Michael Ettm ller, on the other hand, was convinced that ills of this nature were the result of an acidic reaction: The immediate cause is a crude acidity in the stomach; as the chyle is acidic, the quality of the blood is affected, and it no longer furnishes the spirits; the lymph becomes acidic, and the bile without virtue; the nervous stock becomes irritated, and the digestive yeast too is spoiled, becoming less volatile and excessively acidic.