Will Protein Pump Inhibitors Reduce Acid in My Body?

A. While on the surface it might seem logical that if you reduce hydrochloric acid in the stomach, you will reduce the body’s total acid load. However, in the long run it is likely to turn out quite the opposite. When you decrease hydrochloric acid, you decrease the ability to properly absorb and assimilate mineral compounds. Minerals attached to alkalizing negatively charged ions (like citrate, carbonate, ascorbate, fumerate, etc.) are the source of alkalizing reserves used for buffering excess metabolic acids.

Decreasing stomach hydrochloric acid and digestive strength will likely decrease the availability of mineral compounds within the body. Prolonged use of proton pump inhibitors, in fact, has been linked to the development of osteoporosis likely due to this very fact.

From the Alkaline for Life® perspective the goal is always to uncover and correct the root of the problem, in this case to figure out what’s causing the reflux and resolve that rather than to suppress a symptom with pharmacological agents.