Low Stomach Acid: One of the Most Overlooked Causes of Bloating and Constipation
Low stomach acid is one of the most common patterns I see on stool testing and it’s missed most of the time in mainstream medicine.
So many of the women I work with come to me asking: “Why am I bloated and constipated even though I eat well?” or, “Why do I feel bloated after every meal?” They’re often dealing with chronic bloating, irregular bowel movements, and ongoing digestive discomfort despite doing “all the right things.”
In many cases, what they’re experiencing isn’t a food problem. It’s actually slow digestion driven by low stomach acid.
Low stomach acid doesn’t just affect gut health. It impacts nutrient absorption, gut bacteria balance, gut motility, immune defense, and even hormone health. In my experience as a functional nutrition practitioner, low stomach acid is one of the most overlooked causes of bloating and constipation.
Why stomach acid is so important
Stomach acid plays several critical roles in digestive health:
• It breaks down food so nutrients can be absorbed
• It activates digestive enzymes
• It signals gut motility and supports healthy bowel movements
• It acts as the body’s first line of defense against bacteria and pathogens that can overgrow
When stomach acid is sufficient, digestion is efficient, food moves through at a healthy pace, and the gut environment stays balanced.
When it’s low, digestion slows down, bloating increases throughout the day and bowel movements become irregular.
What happens when stomach acid is low
When stomach acid is low, food isn’t properly broken down. This leads to slow digestion, which creates a domino effect:
Food sits in the gut too long → it begins to ferment → gas and pressure build → bacteria feed on undigested food → motility slows → bloating and constipation develop.
This is one of the most common patterns behind bloating and constipation, even when someone is eating healthy.
Low stomach acid also weakens your natural defense system. Normally, stomach acid protects against organisms like H. pylori, candida, and opportunistic bacteria. When acid is low, these microbes are more likely to survive, overgrow, and contribute to chronic bloating, food sensitivities and digestive symptoms.
5 signs your bloating and constipation may be due to low stomach acid
1. You feel heavy, full, or bloated after meals
Especially after higher-protein meals.
Protein requires strong stomach acid to break it down. When acid is low, food sits in the gut instead of being digested. This is often the reason behind feeling bloated after every meal.
2. Constipation or alternating constipation and loose stools
Stomach acid helps trigger peristalsis — the wave-like muscle contractions that move food through the digestive tract.
Low acid weakens this signal, slowing motility and contributing to bloating, incomplete bowel movements, or irregular bowel movements.
3. You react to lots of foods
Undigested food irritates the gut lining and becomes fuel for bacterial overgrowth. This increases fermentation, gas production, bloating, and causes food sensitivities. It’s not actually the foods you’re reacting to, it's the weak digestive function that’s causing food sensitivities.
Many people searching for how to fix digestion naturally are actually dealing with low digestive function — not true food intolerances, even if you’ve done a food sensitivity test.
4. Low iron or iron-deficiency symptoms
Iron needs stomach acid to be absorbed from food.
When stomach acid is low, iron from both food and supplements is poorly absorbed. This can contribute to fatigue, dizziness, hair loss, brain fog, and heavy periods. Low stomach acid also encourages the growth of bacteria like H. Pylori and parasites which feed on iron, contributing to low levels.
5. Frequent bloating, gas, or reflux
Low stomach acid encourages food to ferment in the gut and bacteria to feed on it.
This fermentation creates gas and pressure in the stomach. That pressure can push small amounts of stomach contents upward, leading to burning or reflux-like sensations — which often feels like too much acid, even when the root issue is actually not enough.
Low stomach acid rarely happens in isolation
In my practice, I don’t just recommend supplementing with acid and digestive enzymes. We look at the body holistically and address the root causes of low stomach acid so that we can support your body to produce these digestive juices, naturally.
Low stomach acid is deeply connected to mineral deficiencies, chronic stress, cortisol imbalances, low thyroid function, and imbalances in gut bacteria — all of which can contribute to slow digestion, chronic bloating, and constipation.
This is why people can feel stuck asking, “Why am I bloated and constipated?” even after eliminating foods, taking probiotics, or “eating clean.”
Want to go deeper?
🎧 In episode 5 of The Nourished Way podcast, I break down:
• the most common causes of bloating and constipation that have nothing to do with food
• how low stomach acid contributes to slow digestion, bloating, and constipation
• how I support clients to fix digestion naturally by addressing root imbalances
If you’ve been dealing with bloating and constipation but eating healthy, this episode will give you a completely different framework for understanding what’s happening in your body.
👉 Listen to episode 5 of The Nourished Way podcast to learn what’s really driving your symptoms.
Elimination Diets Aren’t the Answer
A lot of my clients have been dealing with digestive issues for a long time and are often stuck in a restrictive cycle with food. Elimination diets can calm symptoms temporarily, but they don’t address the real reasons why someone is reacting to foods, feeling bloated all the time or struggling with constipation.
In my 1:1 program, I take a functional nutrition approach, using tools like the GI Map stool test and HTMA mineral testing to uncover what’s really driving digestive health symptoms and create a plan that corrects the root causes of chronic digestive issues.
No matter how long you’ve been dealing with any of these symptoms, you don’t have to keep cutting out foods, or spending money on random supplements and hoping something will work.
If you have a growing list of food sensitivities, your energy crashes in the afternoons, or you’re constantly bloated no matter what you eat — these are signs from your body that you need deeper support.
What to do next:
If you’re ready to go deeper, stop guessing, and actually fix the root cause of your digestive symptoms, this is exactly what we do inside my 1:1 program.
We use functional labs like blood work, HTMA, and the GI-MAP stool test to uncover what’s really driving your symptoms and then use the results to create a plan to restore your gut health, energy, and hormones.
By the end of our 6 months together, you’ll finally understand what your body really needs to thrive and have the support, guidance and strategy to eliminate symptoms for good, without another restrictive diet.
👉Apply to work 1:1 together if you’re ready for a personalized plan and real, long-term results.
