heartburn (occurring 2 or more days a week).
Note that the second recommendation contains the statement: “The dose may be continued to maintain healing”. Is a deficiency of Prilosec the cause of GERD? Not! Some may be led to believe that the drug maintains healing. In fact, it does not heal GERD in the first place. It only decreases the local conditions where the esophagus is no longer being irritated by stomach acid backing up into the lower espophagus which irritates the esophageal lining. This is a distinction that must be understood.
To heal erosive esophagitis, it would better to do so without decreasing HCL produced by the stomach. The details of how this is done using a Functional Medicine approach would require a whole article, so we’ll not go into that here. I plan to write and post a separate article about healing erosive esophagitis and the stomach lining here in my blog.
If you have low stomach acid and are prescribed supplemental HCL, how long do I have to take it? Can your stomach HCL production return to normal?
Betaine hydrochloride (Betaine HCL) is an acidic form of betaine, a vitamin-like substance found in grains and some foods. Betaine HCL with pepsin is used to increase the level of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. When taking Betaine HCL it should always be taken at the beginning or middle of a meal containing some protein. Often times, in patients in their 30′s and 40′s, taking supplemental betaine HCL can “jump-start” their stomach towards producing adequate HCL. Thus, they only have to use it for a short time. This can even occur in some of those over 50, if they tend to eat a good diet, exercise regularly, manage stress well, get adequate rest, etc. However, most don’t, so those over 50, often find great benefit in long term consistent use of supplemental betaine HCL with pepsin. The proper dose and correct timing in taking it with a meal make all the difference as to getting the most benefit without experiencing problems! This should be done under the guidance of a Functional Medicine doctor and Certified Clinical Nutritionist professional who is familiar with Betaine HCL for GERD, digestive problems and disorders associated with low stomach acid.
Dr Husbands is a Chiropractor, a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, an Anti-Aging Healthcare Practitioner and a Functional Medicine Doctor. For more information, visit http://www.holistichealthbayarea.com. Contact us if you have any questions about low stomach acid or other health issues.
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