Is Betaine HCL A Safe Supplement?

[Amazoniac]

- Hydrochloric Acid: Physiological Functions and Clinical Implications

"In the stomach, HCl's primary function is to maintain a sterile environment and to initiate the conversion of pepsinogen to pepsin."​

Spoiler

- Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism (978-0-357-45006-2)

"In addition to creating an acidic environment, hydrochloric acid has several other functions in gastric juice, including:
- Converting or activating the zymogen pepsinogen to form pepsin (needed for protein digestion)
- Denaturing proteins (i.e., destructing or “uncoiling” the tertiary and secondary protein structures to expose the protein’s interior peptide bonds so pepsin can perform its enzymatic functions)
- Releasing various nutrients such as minerals from organic complexes so absorption can occur
- Acting as a bactericide agent (needed to kill bacteria ingested along with food)."​

- Human digestive system - Proteins | Britannica

"The pepsins account for about 10 to 15 percent of protein digestion. They are most active in the first hour of digestion, and their ability to break down protein is restricted by the necessity for an acidic environment with a pH between 1.8 and 3.5. The trypsins (proteolytic enzymes secreted by the pancreas) are much more powerful than pepsins, so the greater part of protein digestion occurs in the duodenum and upper jejunum. Therefore, even after total removal of the stomach, protein digestion usually is not impaired."​

?

 

[cs3000]

- Hydrochloric Acid: Physiological Functions and Clinical Implications

"In the stomach, HCl's primary function is to maintain a sterile environment and to initiate the conversion of pepsinogen to pepsin."​

Spoiler

- Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism (978-0-357-45006-2)

"In addition to creating an acidic environment, hydrochloric acid has several other functions in gastric juice, including:​

- Converting or activating the zymogen pepsinogen to form pepsin (needed for protein digestion)​

- Denaturing proteins (i.e., destructing or “uncoiling” the tertiary and secondary protein structures to expose the protein’s interior peptide bonds so pepsin can perform its enzymatic functions)​

- Releasing various nutrients such as minerals from organic complexes so absorption can occur​

- Acting as a bactericide agent (needed to kill bacteria ingested along with food)."​

- Human digestive system - Proteins | Britannica

"The pepsins account for about 10 to 15 percent of protein digestion. They are most active in the first hour of digestion, and their ability to break down protein is restricted by the necessity for an acidic environment with a pH between 1.8 and 3.5. The trypsins (proteolytic enzymes secreted by the pancreas) are much more powerful than pepsins, so the greater part of protein digestion occurs in the duodenum and upper jejunum. Therefore, even after total removal of the stomach, protein digestion usually is not impaired."​

?

so pepsin isnt much of protein digestion but its a chunk at least - OR that 10-15% maybe even more necessary than it sounds due to the state of the protein as it travels to the next part of the gut.

maybe i've been ******* up bad by drinking a lot of water right after eating meals each time. there's supplements that combo betaine hcl with pepsin too for a boost. drs best has those plus gentian (but i wonder if gentian works in supplement form without activating taste receptors, can't empty the capsule into water because of the HCL).
In humans the concentration of pepsin in the stomach reaches 0.5 – 1 mg/mL. if 20ml-100ml gastric juice then 10mg+ pepsin should be helpful.

Meal-Time Supplementation with Betaine HCl for Functional Hypochlorhydria: What is the Evidence?

hypochlorhydria (defined by the study as a pH > 4) was induced by giving 20 mg of rabeprazole sodium (PPI) twice daily with food for four days prior to the study day. On the fifth day, radio-telemetric Heidelberg capsules were positioned in the stomach and each subject was given an additional 20 mg of rabeprazole.

When the subjects’ gastric pH remained above 4.0 for a minimum of 15 minutes, they were given 1,500 mg of betaine HCl (two capsules, 750 mg each) with 250 ml of water and monitored for changes in gastric pH for several hours in the fasted state. Gastric pH in all subjects fell rapidly from an average pH 5.2 in the half hour prior to the ingestion of betaine HCl to an average pH of 0.6 thirty minutes after supplementation.

While the gastric acidification was rapid, averaging 6.25 minutes to reach pH < 3, the total duration of re-acidification lasted just longer than one hour (average time to rebound to pH > 3 was 73 minutes, rebound to pH>4 was 77 minutes, though there was a wide inter-individual range [±30 minutes] for rebound). They later showed that, indeed, betaine HCl co-administered with a pH-sensitive drug (dasatinib) greatly enhanced solubility and absorption during PPI-induced hypochlorhydria. It is important to note that these dramatic results occurred in the fasted state, whereas subsequent research by this group suggests that food can alter the re-acidification dynamics


So maybe not the fix for low basal stomach acid in general but taken acutely it helps fast & significantly. taken at start of meals ~6 minutes to hit good pH for digestion. and stays there for a good hour or so.

they took 1.5g with 250ml water and it went way down to 0.6pH too low for my liking (ulcers, damage?), yeh it was in fasted state but the drug induced pH is similar pH after eating food, & also takes it below the optimal range for pepsin. the other study in first link, they took it 10 minutes after meal and it took 30 minutes to hit <1pH instead of 6 minutes. so start of meal is optimal.

gonna go with the standard 650mg with a bit of water sounds safer & probably effective if 1.5g lowers it so much even with 250ml water then i'd imagine 650mg brings it down to

30 mins-1hr before meals artichoke extract 4grams for stimulating more bile [plus also stimulates gastric acid Effects of artichoke leaf extract on acute gastric mucosal injury in rats - PubMed], at meals 650mg betaine with 25mg pepsin and a little 20mg gentian as extra

 

[cs3000]

30 mins-1hr before meals artichoke extract 4grams for stimulating more bile [plus also stimulates gastric acid Effects of artichoke leaf extract on acute gastric mucosal injury in rats - PubMed], at meals 650mg betaine with 25mg pepsin and a little 20mg gentian as extra

**** Dropped the artichoke
not happy with the safety of cholesterol lowering effect Low cholesterol is very dangerous (cancer, suicide) + artichoke extract