Low Stomach Acid?

[Guest guest]

My Lyme doc wanted me in one of his studies where I would have to take the

HCL. He believes it helps kill Lyme but as usual, it cost more money.

-- Low Stomach Acid?

Has anyone here had their levels of stomach acid tested? I have read

some books that link low stomach acid to poor digestion, leaky gut

syndrome, auto-immune problems, food allergies, inadequate absorption

of vitamins, etc. Stomach acid is necessary for both digesting food

and killing off bad bacteria in our digestion. The books claim our

levels start dropping off dramatically in the 30-40 age range and

again in the 60-70 age range. The books claim that acid reflux is NOT

due to high stomach acid and that antacids and acid blockers are

dangerous and over time seriously damage our health because of their

interference with proper stomach acid levels. The books recommend

people get their levels tested and, if needed, take hydrochloric acid

and pepsin to bring it back up to normal levels under proper medical

supervision.

Has anyone done this or have an opinion about it?

Holly

[Guest guest]

I have not had my levels tested, but it was assumed by my doc based on symptoms

that I

had poor digestion/absorption of nutrients. Seeing undigested food in your

stools is one

indication.

I used hcl without testing, and it helped. The way you do it is to take first

take one tablet

(about 500 mg) one hour before meals, and then increase before each (each day)

meal untl

you feel a slight warm sensation in your stomach. (up to four before each meal,

What you

don't want is to feel it in your throat.

There are a couple I " ve used. The stonger one was called Bio-Gest by Thorne,

which has

HCL in it. The more gentle one contained digestive enzymes, but no HCL. It is

called

Marcozyme and it contains pancreatin, bromelain and papain (from papaya).

OR you can just try papaya enzymes. My mom does this and it works well too.

>

> Has anyone here had their levels of stomach acid tested? I have read

> some books that link low stomach acid to poor digestion, leaky gut

> syndrome, auto-immune problems, food allergies, inadequate absorption

> of vitamins, etc. Stomach acid is necessary for both digesting food

> and killing off bad bacteria in our digestion. The books claim our

> levels start dropping off dramatically in the 30-40 age range and

> again in the 60-70 age range. The books claim that acid reflux is NOT

> due to high stomach acid and that antacids and acid blockers are

> dangerous and over time seriously damage our health because of their

> interference with proper stomach acid levels. The books recommend

> people get their levels tested and, if needed, take hydrochloric acid

> and pepsin to bring it back up to normal levels under proper medical

> supervision.

>

> Has anyone done this or have an opinion about it?

>

> Holly

>

[Guest guest]

Can you get those first two over the counter? Papypaya enzymes just made me

sick. I am allergic to lots of kinds of fruit. That may be why. I looked at

enzymes once and many of them have ox bile in them. Yuck! No way am I swallowing

that!

Hensley

Re: Low Stomach Acid?

I have not had my levels tested, but it was assumed by my doc based on

symptoms that I

had poor digestion/absorption of nutrients. Seeing undigested food in your

stools is one

indication.

I used hcl without testing, and it helped. The way you do it is to take first

take one tablet

(about 500 mg) one hour before meals, and then increase before each (each day)

meal untl

you feel a slight warm sensation in your stomach. (up to four before each

meal, What you

don't want is to feel it in your throat.

There are a couple I " ve used. The stonger one was called Bio-Gest by Thorne,

which has

HCL in it. The more gentle one contained digestive enzymes, but no HCL. It is

called

Marcozyme and it contains pancreatin, bromelain and papain (from papaya).

OR you can just try papaya enzymes. My mom does this and it works well too.

>

> Has anyone here had their levels of stomach acid tested? I have read

> some books that link low stomach acid to poor digestion, leaky gut

> syndrome, auto-immune problems, food allergies, inadequate absorption

> of vitamins, etc. Stomach acid is necessary for both digesting food

> and killing off bad bacteria in our digestion. The books claim our

> levels start dropping off dramatically in the 30-40 age range and

> again in the 60-70 age range. The books claim that acid reflux is NOT

> due to high stomach acid and that antacids and acid blockers are

> dangerous and over time seriously damage our health because of their

> interference with proper stomach acid levels. The books recommend

> people get their levels tested and, if needed, take hydrochloric acid

> and pepsin to bring it back up to normal levels under proper medical

> supervision.

>

> Has anyone done this or have an opinion about it?

>

> Holly

>

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[Guest guest]

I have low stomach acid - I fix it with salt (sodium chloride) instead of

HCl though, much easier on my stomach that way!

-Lana

>

> Has anyone here had their levels of stomach acid tested? I have read

> some books that link low stomach acid to poor digestion, leaky gut

> syndrome, auto-immune problems, food allergies, inadequate absorption

> of vitamins, etc. Stomach acid is necessary for both digesting food

> and killing off bad bacteria in our digestion. The books claim our

> levels start dropping off dramatically in the 30-40 age range and

> again in the 60-70 age range. The books claim that acid reflux is NOT

> due to high stomach acid and that antacids and acid blockers are

> dangerous and over time seriously damage our health because of their

> interference with proper stomach acid levels. The books recommend

> people get their levels tested and, if needed, take hydrochloric acid

> and pepsin to bring it back up to normal levels under proper medical

> supervision.

>

> Has anyone done this or have an opinion about it?

>

> Holly

[Guest guest]

Check out Houston Neutroceuticals http://www.houstonni.com/ they have 3 that

I take. Zyme Prime, AFP Peptizyde and No Fenol. One is good for dairy and

wheat with DPPIV enzyme (can help those with gluten/casien sensetivity, not

associated with celiacs disease). One is good for general digestion. The No

Fenol is for high phenol content foods (fruits/veggies...if you have an

issue with these, and don't ask me what they are, I have no idea) and is

also supposed to help with yeast. They have a papain and bromelain free

enzyme (enzyme source is fungal or plant). They are reasonably priced, and

shipping is also reasonable. If there are problems, real human beings are

available to help out.

Drea

Re: Re: Low Stomach Acid?

Can you get those first two over the counter? Papypaya enzymes just made me

sick. I am allergic to lots of kinds of fruit. That may be why. I looked at

enzymes once and many of them have ox bile in them. Yuck! No way am I

swallowing that!

Hensley

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I think I am going to look

into having it checked.

Holly

[Guest guest]

I started a protocol about a month ago after having testing done that showed

many things

including leaky gut (I was reacting positvely to numerous proteins in the blood,

not a good

thing!!) I have been taking Betaine HCL at the beginning of all meals. I take

enzymes

(VitalzymX) but inbetween meals on an empty stomach. That's to clean up all the

food

proteins that are circulating through my system and wrecking havoc with my body.

I'm

also taking a supplement called BioClear and a special amino acid supplement

because I

was very low in several amino acids. I'm still taking magnesium, sea salt, and

Vit C also. I

have been feeling much better. My brain is working so much better, the

fogginess and

forgetfulness is gone, my mood is very upbeat. I have been very pleased.

This past weekend I finally was able to find a source for raw goat's milk kefir.

I started

that on Sunday. I've been dealing with this rash on my leg for almost 6 months

that

comes and goes, depending on what I've eaten, gluten really aggravates it, as

does almost

anything processed. The VitalzymX has helped the rash improve a lot, but it had

not gone

away totally. I've been using the goat's milk kefir for almost a week.

Yesterday the rash

had almost totally disappated. The skin is the smoothest it has been since

before the rash

appeared. The amazing thing is that I can't believe how good I feel this week.

I've been

back to exercising a little more regularly over the last couple of months. I've

been able to

work out without feeling totally drained, but still not feeling really energetic

from working

out like I used to. This week I feel great. My energy level is very good. I

haven't felt this

good in 3 years. Yesterday I felt so good, it was almost odd. I'm not used to

feeling this

energetic. I'm finding it very hard to even sit down to work on the computer,

so I haven't

been posting much!! I'm even weaning off the HC with no symptoms so far. I'm

hoping to

be totally off in 2 -3 weeks. My schedule has kicked in for the fall and I'm

back working

like crazy, doing lots of volunteer work. Last week I had a couple of all day

events and

didn't even feel tired afterwards. I came home and cooked some great dinners

after being

on my feet all day, dealing with tons of people and running around like mad.

My doctor and I think that Celiac is a definite possibility for how I got into

this condition.

Especially with this last amino acid test. I was not absorbing much at all,

which accounts

for why I kept turning up anemic when I would quit taking iron supplements.

Any my hair has almost totally quit falling out!!!!!!!! Now I'm down to losing

a very small

amount, what would be considered normal. I'm excited about that.

I'm no longer taking progesterone, only Iodoral, 1 tab a day. I'm down to 90

mgs of

Armour and 10 mgs of HC. I'm still not losing the weight I'd like to, but at

this point I'll

take feeling better over worrying about the weight. I think the weight has a

lot to do with

everything that's been going on, so hopefully that will change direction also.

I really can't

complain that much, I'm very tall and the extra weight is not that noticeable to

other

people. What's weird is that now I'm feeling better I actually can feel the

extra weight. It's

much more noticeable to me in the last couple of weeks than before. Weird huh??

Linn

>

> Holly... Yes to all you write here. For years I had very poor

> digestion, trouble with most foods, lots of abdominal pain and poor

> absorption. Didn't understand the adrenal connection that was clearly

> there. And I was hypo, not sure if it was from the thyroid or the

> adrenals. My " healing " path began when my hair started to fall out a

> few years back. Thought it was low ovarian hormones, but it turns out

> it was primarily my weak adrenals. I took an enzyme complex that

> helped a little but not all the way. Wish that it hadn't taken me so

> long to figure out the low stomach acid angle to my conundrum.

> Eventually I ended up on a leaky gut protocol, armour thyroid, an

> adrenal building protocol and numerous supplements including extra

> protein. Somewhere along the way I added Betaine HCL with pepsin and

> WOW was this ever the magic bullet!! I dose myself to where I have

> perfect digestion. An average meal requires 4 mixed enzymes with HCL

> and 6-8 capsules of 650 mg HCL. Sounds like a lot but for me I think I

> have very little natural stomach acids and certainly not enough to

> digest even a snack. Not sure what caused this with me but I can

> remember very early teens having digestive woes. Perhaps it was gluten

> or dairy allergies that caused the adrenals to weaken and cause this,

> or maybe it was just AI from too much on going family stress, I don't

> know. I'm 48 now and finally can eat and absorb nutrients. What a

> blessing!!

>

[Guest guest]

I started a protocol about a month ago after having testing done that showed

many things

including leaky gut (I was reacting positvely to numerous proteins in the blood,

not a good

thing!!) I have been taking Betaine HCL at the beginning of all meals. I take

enzymes

(VitalzymX) but inbetween meals on an empty stomach. That's to clean up all the

food

proteins that are circulating through my system and wrecking havoc with my body.

I'm

also taking a supplement called BioClear and a special amino acid supplement

because I

was very low in several amino acids. I'm still taking magnesium, sea salt, and

Vit C also. I

have been feeling much better. My brain is working so much better, the

fogginess and

forgetfulness is gone, my mood is very upbeat. I have been very pleased.

This past weekend I finally was able to find a source for raw goat's milk kefir.

I started

that on Sunday. I've been dealing with this rash on my leg for almost 6 months

that

comes and goes, depending on what I've eaten, gluten really aggravates it, as

does almost

anything processed. The VitalzymX has helped the rash improve a lot, but it had

not gone

away totally. I've been using the goat's milk kefir for almost a week.

Yesterday the rash

had almost totally disappated. The skin is the smoothest it has been since

before the rash

appeared. The amazing thing is that I can't believe how good I feel this week.

I've been

back to exercising a little more regularly over the last couple of months. I've

been able to

work out without feeling totally drained, but still not feeling really energetic

from working

out like I used to. This week I feel great. My energy level is very good. I

haven't felt this

good in 3 years. Yesterday I felt so good, it was almost odd. I'm not used to

feeling this

energetic. I'm finding it very hard to even sit down to work on the computer,

so I haven't

been posting much!! I'm even weaning off the HC with no symptoms so far. I'm

hoping to

be totally off in 2 -3 weeks. My schedule has kicked in for the fall and I'm

back working

like crazy, doing lots of volunteer work. Last week I had a couple of all day

events and

didn't even feel tired afterwards. I came home and cooked some great dinners

after being

on my feet all day, dealing with tons of people and running around like mad.

My doctor and I think that Celiac is a definite possibility for how I got into

this condition.

Especially with this last amino acid test. I was not absorbing much at all,

which accounts

for why I kept turning up anemic when I would quit taking iron supplements.

Any my hair has almost totally quit falling out!!!!!!!! Now I'm down to losing

a very small

amount, what would be considered normal. I'm excited about that.

I'm no longer taking progesterone, only Iodoral, 1 tab a day. I'm down to 90

mgs of

Armour and 10 mgs of HC. I'm still not losing the weight I'd like to, but at

this point I'll

take feeling better over worrying about the weight. I think the weight has a

lot to do with

everything that's been going on, so hopefully that will change direction also.

I really can't

complain that much, I'm very tall and the extra weight is not that noticeable to

other

people. What's weird is that now I'm feeling better I actually can feel the

extra weight. It's

much more noticeable to me in the last couple of weeks than before. Weird huh??

Linn

>

> Holly... Yes to all you write here. For years I had very poor

> digestion, trouble with most foods, lots of abdominal pain and poor

> absorption. Didn't understand the adrenal connection that was clearly

> there. And I was hypo, not sure if it was from the thyroid or the

> adrenals. My " healing " path began when my hair started to fall out a

> few years back. Thought it was low ovarian hormones, but it turns out

> it was primarily my weak adrenals. I took an enzyme complex that

> helped a little but not all the way. Wish that it hadn't taken me so

> long to figure out the low stomach acid angle to my conundrum.

> Eventually I ended up on a leaky gut protocol, armour thyroid, an

> adrenal building protocol and numerous supplements including extra

> protein. Somewhere along the way I added Betaine HCL with pepsin and

> WOW was this ever the magic bullet!! I dose myself to where I have

> perfect digestion. An average meal requires 4 mixed enzymes with HCL

> and 6-8 capsules of 650 mg HCL. Sounds like a lot but for me I think I

> have very little natural stomach acids and certainly not enough to

> digest even a snack. Not sure what caused this with me but I can

> remember very early teens having digestive woes. Perhaps it was gluten

> or dairy allergies that caused the adrenals to weaken and cause this,

> or maybe it was just AI from too much on going family stress, I don't

> know. I'm 48 now and finally can eat and absorb nutrients. What a

> blessing!!

>