If there’s one word that encapsulates my approach to naturally fixing stomach dysfunction, it’s this:

Safe.

This is because there are so many irresponsible approaches being pitched today by pop-up gut gurus, which can – in reality - be quite dangerous and lead to more confusion.

(Read: no HCl needed!)

Often, those trying to address chronic stomach issues can be met with surprising obstacles that work to complicate and deter progress.

Many clients have relayed their fear of working with hydrochloric acid, of experiencing burning symptoms, and frustrations about not knowing how to proceed in a rational way.

Because of this, I’ve found that there is great need to articulate and systematize the various considerations I suggest keeping in mind while undertaking this task.

Because even though navigating these waters can be complex, the step of normalizing your stomach function remains one of the most foundational pieces to good gut and immune health.

 Hence, the S.A.F.E. method to fixing your stomach function was born.

“What is the S.A.F.E. method for fixing stomach function?”

S.A.F.E. is an acronym for our unique 4-step approach that I suggest you follow – in order – to safely and efficiently fix your stomach function. It entails the following:

STEP 1: Soothe your mucosa.

STEP 2: Augment cellular energy.

STEP 3: Flush your drainage funnel

STEP 4: Enzymes as needed.

Let's examine this a bit more closely - shall we?

STEP 1: Soothe your mucosa.

The first step is to ‘soothe your mucosa’ – your digestive mucosa.

Your digestive mucosa is your gut lining, and it secretes protective mucus that serves as an important barrier between the potentially irritating contents in your GI-tract (food, microbes, toxins, etc.) and your tissue.

For many reasons that occur in modern life, your digestive mucosa can become impaired and degraded, leading to less mucus secretion and a vulnerable and damaged gut lining that inevitably leads to down-stream inflammation.

Some of these impairment factors include:

• Consistent exposure to certain drugs and pharmaceuticals
• Pesticide intake
• Excessive sugar and carbohydrates in the diet
• Underlying infection
• And the delayed emptying time caused by low stomach acid

In order to ensure that whatever you consume and allow into your GI tract will not further irritate your already angry mucosa, then slip past its broken structure and into your tissue where it will cause an immune response, you’ve got to first focus on repairing and strengthening.

When this step gets skipped, there’s an exponentially greater likelihood that you will remain sensitive and irritated by whatever other gut therapy or food you decide to try – because everything will be irritating to tissue that is already irritated.

It doesn’t matter how disciplined you are or how much money you spend on gut therapies – without this step you likely won’t get very far.

The way that I suggest going about this process involves:

• making sure to avoid gut irritants
• making sure to implement stimuli for repair (see the next step)
• intensively emphasizing targeted foods that nourish the mucosa
• and by supporting your endogenous mucus production with specific herbs, amino acids, and phytonutrients (hellooooo Mucosa Tea!)

Ready to get started? I put everything into this client-favorite week-long workshop on the topic: The 7 Day Gut Soothe.

STEP 2: Augment Cellular Energy

Stomach acid production is the most energy-intensive process in digestion.

And when energy is involved?

That’s when we need to turn to our cellular energy-makers: the mighty mitochondria.

When the mitochondria become stressed from too many toxin exposures and a lack of natural stimuli, our acid-producing parietal cells in the stomach shut down.

(And hydrochloric acid production does, too.)

In addition to thinking about reducing the toxin exposure, we also need to think about supporting and augmenting mitochondrial function.

Literature shows the mitochondria produce up to 3 times more energy when they have:

• Infrared light exposure
• Electron rich food, water, and ground exposure
• Soil microbe metabolites
• Nutrients like ubiquinol, essential fatty acids, and magnesium

And more!

When we tune the mitochondria with “micro-tweaks” in our environments, we tell them when to make stomach acid, andwhen to heal from acid-related damage. #WinWin

(Pssst… did I mention? All of the mitochondria strategy is packed inside the Mito-Mucosa Kit inside The 7 Day Gut Soothe™.)

STEP 3: Flush your (drainage) funnel. 

Finally, we need to actually address the root cause of your stomach issues: toxin presence and elimination.

We know from literature that toxins like heavy metals, mold, endotoxin from pathogenic bacteria, and environmental chemicals work to suppress digestive secretions by shutting off parietal cell function (our acid producing cells).

And when you consider this in the context of our unprecedented modern toxin exposures, it’s no wonder so many struggle with stomach acid issues today:

• The EPA actively monitors over 86,000 toxic chemicals that circulate in our environment.
• Radioactive elements have been found in the tap water of 170 million Americans. And dangerous PFAS chemicals in the tap water of 110 million.
• 98% of basements experience some kind of water damage. And 45 million US buildings have unhealthy levels of mold.
• 91 million Americans have amalgam fillings and are constantly exposed to mercury.
• And the list goes on…  

In order to facilitate an effective toxin elimination strategy, we need to move waste through out body’s drainage funnel. We need to flush our funnels.

To do this, we use the B-Fourmula, our proprietary 4-step framework, that moves the bowels, stimulates the bile, binds toxins, and busts through biofilm.

(We’ll teach you inside of Funnel Flush, our signature drainage program on how to safely open the body's elimination pathways to remove toxin obstacles to your digestive secretions.)

STEP 4: Enzyme support, as needed.

While you’re working to get your parietal cell function back online it may be necessary to bridge the gap between your low stomach acid and your digestive needs.

Did you know you have literally dozens of digestive secretions beyond just stomach acid?

Now, to be fair, most of them you’re allowed to forget about, especially once you’ve optimized your stomach’s pH – they just kind of follow suit when the acidic pH is in line. 

But for many of us who may have had low stomach acid for quite some time that has resulted in digestive stress, or for those who experience active burning distress, or who have gut-related conditions, we need to provide some much needed support at mealtime until out acid roars back to life.

The main additional player we need to think about here (in addition to the bile which we cover in drainage) is our pancreatic enzymes.

Especially if you're sensitive to food or are finding you aren’t breaking food down completely.

If this is you then you need to consider enzymatic support.

And in particular? Proteolytic enzymatic support.

With low stomach acid symptoms like heartburn, reflux, or burning, enzymes are a non-negotiable.

And bonus, unlike supplemental HCl, this form digestive support is powerful but gentle. 

There are simple diet, supplement, and lifestyle supports we can implement to create an optimally functioning digestive system with enzymes.

However, this step should be considered a temporary one!

Once the mitochondria begin producing energy again and stomach acid comes back on, we can leave enzymes behind or use on an as needed basis.

How to implement the S.A.F.E. method

As I mentioned previously, there are many variables we need to consider when we’re thinking about upper GI health and how to optimize it.

This was the impetus for my creation of the S.A.F.E. method which I use with clients, and teach inside our programming.

My intention was to provide an easy and intuitive framework for how to prioritize and move through this process.

If you’re ready to get started, you can head to The 7 Day Gut Soothe™ for our entire stomach acid system!

Confused about whether or not you need to think about fixing your stomach? Consider taking our free quiz on whether or not you have low stomach acid.