So by now you may be at a point where you're wondering, "is this relevant to me?"

maybe you're looking for some information to make sure that these concepts apply a little bit more explicitly to you.

So today we're going to examine exactly how low stomach acid tends to manifest in terms of common nutrient depletions and symptoms.

Let's return to this idea of pH. As a reminder, the stomach's optimal acidity has been determined to fall between 1.5 to 3.0 where the lower numbers are the more acidic.

Virtually all minerals, and most vitamins, are attached to proteins when you ingest them in food form.

These nutrients need to be effectively separated from these proteins in order for the body to be able to absorb them later in the small intestine.

If these nutrients fail to be separated from their proteins then they are fast-tracked for elimination and by-pass any absorption pathways.

In order for this separation from the protein to occur, and indeed, for proteins to be assimilated at all, the pH of the stomach needs to fall below a pH of 3.0.

If we fail to meet this condition, especially chronically over time, the result is cumulative nutritional deficiencies. Our nutrient reserves are used for many processes in the body, and some are more easily addressed than others.

Generally speaking, immunity relies on the stores of multiple vitamins, minerals, and proteins in order to carry out its many intricate cascades of reactions, so a lack of them can create a stressed environment in the body more prone to runaway inflammation that is the hallmark of chronic illness.

Let's take a closer look at proteins. Actually, proteins require an even lower pH - between 1.0 and 2.0 - than other nutrients to be properly hydrolyzed. Hydrolysis is just another word for the proper food break down that takes place in digestion.

This hydrolysis step is necessary in order for amino acids to be absorbed.

Essential and non-essential amino acids serve as the raw materials necessary for carrying out even the most basic biological processes in the human body.

This fact is compounded by the emerging research indicating higher protein need as we age - with senior citizens actually requiring the most daily protein intake in order to preserve their functional integrity and abilities.

Most people don't consume enough protein to begin with, especially for their age group. When you consider this in the context of low stomach acid, and the body's impaired ability to absorb what is being consumed, a clearer picture begins to emerge.

Protein deficiencies can manifest in many different ways, but some of the most common include:

• edema or swollen and puffy skin

• fatty liver

• depression or mood issues

• skin hair and nail weakness or problems

• loss of muscle mass

• stunted growth

• severe infections or illness

• and a lack of satiety at meals or craving high caloric foods

Proteins also play a major role in the immune system, one study showed that older women following a lower protein diet for only 9 weeks showed a significant drop in immune function.

This just makes sense, the vast majority of the players in our immune system are made of protein.

While we can probably extend these observations to most minerals, the relationship between iron, calcium, and zinc absorption and stomach pH is clear. Studies show that the use of antacids, when compared with controls not on the same drugs, result in major decreases in absorption. For iron, this decrease averaged around 50%!

Likewise, studies that examined whether stomach acid correction increased absorption for these minerals showed an overwhelmingly positive relationship. A 10-fold increase in absorption rate was observed for Calcium in people with initially low acid levels after stomach pH was normalized.

So, if you are dealing with symptoms or conditions associated with low levels of minerals - perhaps you're anemic, or suffer from chronic fatigue, or perhaps you have bone or teeth problems - lots of cavities? Osteoporosis or decreasing bone density? Look to your stomach acid!

Zinc deficiency is strongly associated with prostate problems in men, a depressed immune system, and leaky gut - so maybe you deal with frequent and severe infections, food sensitivities, adult acne, or if you're a man maybe you have an enlarged prostate that gives you troubles - these are all good indications that you're low on zinc and stomach acid.

B Vitamins are of particular concern in this discussion about acid-induced nutrient deficiency, because we can't create stores of them in our body.

So, sometimes with other vitamins, such as the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, we're able to store any excess that we digest and absorb but don't need to utilize right away in our tissue, in this case the fatty adipose-tissue in our bodies.

This way, if we ever need to go period of time where we don't have these vitamins readily available to us in the diet, we can break down these stores and still utilize the nutrients when we need them.

However, this isn't the case with B Vitamins, we need to consume them often and regularly in order to meet the body's needs.

So when our stomach pH is compromised, and we don't possess the acid power to properly digest the B Vitamins we do eat, this can become an especially important problem.

Deficiencies in B Vitamins can severely impact our nervous system health, our cardiovascular system, and our metabolism.

Folate (B9) deficiency results in increased levels of homocysteine in the blood, which is associated with cardiovascular events, and birth defects.

Cobalmin (B12) deficiency is also linked to increased homocysteine in the blood, and is associated with poor brain and nerve health which can result in feeling dull, tired, or depressed, body pain, or tingling and numbness. B12 deficiency is also highly associated with asthma in children.

Other common symptoms of being B-Vitamin deficient include trouble metabolizing sugars, susceptibility to bug-bites, photo-sensitive or sunburn prone, fatigue or weakness, and shortness of breath.

Other common symptoms of being B-Vitamin deficient include trouble metabolizing sugars, susceptibility to bug-bites, photo-sensitive or sunburn prone, fatigue or weakness, and shortness of breath.

Vitamins A and E don't have much research behind them in terms of absorption being linked to stomach pH. However, based on the proposed mechanism where the vitamin's absorption relies on the compound being severed from a protein - it is likely that these vitamin statuses in the body are also impacted. Perhaps, less dire, as we do have the ability to store them in tissue,

However, this is still worrisome since vitamin A, especially, is such an important nutrient for immunity.

So what do you think? Are you someone who may be chronically low in one or more of these nutrients, which require strong stomach acid to digest and absorb? Have you experienced any of the symptoms we've talked about as a result of these deficiencies?

If you thought this was eye-opening, Tomorrow, we'll tackle an ever bigger can of worms - vegetables.

See you then!