Betaine Hydrochloride Improves Liver Function

Betaine Hydrochloride "[can] improve liver function, build muscle, reduce . . . heart disease, and [give] you a good night's sleep."

What do you know about Betaine Hydrochloride?  

I knew nothing . . . not until this past week.  It is an enzyme.  Years ago a friend told me that his mother had heard in her years that enzymes were all the rage.  Perhaps they were, er, are.  Based on what I've recently read, they do sound as some sort of super supplement.  Betaine Hydrochloride is a supplemental enzyme made from beets.  

Betaine hydrochloride [is] derived from beets . . . 

Okay, but what is it used for?

[It] is a supplement for helping food to be fully dissolved and processed in the stomach for optimum nutritional benefits.

It goes on . . . 

The stomach processes food both mechanically and chemically by breaking it down with hydrochloric acid into its basic constituents, which are then forwarded to the digestive system and blood for nutritional distribution.

This is good to know, one, that the stomach uses muscles as well as chemicals to break down food.  Two, what you should know is that hydrochloric acid is an important component of your immune system. That's right.  Having enough and having the right kind of hydrochloric acid boosts your immunity, making the stomach an important location for destroying pathogens.  

If food is not processed effectively by the stomach, it is as if the body is being starved of a healthy diet with the same potential health consequences due to an inefficient or sub-optimal immune system. All disease arises from either low immunity, abnormal immunity or auto-immunity, including cancer, the immune system as a whole being ultimately dependent on gut flora of the stomach and digestive tract.

And here comes the scare tactic about how this acid production past a certain age begins to decline and therefore . . . you got it . . . therefore you should supplement.  I don't doubt it.  I would supplement. I do supplement.  I guess the older folks that I grew up with never complained about their ailments.  I just never heard of them.  When people died, they just died.  Never heard anything about symptoms.  Even when an older relative had surgery, we never heard what the procedure was for or what organ was in need of repair.  It was either them getting sick and dying or them going into surgery and dying.  I once had a co-worker in her mid-40s go in for some kind of stomach surgery and she died on the operating table.  What joy.  I asked a nurse friend of mine about a certain stomach condition.  He said that that particular condition was serious and that they apply massive amounts of antibiotics during surgery to protect nearby organs from exposure to the bacteria of the gut.

Older folks never complained about their ailments because of the shame or the privacy of their conditions that they shared exclusively with their doctors.  Though there are obvious benefits to this privacy for the patient, it also has a corrupting influence, one in which the doctor operates as an accomplice in the deterioration of the patient.  In other words, for some people letting others like loved ones know of their ailment makes that individual suffering the condition a bit more accountable to his own health.  If his medical history is put into the exclusive hands of his doctor outside of the view of his family and their interests, then that is just too much trust placed in the doctors' hands.  I knew a pair of urologists years ago--they've since retired--who coddled and enabled a relative to make him think that his behavior was just fine.  In fact, they treated him like a friend despite the fact that his behavior was killing him.  His doctors knew it.  They saw his progress or lack of it.  They knew he was killing himself, and the doctors guarded this relative's feelings by dismissing my concerns.  Back to Betaine Hydrochloride:

Research has shown that, after the age of 21 years, the concentration of hydrochloric acid in the stomach begins to fall progressively with age, a condition known as "hypochlorhydria."

By the time people reach the age of 40 or 50, stomach hydrochloric acid concentration is much lower and attributable to age-related immune and auto-immune conditions, including diabetes, cancer and obesity - particularly abdominal fat - hence the so-called "middle age spread." Use of betaine hydrochloride has frequently been credited with flattening the stomach for this reason.

When I read statements like these, I can't but hear the between-the-lines message of "You absolutely, positively need . . . ."  In this case, Betaine Hydrochloride.  There are benefits I am sure.  But what are they . . . specifically?

Before I answer that, apparently, Betaine Hydrochloride is the most effective form of hydrochloric acid.  Okay, good to know. 

One of the most important supportive digestive aids you can ever take is betaine HCL, which while well recognized as a source HCl (hydrochloride) for improving the food dissolving acid activity of digestive juices is less recognized as a source of  betaine, which is one of the least appreciated supplemental substances.  The technical name for betaine is trimethylglycine (TMG) and there are lots of neat things about it that don’t get a lot of attention.  ow about the benefits of Betaine Hydrochloride:

BENEFITS of BETAINE HYDROCHLORIDE
Now about the benefits of Betaine Hydrochloride.  According to this article, this supplement is wild with benefits.  

Benefits list #1:   

Detox, relaxation, muscle building, brain boosting and heart health, cancer fighting too; all of these benefits are a bonus and this exemplifies one of the coolest about nutritional supplementation.  When  you supplement with betaine HCL for your digestive system, you’ll improve liver functioning, build muscle, reduce your risk of heart disease, garner protection from excitotoxins and get a good night’s sleep to boot.  [my emphasis]  You take a drug and you have to deal with toxic side effects [that you don't always feel or recognize right away] and you take a nutritional supplement and you get so many extra beneficial effects it’s hard to keep track of them all.  Beneficial effects that have nothing to do with your original reason for taking the supplement in the first place!  [my emphasis]

Benefits list #2:
Blue Shield of California has its own list of benefits for Betaine Hydrochloride.  You can expect the list to be informative on the conservative side; in other words, perhaps only on conditions where improvements can be scientifically proven.  I presume.

Benefits list #3:

[Betaine Hydrochloride] enables the stomach to much more completely dissolve and process foods right down to base nutrients, as well as produce methyl groups, an important element in preventing cancer and other diseases.  

Edward Group clarifies these benefits even further: 

Betaine hydrochloride is a powerful digestive aid for people who may have been privy to a poor diet, prolonged dehydration and generalized stress. It has also been shown to offer digestive support to perimenopausal women and elderly individuals.

Betaine HCL has also been found to be beneficial in treating hypochlorhydria, a deficiency of stomach acid production. It is also a crucial compound in balancing homocysteine levels, a condition related to severe heart disease.

What is more, as we age, the body naturally produces less digestive enzymes. Due to this lowering in enzymatic activity, Betaine HCL levels also decrease. Depending on the individual, this can lead to sluggish digestion and poor mineral and nutrient absorption.

It also means that the body is not detoxifying itself in an optimal fashion. Things that the body would normally expel remain lodged in the system. This leads to toxic overload, and the type of redness related to chronic disease.

RISKS of LOW STOMACH ACID
The risks are serious.  I had no idea.  Maybe because of low stomach acid. So don't dismiss the importance of having optimum hydrochloric acid in your stomach.

Two key benefits [of stomach acid]: absorption and protection. When food hits your stomach, it’s your stomach’s gastric acid that begins the breakdown of protein and most minerals with pepsin to prepare for the important absorption of key nutrients (like iron B12, Vit. D and MORE) in those foods for your health and well-being. It also helps knock out bad or dangerous bacteria.

Low stomach acid also leads to non-optimal levels of neurotransmitters/amino acids (chemicals which transmit signals from one cell to another and play a huge role in your health and well-being).

Did you get that?  Did it sink in?  I hope so.  I noticed some terrific benefits the first night that I supplemented with Betaine Hydrochloride. That signaling I felt in the different segments of my body--lower leg, feet, torso, shoulders, etc.  I thought they were unpleasant side effects.  They may have been.  But I believe they were benefits.  Proof?  Hmm.  I'll know soon enough.

Acid reflux is caused by lactic acid, a warning sign for too low of a concentration of hydrochloric acid, causing incomplete digestion of food. Acid reflux needs to be treated by increasing hydrochloric acid, not antacids which will neutralize hydrochloric acid, making reflux worse as well as other health consequences.

And there's this: 

"Low hydrochloric acid is a potential cause of cancer and other immune and auto-immune conditions."

And then there's the relationship of low stomach acid with your hypothyroid.  

First, this:

If the "Th1" immune system is compromised or disabled, the "Th2" component of the immune system attempts to take over. Th2, not being equipped to function as Th1, perceives genuine body tissues as foreign invaders, attacking them as it would a bacterium or virus. Th1 suppression is also a root cause of auto-immune diseases such as allergies, celiac disease and arthritis.

Continue reading . . . .

Drink Your Turmeric!

This looks good.  I put turmeric in my carrot juice and it definitely invigorates.  The picture shows the ingredients for an orange, lemon, ginger, carrot, and turmeric lemonade.  It looks delicious and refreshing.  This is a decent drink to try in the morning.  The ginger and turmeric and citrus juices have lots of enzymes that will activate your intestinal enzymes that help digest any protein you'll eat shortly after.

from Good Home Design 

In case you didn’t know, Turmeric is one of the best natural remedy for a lot of diseases.   [That is absolutely true.]  It has anti-inflammatory proprieties, alongside with antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and cancer-fighting ones. Furthermore, it has been shown that in treating depression is even more effective than any other conventional drugs out there. Today we are going to concentrate on the ability of turmeric to help combat depression.

TURMERIC AS A TREATMENT for DEPRESSION

The benefits for your health of this super root are extraordinary. It lowers the risk of heart disease, keeps your brain healthy and the research conducted has also shown that it helps lift depression, as already mentioned. Curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) has the same effects as a prescription medicine called fluoxetine (the generic form of Prozac). Additionally, Turmeric, contrary to prescription drugs for treating depression, has no adverse effects on your health, as the clinical trial on major depressive disorder (MDD) has revealed.

Dr. Ajay Goel, Baylor Research Institute and Charles A Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center and study co-author, said about the active ingredient in turmeric: “It is a novel and surprising application for this natural medicine. People with depression have higher levels of inflammation in the brain. Also, people with depression have lower levels of neurogenesis in the brain, meaning they make fewer new brain cells than people with no history of depression. Curcumin is both a potent anti-inflammatory agent and a powerful stimulator for neurogenesis.”

For reducing inflammation in your body, you can always add some turmeric to your recipes.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups cold filtered or sparkling water

2 tablespoons freshly grated or powdered turmeric

4 tablespoons of 100% maple syrup, honey or Stevia if you are avoiding sugar

Juice of 1 1/2 lemons or limes

Juice of 1 blood orange (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix all the ingredients into a small pitcher, stir and serve with a slice of lemon as a garnish.

". . . people are free to use or not use GMO product."

Whereas thousands of consumers are calling for strict labeling rights as consumers, Robert Wenzel over at Economic Policy Journal says that GMOs are not dangerous.  Here is one article he cites with a comment or two . . .  

Julie Kelly writes in WSJ:

"Despite what you may hear from the culinary elite, genetic engineering is winning the day and gradually overcoming their “Frankenfood” fear-mongering. A flurry of good news this year ought to convince the public, more than ever, of the safety and the tremendous promise of this technology.

On Dec. 8 the Food and Drug Administration approved a new chicken that has been genetically modified to treat a rare and potentially fatal disorder called lysosomal acid lipase deficiency. The chicken, which won’t be available as meat, produces eggs with an enzyme that replaces a faulty human enzyme, addressing the underlying cause of the disease. Add it to the small but growing class of “farmaceuticals,” including drugs made by transgenic goats and rabbits."

The idea that all GMO food is bad or dangerous is absurd.

In this article here, he addresses some of the com mentors at his site who replied vehemently against GMOs.

His main point is this, ". . . people are free to use or not use GMO products."

"Fiber [. . . bulks] up your stool and acts like glue to keep [it] together."


By Dr. Mercola

When it comes to toileting habits, the topic is not exactly a favorite among Americans – at least for those above the age of four. Mention poop and you can easily clear a room – or at the least, generate some unusual facial expressions, nervous laughter, and wisecracks about "too much information."

But your bodily emissions are an important health topic that deserves serious attention, regardless of the "ick factor." In fact, if you ignore what you deposit in your toilet, you could be flushing your health down the drain!

Did you know the average person generates about five TONS of stool in his or her lifetime? Turns out, there is much to be learned from this mountain of poop.

The shape, size, color, and other fecal features can tell you a great deal about your overall health, how your gastrointestinal tract is functioning, and even give you clues about serious disease processes that could be occurring, like infections, digestive problems, and even cancer. Poop comes in just about all the colors of the rainbow... and please forgive me for using the words poop and rainbow in the same sentence.

Although there is a certainly a wide variety of stool colors, textures and forms that are considered "normal," there are definitely things that, if seen or experienced, warrant immediate medical attention. With this in mind, the overview that follows covers what you need to know about what's normal and not normal in the bathroom department.

WHAT IS A NORMAL STOOL?
Your stool is about 75 percent water. The rest is a fetid combination of fiber, live and dead bacteria, miscellaneous cells and mucus.^{1, 2} The characteristics of your stool will tell you a good deal about how happy and healthy your digestive tract is – the color, odor, shape, size, and even the sound it makes when it hits the water and whether it's a "sinker" or a "floater" are all relevant information. If you're one to poop and scoot quickly out of the bathroom without looking in the toilet, then you might want to slow down and look down.

The Bristol Stool Chart is a handy tool that may help you learn what you're going for. Ideally, your stool should approximate Types 3, 4 and 5, "like a sausage or a snake, smooth and soft" to "soft blobs that pass easily." Type 4 is the Holy Grail.³

Fiber tends to bulk up your stool and acts like glue to keep the stool stuck together, instead of in pieces. If your stool is on the softer side, short of diarrhea ("soft serve," as some call it), it could be related to lactose intolerance, artificial sweeteners (sorbitol and Splenda), or a reaction to fructose or gluten.

LOOK, LISTEN, AND SMELL BEFORE YOU FLUSH
What's normal and what's not when you look into the toilet? The following table will help you narrow down what to look for, so that you aren't needlessly alarmed. Of course, there are a few signs that ARE cause for concern, and those are listed too. If you have a change in stools accompanied by abdominal pain, please report this to your physician.⁴

DOES YOUR STOOL HAVE A REALLY BAD ODOR?
If your stool has an extraordinarily bad odor, it should not be ignored. I am referring to an odor above and beyond the normally objectionable stool odor. Stinky stool can be associated with a number of health problems, such as:⁷

• A malabsorptive disorder
• Celiac disease
• Crohn's disease
• Chronic pancreatitis
• Cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a disease caused by a defective gene that causes your body to produce abnormally thick, sticky mucus, which builds up and causes life-threatening lung infections and serious digestive problems. Most cases of CF are diagnosed before the age of 2, so this is more of a concern with infants and toddlers. Speaking of malodorous things, what about gas? Passing gas (flatulence) is normal. Not only is it normal, it's a good sign that trillions of hard working gut bacteria are doing their jobs. People pass gas an average 14 times per day – anywhere from one to four pints of it!⁸ Ninety nine percent of gas is odorless, so you may even be unaware you're passing it. Think about it – were it not for an exit, we'd all blow up like balloons! 

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU MOVE YOUR BOWELS? 
Normal bowel habits vary. When we talk about regularity, what we're really talking about is what's regular for you. Three bowel movements per day to three per week is considered the normal range. What's more important than frequency is the ease with which you move your bowels. If you need to push or strain, something is off – moving your bowels should take no more effort than urinating or passing gas. The thing to watch for is a sudden change in your bowel habits. Many factors can affect regularity, such as diet, travel, medications, hormonal fluctuations, sleep patterns, exercise, illness, surgery, childbirth, stress and a whole host of other things.⁹




Keep reading . . . .

CAREFUL WITH THAT CAYENNE

Careful With That Cayenne

I have recommended cayenne pepper before. Even though this is a supplement, not all supplements are harmless or harmless in the given amounts.  I recommended taking cayenne pepper for circulatory reasons.  In that article, it stated that cayenne pepper is THE supplement to have around in case of a heart attack.  But as I've always maintained, much of what passes for therapeutic or fix-it advice on the net regarding supplements is sales copy.  And nothing sells better than fear or greed.  Promise someone they will be richer, better looking, taller, you name it, that's greed--you're selling people what they want and lots of it.  Selling fear means you scare people into a position.  "If you don't want to lose the value of your IRA, listen to this interview."  Same thing with food and with supplements.  

So, yes, it's true that cayenne pepper is great for circulation.  Absolutely.  But do you really need its powerful benefits?  I don't know.  Only you can answer that.  Maybe you could use its benefits for a short time, like in an emergency situation.  Or for a few days after that.  But remember there are a few organs involved in the circulation of your blood to, through, and from the heart.  There are your kidneys for one.  There is your heart for two.  There is your liver.  And your brain sending electronic impulses to everything else.  

Gingko Biloba is better tolerated for the long term.  That's not an endorsement per se, but Gingko is milder.  If I wanted to maintain healthy circulation I'd be running, walking, swimming, hiking, playing basketball or tennis.  Find what you like.  It may be yoga.  Find what you enjoy, find that which brings you that twenty-year-old joy.  Could be dancing or any of the other activities I mentioned.  

But be careful with cayenne pepper.  There are a few important caveats that I want to share with you.

Marie Dannie over at Livestrong reports that 

Too much capsaicin in food can lead to general symptoms of irritation in the mouth, stomach and intestines, and in some cases, it can cause vomiting or diarrhea. Capsaicin is present in both fresh and dried cayenne, as well as in cayenne powder.

A more serious risk is heartburn:

Cayenne pepper in even small amounts, but especially in high quantities, can cause heartburn. The capsaicin content in cayenne irritates the stomach and esophagus lining, increasing the amount of stomach acid produced, which can flow upward into the esophagus, creating a burning sensation in your upper abdomen. A 2010 publication of “Revista de Gastroenterologia de Mexico” found that capsaicin caused gastrointestinal reflux symptoms in people suffering regularly from heartburn as well as those who normally do not experience any reflux problems. 

Have never experienced this reaction with Ginkgo Biloba.  Again from LiveStrong.  This time from Joseph Pritchard--not good for your liver or kidneys:

Capsaicin [has] been associated with stomach upset, kidney and liver damage as well as abdominal pain, the University of Maryland Medical Center explains. Capsaicin has been associated with increased stomach acidity as well as lowering the effect of ranitidine and other stomach acid reducers. Capsaicin also potentiates the effects of blood-thinning medications. 

This is why you need something milder.  Perhaps you can find a way to take milder amounts of cayenne pepper.  Or simply take Ginkgo Biloba.  But don't give up on Cayenne Pepper on my account.  Dr. Edward Group points us to "17 Health Benefits of Cayenne Pepper," some of which seem a little contradictory in my view.  Check out how Dick Quinn relied on cayenne pepper for heart health.