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Protein digestion -> Betaine HCl / Pepsin Enzyme

Stewstews

Stewstews

Small Fry
So digging through a bunch of old containers of half finished vitamins over the weekend, and I found some "Protein digestive aid" - basically a combination of Betaine Hydrochloric Acid and the Pepsin enzyme.

This is something I got led into when I "won" a bunch of free Poliquin Body Transformation sessions when I first begun working out.

Finding these got me thinking, how legitimate are protein digestive aids? Particularly with meals, are we wasting a lot of the protein we ingest by not breaking the protein down fully? My local vitamin shop sells a few brands of the stuff, so some people must be buying it.

This is what I was told to initially follow: Maximize Your Progress with Hydrochloric Acid

I did the "acid test". I got to around 5 capsules before I got the "burning sensation"... does this really mean I have Hypochlorhydria (low stomach acid), meaning I am inefficient with my protein? Can HCl supplementation really help to coax my stomach acid production back to normal? I suspect most people would "fail" the HCl test...

I can't find a lot on the internet, except for those that are pro-HCl use, e.g. Poliquin, or those with digestion problems. And when I see Poliquin against things, I get suss.

Does anyone here take HCl or enzymes to help with digestion? Anyone care to weigh in on the theory?
 
Does your shit come out still resembling food you have eaten ( corn being the exception to the rule) if it doesn't I would say you are digesting your food fine.
 
I don't think I have any digestion problems, but for the "acid test". Which I suspected is aimed at most people failing and thus having to buy into the Poliquin/whoever supplement regimes...

Just find it interesting really. With all the various supplements people take, the ways they are prepared etc is generally to try and increase bioavailability - even when your body itself isn't looking for it.

HCl supplementation (if it works!) looks a way of doing similar with protein.

From a $'s point of view, if you're digesting at say 80% efficiency (if there is such a thing), probably better to just feed a little extra to get the rest of the 20% you need, rather than take a supplement to increase your efficiency.
 
haz said:
T NATION | Turbocharging Digestion

Ive bought some betaine HCI (with pepsin) off iherb. my doctor recommend it after I didn't get any acid reflux after taking 3. He said I was low in protein despite me getting 200g a day.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! Good to hear from someone who is trying it.

Basically this is what I keep hearing, from the article you linked to:

"If you don't have enough HCL to convert pepsinogen to pepsin, then it doesn't matter if you eat 300 grams of protein, because you're hardly going to digest it all"

How have you found the supplementation?
 
haz said:
T NATION | Turbocharging Digestion

Ive bought some betaine HCI (with pepsin) off iherb. my doctor recommend it after I didn't get any acid reflux after taking 3. He said I was low in protein despite me getting 200g a day.
Click to expand...

A t-nation article with as far as I can see zero referencing is about as unreliable as they come. Not saying they are definitely wrong but wouldn't be using that as a source of reliable information.
 
Nutrition Review - Gastric Balance: Heartburn Not Always Caused by Excess Acid

http://vivavitamins.com/literature/Digestive%20Enzymes.pdf

The clinical importance of hypochlorhydria (a consequence of chronic Helicobacter infection): Its possible etiological role in mineral and amino acid malabsorption, depression, and other syndromes

Abstract

In a previous paper evidence was presented to show that Helicobacter-induced chronic gastritis is the probable cause of most chronic hypochlorhydria. In this article evidence is presented for the clinical relevance of reduced stomach acid secretion. Reduced mineral absorption is fairly well documented and has sound theoretical support from basic chemistry. Impaired digestion of protein has been suggested by a few studies. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in hypochlorhydria probably leads to putrefactive breakdown of the metobolically useful products of protein digestion, thereby reducing their availability for certain essential pathways. The possible lowering of tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine in the blood may be a precipitating factor in depression in hypochlorhydric patients. In reduced or absent stomach acid secretion a constellation of gastrointestinal symptoms has been consistently observed and reported by clinicians in the past, and treatment of the hypochlorhydria with hydrochloric acid or its substitutes has often been observed to be effective in reducing these symptoms.
 
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