Morning Belch Or Lack Of

Yesterday, I attended the Fitter Food Academy "Women's Health, Hormones and Happiness".  I spent a day listening to the clever Keris, Emma, Anna and Matt talk about the impact of stress, digestion, hormones and exercise on female health and happiness. It was all quite mind boggling; there is so much more to learn!

My key takeaway from the day was that it all starts with digestion (well, I believe I have the food part sorted anyway). Essentially, if my digestion isn't right, then I can't take on board all the lovely, nutritious food that I eat. I have always struggled with my stomach, but it has got a lot better since going lower carb, but I still feel like it isn't quite right. I have gone from constant bloating and gases to "only" being constipated. Better for people around me, but still uncomfortable. I also think that some of my exhaustion and general worn down feeling may come from lack of nutrient absorption.

Emma mentioned that the acidity in your stomach is the first thing to check (and sort out). Apparently, it is much more common to have too low stomach acidity than too high acidity, despite medicines being geared towards the latter. There is a simple test for stomach acidity, but unfortunately I had to wait till this morning to do it: the bicarb test. Simply stir 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda into 200ml of water and drink it first thing in the morning. If you belch within 2-3 minutes of drinking it, then you're fine, otherwise you have too low stomach acidity. Simon willingly subjected himself to the test too, and belched like a trooper. Me on the other hand... Nothing, nada, zilch, not even a murmur from my stomach. Yikes.  According to my brief Internet search, I should try this on three consecutive mornings, but it looks like I may need to supplement with some HCL (hydrochloric acid) to increase acidity. I am ever hopeful that I one day I too will have a happy tummy!