When you suppress stomach acid, you also suppress liver function.

This means that fat can no longer be as efficiently excreted with bile. Additionally, acid suppressants reduce the body’s ability to thoroughly digest proteins, which reduces its ability to manufacture “the good cholesterol,” HDL.

Young developing bodies with developing hormones are especially vulnerable to damage due to suppressed liver function, he says.

Additionally, suppressing the liver’s ability to produce HDL can create a cholesterol problem that would not have existed without the acid suppressants.