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Alternative to betaine HCl for stomach acid support

xena

Senior Member
Messages
241
Hi all,

I have low stomach acid but can't tolerate betaine HCl due to a tendency toward overmethylation.

I am taking zinc but even the zinc doesn't digest well without acid. Any ideas or knowledge of alternative HCl sources to support digestion?

I just bought some ornithine HCl hoping that may help.
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
Are you getting enough sodium chloride in your diet? The body needs that to make hydrochloric acid.

If you decide to supplement it, I would think about taking an electrolyte mixture though and not just straight salt water which can upset the stomach.

I do a diy electrolyte with 3 parts organic sugar, 2 parts salt, 1/2 part lite salt. I don't get a stomach ache when I do that but I only take 1/3 - 2/3 tsp at a time in a tall glass of water.

(They found with dehydrated children in Africa that the sugar in the electrolyte actually helps the sodium to absorb much better.)

Hope you can find something.

Also I often find if I cannot tolerate a supplement that I can tolerate a food form of the nutrient. Pumpkin seeds are suppose to be high in zinc for instance. (And I believe also in oysters <<:yuck:.)
 

junkcrap50

Senior Member
Messages
1,330
Hi all,

I have low stomach acid but can't tolerate betaine HCl due to a tendency toward overmethylation.

I am taking zinc but even the zinc doesn't digest well without acid. Any ideas or knowledge of alternative HCl sources to support digestion?

I just bought some ornithine HCl hoping that may help.
Apple cider vinegar. Adjust according to need and if too much causes burning, but a dose between a tablespoon and a full shot glass's worth would be about the right amount. Take at/before meals. You can mix it into you water, juice, or other drink. For a short while, I used to just do a shot of pure ACV, but that's pretty bad for your teeth. I use betain hcl and have had luck with it for my heart burn.
 

lenora

Senior Member
Messages
4,913
Good Morning Everyone.....Yes. apple cider vinegar (not white vinegar) can help with the amount of acid produced.

I've generally found that it's most helpful with baking soda in it...amounts differ, so @xena , I'll refer you to Earth Clinic.com and you should be able to find some help there.

Do not brush your teeth for at least 30 min. after taking any acid, whether it's lemon juice, vinegar, etc., as this will remove the enamel from your teeth. I would just keep trying different remedies as @junkcrap50 pointed out. Good luck....this comes and goes, it seems. Yours, Lenora.
 

junkcrap50

Senior Member
Messages
1,330
I've generally found that it's most helpful with baking soda in it...amounts differ, so @xena , I'll refer you to Earth Clinic.com and you should be able to find some help there.
How or why would you add baking soda into apple cider vinegar? Wouldn't that cancel out the point? And cause a reaction b/e the two?

Do not brush your teeth for at least 30 min. after taking any acid, whether it's lemon juice, vinegar, etc., as this will remove the enamel from your teeth. I would just keep trying different remedies as @junkcrap50 pointed out. Good luck....this comes and goes, it seems. Yours, Lenora.
Right, brushing with abrasives right after would probably be bad. But, what you could do is gargle/swish your mouth with baking soda in water solution to rinse and neutralize the ACV. Spit, don't swallow the baking soda as you want keep the acid in your stomach acidic.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,300
Location
Ashland, Oregon
Any ideas or knowledge of alternative HCl sources to support digestion?

My understanding is you can increase HCL is by using Magnesium Oil (magnesium chloride). A few years ago I read that one of the best ways to quickly restore depleted magnesium levels in the body is to apply Magnesium Oil topically. If you apply it over the abdomen, it has the added benefit of it being relatively easy for the stomach to turn the magnesium chloride into HCL. Ingesting Magnesium Oil apparently delivers the same results.
 

xena

Senior Member
Messages
241
My understanding is you can increase HCL is by using Magnesium Oil (magnesium chloride). A few years ago I read that one of the best ways to quickly restore depleted magnesium levels in the body is to apply Magnesium Oil topically. If you apply it over the abdomen, it has the added benefit of it being relatively easy for the stomach to turn the magnesium chloride into HCL. Ingesting Magnesium Oil apparently delivers the same results.
that's very interesting!

Thanks everyone!
 

lenora

Senior Member
Messages
4,913
Hello @junkcrap50 .....the amount of baking soda is offset by the vinegar. Perhaps it's a way of not making people ill, i don't know, but you'll find plenty of cider vinergar "recipes" that call for baking soda. The amounts of b.s. vary.....I find that vinegar alone would be very upsetting for my stomach.

There is a chemical reaction that takes place between the two. And then water is added. Good luck, @xena. Yours, Lenora.