When pepsin is not functioning, what happens in the body is that your body cannot break down dietary proteins efficiently into usable amino acids.
As a result, it leads to severe indigestion, bloating as well as nutrient deficiencies like B12 and iron as well as muscle weakness and even a higher vulnerability to gastrointestinal bacterial infections.
Also, while pepsin that is inactive causes digestion issues, it's also the main culprit in tissue damage during acid reflux.
And when the pepsin escapes into your esophagus and throat during reflux, it also attaches to your laryngeal cells and even if the acid is neutralized, the pepsin can still activate again later, often triggering a chronic cough, hoarseness and damage to your vocal cords.
Stomach acid and pepsin both act as a primary immune barrier, by destroying harmful bacteria and parasites ingested with food.
And a lack of functioning pepsin lowers the defense, increasing your risk of bacteria and fungal overgrowth, like SIBO.
Pepsin and stomach acid are also required to separate the nutrients from the food you eat, and impaired function of pepsin can result in deficiencies in the essential minerals and vitamins the body needs like B12, magnesium, calcium and iron, which can cause anemia and fatigue.
And because pepsin is the main and primary enzyme, which initiates protein breakdown in your stomach, the absence of the pepsin also means that large protein chains will pass into your intestines while remaining largely intact.
The undigested food then ferments in your gut and causes significant bloating, gas and abdominal discomfort.
If you have low pepsin, what happens is your body struggles to break down the dietary proteins.
The inefficiency of too little pepsin, triggers a cascade of digestive issues, nutritional deficits and physical discomfort.
When you have too little pepsin, it leads to poor digestion, increased infection risk and nutritional deficiencies.
With too little pepsin, large protein molecules are not cleaved into absorbable peptides.
This also causes food to linger in your stomach, fermenting and producing gas.
And pepsin and stomach acid are also required to extract and absorb critical nutrients like iron, vitamin B12, calcium and magnesium.
Stomach acid also acts as the primary barrier against pathogens.
And low levels of pepsin and stomach acid makes your GI tract more vulnerable to bacterial overgrowth, like SIBO and infections.
Common symptoms of too little pepsin include.
Fatigue, brain fog and muscle cramps.
Weak, brittle nails or hair that thins over time.
Having undigested food particles in your poop.
Experiencing feeling of extreme fullness just shortly after starting a meal.
And bloating, gas and belching, especially after eating meals heavy in protein.
If your stomach stopped producing pepsin, your body would struggle to digest proteins.
This would lead to severe gastrointestinal distress, bloating, and potential long-term malnutrition, although your small intestine would attempt to compensate using pancreatic enzymes to break the proteins down.
Pepsin is the enzyme responsible for initiating the digestion of proteins into smaller peptide chains.
Without the pepsin, intact proteins can move into the large intestine where they ferment, causing significant gas, bloating, and discomfort.
Because protein isn't efficiently pre-digested in the stomach, your body may also fail to absorb essential amino acids over time, leading to potential muscle loss and malnutrition.
Pepsin also functions in a highly acidic environment driven by hydrochloric acid (HCl).
Together, this acid-enzyme combination plays a vital role in destroying harmful bacteria and pathogens ingested with your food.
Without pepsin and optimal acidity, your risk for gastrointestinal infections spikes.