Dr Joseph Kamugisha I have seen individuals who take lunch at irregular schedules. This scenario is seen in many office bearers usually over-loaded with a lot of assignments and meetings from time to time. There are various physiological factors that can contribute to varying levels of gastric acid production, but feeding is one of the most considered factors in our daily lifestyle. Gastric acid is an important component of the digestive system and performs multiple functions. It is an important digestive substance secreted for complete breakdown of food in the stomach. Food in the mouth is broken down by chewing with your teeth with the help of salivary enzymes. Chewed food is sent to the stomach through the esophagus in a soft form or small particles and the gastric acid will further complete the breakdown before it is released to the intestines for absorption and assimilation processes to take place. The characteristic component of the gastric acid is that it is very strong and erosive. The stomach acid erosive character can be compared to the hydrochloric acid used in laboratory settings. Deficiency in the gastric acid production can lead to incomplete digestion or breakdown of food. The end result is that there will be decreased absorption and assimilation processes to take place. God was very merciful to install this physiological mechanism. Without complete gastric digestion, you will have patients with multiple vitamins and mineral deficiency. Vitamins and minerals are obtained by the body through absorption and assimilation processes. It is well-known that Vitamins and minerals contribute to proper function of our immune system. There have been numerous cases of constipation in some individuals with reported low gastric acid levels. What happens is that when a person starts to eat, the stomach is stimulated to produce gastric acid and this activates the chief cells in the middle portion of the stomach to start secreting a protein-digesting enzyme known as pepsinogen. Pepsinogen requires the presence of gastric acid in order to begin digesting a special dietary component that only occurs in the stomach and this is the protein nutrient. It should carefully be noted that the major role of gastric acid is to activate pepsinogen into pepsin that will act on proteins. Carbohydrate digestion is reduced in the stomach, and protein digestion starts. While eating, the gastric acid increases gradually. When it gets to a level high enough that normally takes about 30 minutes after eating, it neutralises enzymes from the mouth and filters the entry of food substance into the stomach against; bacteria, parasites, viruses that enter with the food from the mouth. Remember, the mouth is a point of entry to the body. The mouth does possess thousands of micro-organisms due to various reasons and among them rising from the dental area. Think of a situation where you ingest food from a dirty source, food is allowed to follow its trajectory all the way down to the intestines without any regulatory control mechanism or purification. This can expose you to various intestinal complications arising from infection or overproduction of toxic micro-organisms in your large intestines or colon. You become a client to surgeons and will open your abdomen from time to time. There are very many consequences associated with decreased gastric acid production in the stomach. There are also very many causes of low gastric secretion in the stomach. For many gastric problems today, stress is the commonest factor to mention. Stress is mainly associated with stimulation of an increased production of gastric acid as seen in some people with peptic ulcers. However gastric acid secretion can also be inhibited by prolonged or chronic stress or worry. People with low grade, long term and emotionally oriented life stress are mostly affected here as seen in some gender based violence cases. Increased gastric acid secretion and occurrence of peptic ulcer disease is highly associated with high stress situations or desire for high achievement. However, as the stress continues, the body is exhausted and the gastric production is no longer adequate and in turn causes low production of acid. People who develop this inhibitory process will suffer low acid secretion and ultimately suffer from multiple vitamins and mineral deficiency.
