ON AVERAGE, YOUR STOMACH produces about 1.5 litres of acid a day. Its job is to break down the food you eat so other parts of your digestive system can extract nutrients from it, and it’s also your body’s first line of defence against any bacteria or other pathogens you might swallow.
Previously, it was believed that stomach acid declined naturally with age, but recent studies have discovered that’s not technically true. In the absence of factors that cause acid production to drop,those in their 20s and 30s. The problem is, most of us end up with one of those factors and, as such, past the age of 65, your acid production may fall by as much as 30 per cent.
