Any harm in taking HCL without knowing if stomach acid is low? I am passing undigested food...does this mean low acid?
Posted by glm1111 (Member # 16556) on :
Jennie,
Type hcl into search bar at the top and you will find some very helpful info on this subject,
Gael
Posted by Nutmeg (Member # 7250) on :
Hi Jennie,
If you have some HCl on hand you can try an experiment. Take one tablet with a meal, making sure to eat something that you know won't bother your stomach at all.
If you get stomach pain or burning after that, you'll know you don't need the extra acid.
If the one tablet doesn't bother you, then try taking 2 tablets with the next meal. Keep going like until you get some stomach discomfort, then drop back by one tablet. This should be the lowest effective dose for you.
I don't think there's a problem taking both the HCl and digestive enzymes, but I would stop the enzymes while you do the testing for HCl. If your enzymes have protease in them, that can also cause stomach pain in sensitive people, so it might cause your testing to be inaccurate.
Also, digestion begins in the mouth, so if your food is passing through undigested, you might try chewing more thoroughly.
I've read that each bite should be chewed 30-35 times before swallowing to make sure the food is thoroughly mixed with saliva, which contains natural digestive enzymes.
Some foods might not need that much chewing, but stuff like peas, corn, salad greens, and celery are harder to digest, and need to be broken down more by chewing.
Good luck! Nutmeg
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I've been reading about this lately and put links on one of the "undigested food" threads.
One thing I read was that you can drink a dose of "soda" (baking soda in water) first thing in the morning. If it makes you burp within 5 min. you have stomach acid. If it doesn't, you need more. You might want to Google for specifics or look at that other thread.
Another is, if you have indigestion/heartburn right after a meal, it's low stomach acid. If it's hours later, it's too much stomach acid.
People with low stomach acid also at time will feel like the food is just sitting there in the stomach.
You will know if it's helping you. It's an amazing help for me!!!