I believe low levels of acid that my stomach produces may be a contributing factor to some of my problems with digestion and reflux.

When the body under produces hydrochloric acid, it can lead to digestion and immune problems. Our diets may also be a contributing factor, brought about by the fact that consumer’s are choosing to cut down on salt intake.

For those who think they may have this problem, a betaine hydrochloride supplement may be useful to see if digestive function improves. This should always be taken at the beginning of a meal with food, but in order to ascertain how much of this supplement we should take, the ‘HCL’ test should help.

If taking one supplement of Betaine HCL produces no stomach problems, take an additional supplement at the next meal. If at that meal the stomach produces some discomfort go back to taking one supplement.

If you take two with no discomfort, increase that dosage to three and stay on three. If eventually you find you have discomfort taking three, go back to two. There should be no discomfort taking this supplement if the dosage is correct.

It is important for us to monitor how much we take of this supplement, because taking too much may cause more minor digestive discomfort. If that does happen reduce the dosage to a comfortable level. Once stomach acid production increases; Betaine HCL supplements will no longer be comfortably tolerated. That’s when it's time to stop taking them.

Betaine Hydrochloride when used regularly can help re-train the stomach to produce higher levels of stomach acid so that food may be better digested. Once food begins to digest properly, the problems with digestion should dissipate.