Body Ph Imbalance - Low Stomach Acid

[MELINE]

Hi.

My therapist gave me a Betaine HCL supplement, she said it is for improving the amount and the quality of my stomach acid so that I can digest food. Ever heard of that??? Anyone that has any info about how low stomach acid helps candida to overgrowth and makes the rest of the body acid???? I mean, is there any one who actually has experienced something like this? Cause I found info on the internet, but I have no one to ask about some things that I don't get.

Thank you

Meline

[Mother of Jibril]

Hi Meline,

I'm taking Betaine HCl with meals. In fact, last night I tried a larger dose (500mg) and it didn't cause any problems with heartburn. Hypochlorhydria (low stomach acid) reduces your body's ability to digest food (especially meat) and allows bacteria like h. pylori and candida to get out of control. I'm planning to start the anti-candida diet in January... my main symptoms of overgrowth are rectal itching (ugh), a coated tongue, and lots of dandruff. I also have rosacea and I'm intolerant to gluten and corn. Acid production can decline naturally as you age, but there's also an autoimmune disorder where your body attacks the acid and enzyme-producing cells in your stomach

I've read that Betaine HCl might stimulate your stomach to produce more acid and then you can stop taking it! We'll see how it goes for me...

[MELINE]

It surely helped me! no more food in my stools (sorry....grossy I know...)

The candida symptoms you mention sound a lot like the ones I had. .....

[ShayFL]

I've read that Betaine HCl might stimulate your stomach to produce more acid and then you can stop taking it!

This is what happened to me.

[MELINE]

I think I like that!!!

[georgie]

Anyone with low stomach acid should also consider the chance they have Pernicious Anaemia. Keep a check on your B12 levels , and get an endoscope to check for damage. PA carries a higher risk of stomach cancer - so not something you want to ignore or mess around with...

[AliB]

Quote from 'Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride.

"Hypochlorhydria

People with abnormal gut flora almost without exception have low stomach acid production. Toxins produced by overgrowth of Candida species, Clostridia and other pathogens have a strong ability to reduce secretion of stomach acid.

What does it mean and why is it important?

The stomach is the place where protein digestion begins. Hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach walls activates pepsin, a protein-digesting enzyme, which starts breaking down the very complex structure of dietary proteins into peptides and amino acids. To do its work properly pepsin needs the pH of the stomach to be 3 or below. In Hypochlorhydria not enough acid is produced, so the pH in the stomach is not low enough for pepsin to do its job properly."

"As a result of low stomach acid production the whole process of protein digestion in the body goes wrong from the very beginning. The maldigested protein then passes through to the small intestine. The intestinal wall and pancreatic enzymes, which accomplish further steps in the protein digestion, expect the protein to arrive from the stomach in a particular form in order to do their job properly. It is like a conveyer belt or an assembly line in a factory. If the first person does a poor job, then no matter how well the rest of the people in the line may work, the end product is likely to be of a poor quality. However, what happens in the body is even worse. The problem is that in the body 'the rest of the line' cannot work properly either, because it is regulated by the first person. This first person is the stomach acid."

A lack of stomach acid raises further and more serious implications. It is a barrier against harmful microbes from anything we put in our mouth. Without that protection, those pathogens can get through to the intestines and set up home. Once they are in there they can trigger symptoms in any part of the body. As Natasha continues...

Normally the stomach is the least populated area of the digestive system due to its extremely acid environment. However, in a person with Hypochlorhydria all sorts of pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria and fungi can grow on the stomach wall, such as Helicobacter Pylori, Campylobacter pylori, Enterobacteria, Candida, Salmonella, E.Coli, Streptococci, etc. The most research in this area has been done in stomach cancer patients, the majority of which show low levels of stomach acid production. Microbes, which populate low acid stomach play a very important role in causing stomach cancer, ulcers and gastritis.

Of course, most of these microbes love to eat carbohydrates, particularly the processed kind. The digestion of carbohydrates starts in the mouth with the action of saliva. When the food arrives in the stomach in the normal situation stomach acid stops this digestion. So, carbohydrates have to wait until they arrive in the duodenum to be digested. But in the stomach with low acidity overgrowing microbes start fermenting dietary carbohydrates, often with the production of various toxins and gas, which can make it very uncomfortable.....

She recommends taking Betaine HCL with Pepsin if possible to encourage good protein digestion. If you can tolerate it, a few spoonfuls of cabbage juice or a cabbage salad before a meal, also sauerkraut - not the pickled kind but the fermented kind, and beef broth or home-made meat stock can also help increase the acid.

[MELINE]

That was a good article. Well I am taking my betaine hcl daily and it seems to be working. I hope I will fix it soon. Thank you for the post Alib. I didn't know it is SOOO important. I thought it was just another supplement-overload.

[RiceGuy]

Another thing which is good for helping the stomach with acid production is Apple Cider Vinegar. Make sure it's the real kind, not flavored. Apparently, it has something in it which encourages the stomach to produce more acid, and after awhile they say you won't have to keep taking it.

[isabelle]

A lack of stomach acid raises further and more serious implications. It is a barrier against harmful microbes from anything we put in our mouth. Without that protection, those pathogens can get through to the intestines and set up home. Once they are in there they can trigger symptoms in any part of the body. As Natasha continues...

She recommends taking Betaine HCL with Pepsin if possible to encourage good protein digestion. If you can tolerate it, a few spoonfuls of cabbage juice or a cabbage salad before a meal, also sauerkraut - not the pickled kind but the fermented kind, and beef broth or home-made meat stock can also help increase the acid.

I heard that eating avocado and beets is good because there's a lot of betaine in it ... do you know

if we can open the capsules of betaine and put it in the food how much do you take??

thanks

[Mother of Jibril]

I heard that eating avocado and beets is good because there's a lot of betaine in it ... do you know

if we can open the capsules of betaine and put it in the food how much do you take??

thanks

The point of Betaine HCl is not the beets... it's the acid. Even if you could, you wouldn't want to sprinkle it on your food! Over time the acid would do horrible damage to your teeth.

250mg tablets are good to start with... take one with a meal and see how you feel. If you don't get any heartburn or reflux you might be able to take two tablets.

[AliB]

I heard that eating avocado and beets is good because there's a lot of betaine in it ... do you know

if we can open the capsules of betaine and put it in the food how much do you take??

thanks

Don't quote me on it but I am not sure that is a good idea - it is hydrochloric acid after all. At least the capsules will keep it encapsulated until it gets into the stomach.

We can tolerate acid foods, but HCL is pretty strong stuff.