Yes, I take it with hard to digest meals {anything that contains a lot of beans, dairy, eggs, etc}.

I dont think Ive ever noticed a burning sensation. Im pretty sure I dont make very good stomach acid.

apple vinegar before meals is essentially doing the same thing

apple vinegar before meals is essentially doing the same thing

and it's safer - although straight acv is very acidic so watch your teeth/throat.

Heres a decent page about betaine HCl

Betaine hydrochloride is a delivery form of hydrochloric acid and may aid in digestion in some.

I haven't seen any research that taking this as a supplement significantly improves general digestion. A lot of the betaine HCl supplements come along with digestive enzymes, so it would be hard to tell which are helping the digestive system and by how much. If you take too much, you can damage the stomach lining. Also be aware that the signs of low acid can be similar to high acid levels.

Betaine HCL is not available in any natural food i'm aware of, so it isn't something the body would normally encounter. Your body is supposed to regulate stomach acid, and adjusts it when needed, we don't store hydrochloric acid, we make it from sodium or potassium (hence why the acv helps, not because it's acidic) and carbon dioxide and water.

HCl

You can get tested for low stomach acid if your really concerned about it. There doesn't appear to be any real data on how many people suffer from this. Lack of digestive enzymes is much more common, due to dead food (that don't contain hardly any active enzymes to help digest itself) and pancreatic disorders, along with the fact we produce less enzymes as we get older.

apple vinegar before meals is essentially doing the same thing

and it's safer - although straight acv is very acidic so watch your teeth/throat.

Heres a decent page about betaine HCl

 

Betaine hydrochloride is a delivery form of hydrochloric acid and may aid in digestion in some.

I haven't seen any research that taking this as a supplement significantly improves general digestion. A lot of the betaine HCl supplements come along with digestive enzymes, so it would be hard to tell which are helping the digestive system and by how much. If you take too much, you can damage the stomach lining. Also be aware that the signs of low acid can be similar to high acid levels.

Betaine HCL is not available in any natural food i'm aware of, so it isn't something the body would normally encounter. Your body is supposed to regulate stomach acid, and adjusts it when needed, we don't store hydrochloric acid, we make it from sodium or potassium (hence why the acv helps, not because it's acidic) and carbon dioxide and water.

HCl

You can get tested for low stomach acid if your really concerned about it. There doesn't appear to be any real data on how many people suffer from this. Lack of digestive enzymes is much more common, due to dead food (that don't contain hardly any active enzymes to help digest itself) and pancreatic disorders, along with the fact we produce less enzymes as we get older.

 

I could get tested for a lot of things if I had say, a doctor, money, or health insurance.

Self experimentation is the only option for me, sadly. 🙁

Supplementing Betaine HCL before every meal has made a major improvement in my acne.