Hmmmm, that is a convincing argument. Interestingly, I have always felt that candida in and of itself made me acidic, and when I am candida-free, I do not feel that way. Your explanation kind of backs that up. Plus, I do still continue to have problems sometimes with low stomach acid if I am not careful about keeping up with it. However, when the gut is leaky, the acid from the HCL supp. sometimes does "spill out" into the system - another cause of feeling too acidic, I think. Must read more!