Has anyone had similar problems?
Any ideas what to do?

Oh my God. You are taking 100mg of Diflican daily. You will never heal while taking that drug!

List of side effects
http://www.drugs.com/sfx/diflucan-side-effects.html
Abdominal or stomach pain
chills
clay-colored stools
cough
dark urine
diarrhea
difficulty with swallowing
dizziness
fast heartbeat
fever
general feeling of tiredness or weakness
headache
hives
itching
large, hive-like swelling on the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs, feet, or sex organs
light-colored stools
loss of appetite
nausea and vomiting
puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue
shortness of breath
skin rash
stomach pain, continuing
tightness in the chest
unpleasant breath odor
unusual tiredness or weakness
upper right abdominal or stomach pain
vomiting of blood
wheezing
yellow eyes and skin
Incidence not known
Black, tarry stools
blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin
chest pain or discomfort
convulsions
decreased urine
dry mouth
fainting
hoarseness
increased thirst
irregular or slow heart rate
joint or muscle pain
loss of bladder control
lower back or side pain
mood changes
muscle pain or cramps
muscle spasm or jerking of all extremities
numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, or lips
painful or difficult urination
pale skin
red skin lesions, often with a purple center
red, irritated eyes
sore throat
sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips
sudden loss of consciousness
swollen glands
unusual bleeding or bruising
Get emergency help immediately if any of the following symptoms of overdose occur while taking fluconazole:

Symptoms of overdose
Fearfulness, suspiciousness, or other mental changes
seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there
Some side effects of fluconazole may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

Less common
Acid or sour stomach
belching
change in taste or bad, unusual, or unpleasant (after) taste
heartburn
indigestion
stomach discomfort or upset
Incidence not known
Hair loss or thinning of the hair

I had systemic yeast years ago along with many other symptoms similar to your own and tried Diflican for about a week. I had to stop after my heart started palpitating. It seems, you are most likely toxic, its possible you have some underlying condition such as Lyme. Your body is overburdened with undigested foodstuffs and metobolic waste.

Candida is usually a symptom of some other condition, if you aren't able to assimilate your nutritional intake, then the yeast will feed on the excess and this is what we call a yeast overgrowth.

I would suggest,Quit taking the drug, and try a three day coconut fast, before transitioning into the paleo diet. 

You should at least try and eliminate all grains and other processed foods.

[LePatron7]

As far as stomach acid, unrefined sea salt, like the Celtic Gray salt, tends to work very well.

I definitely agree. I personally use Redmond's "Real Salt." Here's a link with some info on healing low stomach acid naturally.

http://empoweredsustenance.com/heal-low-stomach-acid-naturally/

Here's what the link has to say about cabbage -

"”Vitamin U?” You may be thinking, “I’ve heard of A, B, C, D, E, and K… but not U!” That’s because it’s not a real vitamin, just a label for a powerful healing enzyme found in cabbage. It is applauded for it’s anti-ulcer abilities and quickly cures stomach ulcers and heals the stomach lining. When stomach acid has been chronically low for years, the stomach lining may be inflamed and unable to tolerate acid supplementation.  In this case, vitamin U is useful in soothing an inflamed stomach lining and correcting low stomach acid. "

A google search for "low stomach acid natural cures" will yield even more results.

For your digestive problems, I definitely recommend fermented foods. You can make your own sauerkraut, pickles, kimchee etc. which will be rich in probiotics which will help heal your gut. However they have to be naturally fermented and home made.

Here's a link on sauerkraut (fermented cabbage).

http://www.wildfermentation.com/making-sauerkraut-2/

Here's a link on my favorite pickle recipe.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/naturally-fermented-dill-pickles/

In addition to fermented foods, I'd recommend temporarily eliminating complex carbs, and possibly trying a high fat raw-specific carbohydrate diet. It would only be temporary till some healing in your gut takes place. The SCD (short for specific carbohydrate diet) can also help candida.

I'd also suggest making sure your enzyme pathways are functioning optimally. Low nutrient levels can hinder enzyme function, which could cause problems in digestion. The poor digestion could increase the amount of food that goes undigested, which would then feed bacteria in the gut, worsening your candida and digestive issues. So increase your consumption of magnesium, zinc, manganese, and possibly other nutrients.

http://www.naturalnews.com/023511_magnesium_body_deficiency.html

""Enzymes are protein molecules that stimulate every chemical reaction in the body. Magnesium is required to make hundreds of these enzymes work." - Dr. Carolyn Dean"

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/zinc/

"Over 300 different enzymes depend on zinc for their ability to catalyze vital chemical reactions. Zinc-dependent enzymes can be found in all known classes of enzymes (4)."

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/manganese/

"Manganese (Mn) plays an important role in a number of physiologic processes as a constituent of multiple enzymes and an activator of other enzymes (2)."

[cherimoya_kid]

Good idea on the cabbage, DaBoss. I should have remembered that.

[Cece]

Thank you so much for all the helpful advice!

I quit taking Diflucan and switched to Nystatin.
My doctor also suspects SIBO, an overgrowth of bacteria.
He wants me to try antibiotics and I'm really desperate, but haven't started yet.
I have tried probiotics but it just seems to make things worse which indicates SIBO.

Coconut oil sounds great, the only problem is that I can't digest fats. When I eat more fats even
raw fat like avocado, I end up vomiting (had this problem as long as I can remember). When I supplement with ox bile I feel better, but I can'd do this anymore because the ox bile irritates my stomach lining so it hurts so bad.
I have heard that 1 tbs of lecithin with each meal could substitute the bile.
Anyone tried this?

Really interesting about the vitamin U.
I was thinking of starting juicing all of my vegetables instead of cooking them and killing everything good about them.
I also hope that would eliminate the problem with fiber (FODMAP) causing so much cramping.

Now I eat my fish raw but I still get really really nauseus from dark meat.
I have a milk allergy and have before reacted to lamb and beef. (still not sure if it's an allergy to meat or only that I can't digest them)

Hopefully I'll soon be in better shape!!

/Your Cece

[jessica]

lecithin might help, its supposed to emulsify the fat for you.  do you have a good source of eggs?  raw egg yolks contain lecithin, among many other healthful vitamins and minerals and amino acids.  perhaps adding one to your meals would be a good place to start?

have you ever tried any herbs or herbal teas to help stimulate digestion, the gall bladder or liver?

[svrn]

Aajonus vonderplanitz had his vagus nerve severed and became unable to produce hcl. The doctors told him he would never be able to eat any raw food ever again. Regardless of that he lived the rest of his life eating raw meats every day with no problem.

Just eat your meats raw and you wont need any of those chemicals

[Ioanna]

cabbage is supposed to be so great but it tears me apart  

a friend of mine has had good outcome supplementing w lecithin.

[cherimoya_kid]

cabbage is supposed to be so great but it tears me apart  

I have to chew cabbage very thoroughly, or it gives me abdominal cramps. 

[Cece]

Hi again!
It seems like I'm really sensitive to betaine in betaineHCl. I tried pure betaine and it gives me lots of mucus and stomach pain.
I read that someone on the internet uses 5% HCL drops. Any experience with these?
How many drops do I take with each meal and will it destroy my teeth?
I really need HCl for my digestion!!

/Cece

[van]

When I used hcl tablets to jump start my own production,  I used a fraction of what others were using.   They often would say take enough so that you feel the burn and then back down one tablet.   'They' would often take up to ten or more.  I would take one, and only at the end of a meal, and would not take it whole, as it could sit against the stomach wall while it dissolved.. I would break it up and swallow with water.  So, decrease your amount so that it doesn't cause any pain or problems whatsoever.