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Comment by davzie | Hacker News Reader

Reflux is solved by MORE acidity or promotion of stomach acid. Lower stomach acid PH means the LES doesn’t close properly. Seems counter intuitive but took me 8 years of symptoms to discover.

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Not every case of reflux is caused by the same things. Some people's esophageal sphincter (such as mine does) just... decides to let go at random times. For me, that I can tell, the frequency of that happening isn't really affected +/- by the PH of my stomach acid, but the PH sure has an effect on the consequences.

I am assuming the best thing I can do for it is lose weight, but that's easier said than done.

Look into vitamin K2.

If you've tried the traditional diet and exercise and couldn't stick to it, don't let the stigma around glp-1s keep you from taking to your doctor about them. They are a powerful tool. Really helped me

I think this is true for a long term solution, but the standard treatment to alleviate symptoms of reflux is to consume antacids, so I think parent's point is still valid.

> Lower stomach acid PH means the LES doesn’t close properly

I don't think that's correct. Lower stomach acid pH makes the LES close more tightly, with a max around pH==3.

When I said lower stomach acid I meant in quantity, not acidity, you're right!

So hard to teach this to people, even those who've moved past basic understanding. I keep acid/digestive pills near the bedroom in case I have problems with a late meal

So proton pump inhibitors don't work? Nah

They have long term health consequences and reduce your stomach acid quantity enough that the acid doesn't make it's way back up the throat. So it's masking the root cause. The knock-on effect of taking PPIs or H2-blockers is that you end up with lower acidity which means worse food digestion which means being more prone to bugs and bacteria in food not being wiped out before it gets to the small intestine where it can cause bigger issues like SIBO.

Having the right amount of stomach acid and low PH is crucial to keep the whole digestive system, gut motility and more running properly.

Yes, they are bad long term. But do they prevent acid short term? Yes.

Yes they prevent acid but that's masking the root symptom (not enough and not low enough PH to stimulate closure of the LES). Not having enough might seem like it fixes it in the short term, but it causes knock-on effects that mean your food isn't being digested properly and you're more prone to bad bacteria making it's way to the small intestine. Once it gets there, it's very hard to get rid of so be careful on PPIs!

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