I suspected for a long time that I wasn’t absorbing/digesting my food well. I’m 30, male, 6’2", 205. A few months ago I started taking digestive enzymes and HCL + Pepsin (Solaray brand) before every meal. I chose Solaray because there is no milk/dairy in it, and I’m lactose intolerant. I definitely notice that I don’t have a “heavy” feeling in my gut after a sizable meal. I eat Paleo with 85-90% compliance, primarily protein + veg + healthy fats. I also take a probiotic and cod liver oil with breakfast/dinner.
My question is that I never, ever get the “burn” people talk about with HCL. I take up to four capsules of 650mg/cap HCL. Does this mean that my stomach is producing essentially no acid on its own and the HCL is just bringing me up to normal levels? Should I ramp up the dose even higher to see where I need to go to get the “burn” effect? Could it be that this brand simply isn’t potent enough for me? I’d appreciate any advice…I feel like tuning up my digestion is important and the lack of the response I read about with HCL is something I want to attend to. Thanks!
[quote]InCorporeSano wrote:
I suspected for a long time that I wasn’t absorbing/digesting my food well. I’m 30, male, 6’2", 205. A few months ago I started taking digestive enzymes and HCL + Pepsin (Solaray brand) before every meal. I chose Solaray because there is no milk/dairy in it, and I’m lactose intolerant. I definitely notice that I don’t have a “heavy” feeling in my gut after a sizable meal. I eat Paleo with 85-90% compliance, primarily protein + veg + healthy fats. I also take a probiotic and cod liver oil with breakfast/dinner.
My question is that I never, ever get the “burn” people talk about with HCL. I take up to four capsules of 650mg/cap HCL. Does this mean that my stomach is producing essentially no acid on its own and the HCL is just bringing me up to normal levels? Should I ramp up the dose even higher to see where I need to go to get the “burn” effect? Could it be that this brand simply isn’t potent enough for me? I’d appreciate any advice…I feel like tuning up my digestion is important and the lack of the response I read about with HCL is something I want to attend to. Thanks![/quote] Stop popping pills and consult a doctor.
[quote]InCorporeSano wrote:
Could it be that this brand simply isn’t potent enough for me? I’d appreciate any advice…I feel like tuning up my digestion is important and the lack of the response I read about with HCL is something I want to attend to. Thanks![/quote]
The way I heard it is you can take one more HCL capsule everyday until you achieve the burn. Then you back off one pill, ie. 5 pills gives you a burn take a maximum of 4 from then on.
Personally I have seen the best increase in digestive health from a double dose of probiotics on a mostly-empty stomach before dinner. I tried the HCL protocol I outlined above and felt the burn at 4-5 pills so I took 3 pills with dinner which is mostly meat. It did help but always felt like a band-aid where the probiotics feel like a cure to shitty-gut-health. IMO.
Good reading on the subject:
[quote]
Taken from ^^^
HCl test â?? The first test, and one I don’t necessarily recommend for a number of reasons, is the HCl test. According to some people, taking an increasing amount of betaine HCl until a “warming” sensation occurs in the stomach, and then backing off one capsule, indicates one’s requirement for HCl supplementation. Though I’ve seen this work clinically on occasion, it has its flaws.[/quote]
[quote]JLone wrote:
The way I heard it is you can take one more HCL capsule everyday until you achieve the burn. Then you back off one pill, ie. 5 pills gives you a burn take a maximum of 4 from then on.
Personally I have seen the best increase in digestive health from a double dose of probiotics on a mostly-empty stomach before dinner. I tried the HCL protocol I outlined above and felt the burn at 4-5 pills so I took 3 pills with dinner which is mostly meat. It did help but always felt like a band-aid where the probiotics feel like a cure to shitty-gut-health. IMO.
Good reading on the subject:
[quote]
Taken from ^^^
HCl test â?? The first test, and one I don’t necessarily recommend for a number of reasons, is the HCl test. According to some people, taking an increasing amount of betaine HCl until a “warming” sensation occurs in the stomach, and then backing off one capsule, indicates one’s requirement for HCl supplementation. Though I’ve seen this work clinically on occasion, it has its flaws.[/quote][/quote]
[quote]tolismann wrote:
Stop popping pills and consult a doctor.[/quote]
For what? I’m not ill, just not feeling optimal. [/quote]And the answer for your less-than-optimal-feelings is to start popping HCL pills ?