Last Updated on 14th February 2020 by Caroline Haye
The acid test for vitiligo?
Like many people with vitiligo, I read a lot about the condition on the internet. In fact, I read so much that I sometimes find myself going round in ever decreasing circles… And occasionally meeting myself coming back! I’m always particularly interested in finding out about possible links between poor digestion and the autoimmune process… Mainly because this proved to be an important factor in my vitiligo success. Testing positive for hypochlorhydria recently indicated that I have too little stomach acid. And I believe that this may have been one of the triggers for my vitiligo. Maybe the same is true for you. It’s worth finding out.
Poor absorption of nutrients
Low stomach acid is a problem that can result in incomplete digestion of food. And this results in poor absorption of nutrients, which can lead to numerous chronic illnesses… Including autoimmune diseases, arthritis, allergies and skin disorders.
This fact might explain why adding nutritional supplements to my diet had such a dramatic impact on my vitiligo. It has resulted in my almost complete re-pigmentation over recent years, when nothing else had ever helped before. (Interestingly, supplementation also seems to have all but eliminated my chronic digestive problems and arthritis. Are all these conditions linked to poor nutritional absorption I wonder? And how many other vitiligo sufferers have similar health issues? Please drop a comment onto this page and let me know if you do…)
Hypochlorhydria versus hyperchlorhydria
It seems that low gastric acid is not the only pH problem that can cause skin disorders and other chronic conditions. Too much stomach acid can produce similar symptoms. And too much acid in the body generally can lead to serious or even life threatening illnesses. Most medical experts in the field recommend a diet consisting of 70 – 80% alkalising foods versus 20 – 30% acid-producing foods. But, unfortunately, it’s not always obvious which foods are which. For example, who would guess that lemons and limes are actually alkaline-producing in the body? Luckily there are plenty of charts available on line which show the relative pH levels of foods – like this one.
The problem is that most western diets are based on meat, processed and refined sugars… As well as copious amounts of tea and coffee (not to mention alcohol) – all of which are highly acid producing. And the majority of potently alkaline producing foods (like wheat grass, alfalfa grass, kamut and kale) are simply not very popular with most people. Which is another good reason for taking supplements containing these foods! Swallowing a few capsules of these “superfoods” is certainly a more convenient way of consuming them. Alternatively, adding a powder to a tasty shake turns the whole thing into a healthy treat. Without options like these I would struggle to include enough healthy nutrients into my daily diet.
How to eat a genuinely healthy diet in our modern, western culture? … that’s the acid test.
6 thoughts on “Hypochlorhydria”
What diet did you do and which nutritions did you take?
I actually ate a relatively normal diet, just avoiding too much refined foods and sugar. The main thing was the supplements, which are all listed on the “Supplements that worked for me” page of my site. I also made sure I got regular sun exposure to help the process along.
Hi Caroline, great job, Got bless you. You sad in your article that acidity level in stomach can be cured. What had you in mind, only this special diet or maybe some extra treatment or procedure? Also did you managed to measure your acidity level. How is it done, is procedure complicated. I have same problem as you, in Austria they don’t measure acidity level in stomach, which is absurd by my opinion.
Cheers!
It is so funny to read this! I’m on the same course as you even before reading this! I recently bought..”crazy, sexy, diet” and it’s all about ph level…I’m doing an alkaline diet featuring lots of green, leafy things..and eating lots of broccoli sprouts, which repair DNA. Your right our western diet is highly acidic and hinders cellular repair. You’re like my cosmic twin Caroline. Excellent blog!
Hi Caroline, great job, Got bless you. You sad in your article that acidity level in stomach can be cured. What had you in mind, only this special diet or maybe some extra treatment or procedure? Also did you managed to measure your acidity level. How is it done, is procedure complicated. I have same problem as you, in Austria they don’t measure acidity level in stomach, which is absurd by my opinion.
Cheers!
In answer to your question, Mike, I sent off for a test kit to a private doctor in the Uk called Dr Sarah Myhill. She used to be in General Practice in the NHS but found the established medical community to be too closed minded to natural remedies and set up her own private practice. You can find the details of the stomach acid test on her site http://www.drmyhill.co.uk. My results came back indicating that I do have low stomach acid and Dr Myhill recommended I try Betaine tablets and also Digestive Enzymes. However, the stomach acid test is not a conclusive outcome and I didn’t find the Betaine really helped. The Digestive Enzymes on the other hand have proved to be more beneficial. Hope that helps 🙂