Betaine HCL - What is it and how do you use it?

I'm a big advocate that supplements should not be used unless your diet is sound. That being said, for the most gym rats and health enthusiast, we tend to follow certain diets which has a certain amount of proteins and fats that are essential to our health, performance and physique.

But here is the deal breaker with whole food, sub optimal digestion and absorption into our body which translates to lousy gains in our training and our progress.

We know that our stomach has acids to break down food - Hydrochloric acids, so that our body is able to absorb the nutrients from it. This over time may diminish and sometimes we've end up undigested food - progress gone down the drain literally.

Deficency in the potency and strength of our stomach acids will lead to many things -

Common Symptoms Of Low Hydrochloric Acid

* Bloating or belching, especially after eating
* Burning in the stomach, especially after eating
* Fullness or heaviness in the stomach after eating
* Nausea after eating or taking supplements
* Intestinal gas
* Indigestion
* Bad breath
* Diarrhea or constipation
* Food allergies
* Itching around the rectum
* Weak or cracked fingernails
* Dilated blood vessels in the cheeks or nose (in nonalcoholics)
* Skin break-outs or acne
* Iron deficiency
* Chronic intestinal parasites
* Undigested food in the stool
* Chronic candida infection

Diseases Associated With Low Hydrochloric Acid

* Asthma
* Diabetes
* Osteoporosis
* Arthritis
* Hepatitis
* Eczema
* Acne rosacea
* Psoriasis
* Gallbladder disease
* Herpes
* Hives
* Hyperthyroid
* Hypothyroid
* Thyrotoxicosis
* Autoimmune disorders
* Lupus erythematosus
* Myasthenia gravis
* Pernicious anemia
* Celiac disease
* Sjogren ’s Syndrome

http://www.cocoonnutrition.org/catalog/page_betainehcl.php

I don't really believe in all of that listed, neither will you because i don't think you've ever came across or even heard of the names before, but i'm just listing it out for you in case if you have been diagnosed with such complications

But what I find that is true is the symptoms and its especially telling with my stool - or crap if you call it that.

I've been doing the low carb diet for a long time and many times i've noticed that my stool/crap has many floating bits which has a dark brown color to it. Not to sound gross or graphic but it is an indicator; a very important one which tells you about your digestion.

Another sign is your farts/flatucence, i believe many of us have let out a stinker before and its not pleasant. Usually it comes with bloating and feeling of indigestion, after heavy protein laden meal - think chicken/eggs/beef.

All this will sometimes lead to being extremely constipated even with much green vegetables.

If you do have these common problems, it means that your digestion is sub optimal and you'll need help with your stomach acid.

Betaine HCL is designed for such purposes and I've personally experience many positive exffects with it and have improved my digestion. This includes many of my friends who are on Betaine HCL supplementation to aid with their digestion.

If you're interested in taking up the supplementation or have bought, here are some direction of use -

Directions For Use of Betaine HCL
When using Betaine HCL with Pepsin for the first few times, please be sure to follow the directions carefully. Always take Betaine HCL at the start of the meal! If taken without food, stomach burning may result.

1. At the very start of the meal, take one capsule of Betaine HCL. Monitor how your stomach feels during and after eating. Should any burning or heaviness occur, or if burning has been present previously (before taking the supplement) and is now worsened with the use of the Betaine HCL, do not continue using this supplement!!! This is an indication that your stomach is overproducing acid, or that your stomach lining may be damaged. In such cases, please consider the use of Alkabase, Gastric Complex-HP and/or Mastica, to normalize excess acid production and heal the stomach lining.

2. If the first dose of Betaine HCL produced no noticeable stomach discomfort, try taking two capsules at the start of your next meal, again monitor for burning and or heaviness during and after eating. If taking two capsules produces some discomfort, but one capsule does not, restrict yourself to one capsule at the start of each meal. If the two capsule dose produced no discomfort, try three capsules at the start of your next meal.

3. If all goes well when taking three capsules at the start of each meal, stay with that dosage, most individuals will not require increasing the dosage to four capsules. Regular use of supplemental hydrochloric acid will in most cases "re-train" the stomach to produce higher concentrations of acid on its own. This process may take anywhere from several weeks to several months, depending on the individual. The most significant indication that acid production is improving is that Betaine HCL supplementation can no longer be comfortably tolerated.

An Example:
After having used the Betaine HCL for eleven weeks, at a dosage of two capsules per meal, without any discomfort, Joan now notices that she feels a burning sensation when taking the two capsules. She therefore reduces her dosage to one capsule at mealtime. After several more weeks, even one capsule per meal produces burning and Joan discontinues altogether. This is a sign that the stomach has been re-trained to produce adequate concentrations of hydrochloric acid without the further need for supplementation.

When consuming meals that contain little or no protein, much less hydrochloric acid is needed by the stomach to process its contents. Please keep this in mind when using Betaine HCL as a supplement and modify your usage accordingly.

http://www.modernherbalist.com/betaine.html

The burn or heaviness may vary for person to person, some have taken 2-3 capsules of 650grams and yet not feel anything, however do not be alarmed.

What is most important is that your feeling of bloatedness and extremely stink farts start to subside, check your stool for floating bits and see if it comes out smoothly.

That is what i've discovered so far with feedbacks and personal experience, if you have a different one, feel free to let me know how is your experience with it.