Re: HCl production for Digestive system

According to Dr Flechas, high levels of Iodine are concentrated in the stomach lining and is used by the parietal cells to concentrate chloride ions, a component in stomach acid.

Niacin is great in aiding digestion if there's lack of stomach acid. Two likely mechanisms in which niacin is used for stomach acid production - first it releases histamine (causing skin flushing) and histamine is required to trigger stomach acid production. The other mechanism is that niacin is required in energy production inside the mitochondria (niacin is precursor to NADH) - the production of energy as ATP is required in the K+/H+ exchange in the parietal cells (for this reason stomach lining has the highest level of mitochondria activity).

A deficiency in niacin is typically present in hypochlorhydria/protein maldigestion (aka Aminoacid deficiency). Large amounts of the aminoacid tryptophan (found in protein rich sources) are needed for niacin production. Parallel to this, serotonin production also requires tryptophan. A deficiency in niacin and tryptophan is likely present in symptoms of Depression and anxiety as serotonin production is compromised. For this reason, niacin typically has a calming effect as more tryptophan is available for production of serotonin (the feel good component).

Mike
Tweet