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What Are the Betaine HCL Benefits for Digestion?

What Are the Betaine HCL Benefits for Digestion?

Science Based

Written by Amy Myers, MD

HCL. You might recognize those letters from your high school chemistry class as hydrochloric acid – a potent, highly corrosive, and pungent chemical. However, you may not know that your gastric juices also contain a form of HCL to aid digestion. They do this by helping break down the food you eat. That said, some people are low on stomach acid — leading to poor digestion. You’ll be happy to know that in that case, you can take a betaine HCL supplement. 

Your body’s natural HCL production diminishes as you age. Consequently, without HCL in your gastric juices, you could experience uncomfortable symptoms. These include bloating, gas, heartburn, and poor nutrient absorption. Over time, low HCL production can lead to other health issues, such as autoimmune disease.

In this article, I’ll discuss what causes low stomach acid, how it impacts your health, and the benefits of Gut Restore with Betaine HCL supplement. This supplement boosts your stomach acid levels. The result is better gut health, healthier skin, and optimal nutrient absorption. 

First, let’s have a review of hydrochloric acid.

What is Hydrochloric Acid?

If you took chemistry in high school, you probably learned hydrochloric acid is corrosive. For example, it can cause severe chemical burns if it comes in contact with your skin. 

So, you likely wore protective gear and took safety measures when working with hydrochloric acid in chemistry labs. Common uses for hydrochloric acid include household cleaners, pool maintenance, and food manufacturing.

This doesn’t sound like something you’d find in your gut, does it? No need to worry. The type of hydrochloric acid you used in chemistry class is a synthetic form combined with hydrogen chloride gas.

The natural form of hydrochloric acid is the main component of gastric acid in your stomach. The hydrochloric acid found in your stomach acid helps you digest your food. That’s because of HCL’s alkaline properties. Let me explain.

Your stomach should be naturally acidic. That is, you want it to be able to kill harmful bacteria and microbes that disrupt the natural balance in your gut. To that end,  HCL supports your immune system by killing viruses once they reach the stomach. This way, they don’t enter the small intestine and, eventually, the bloodstream. It acts like a bouncer at a nightclub — it keeps the bad guys out!

It takes a lot of energy for the cells in your stomach to produce HCL. Unfortunately, a diet of processed foods, gluten, and dairy products can inhibit this process. Consequently, if your cells don’t have the energy to generate enough HCL, it can lead to hypochlorhydria. I’ll talk more about this in just a bit! 

This is where supplementing can help. First, let’s discuss the benefits of Gut Restore with Betaine HCL supplement.

What Are the Betaine HCL Benefits?

Gut Restore with Betaine HCL supports the stomach’s natural acidic levels. To illustrate, betaine hydrochloride is a powerful herb that supports nearly every digestive process in the stomach. It promotes normal acid levels. However, that’s not all it does! Read on to learn the benefits of Gut Restore with Betaine HCL:

Gut Restore with Betaine HCL Supports Digestion

Your body expends an immense amount of energy digesting the foods you eat. The thing is, without optimal stomach acid levels, your body has to work overtime. As a result, you may experience low energy and even fatigue. 

No worries here! Gut Restore with Betaine and HCL promotes healthy stomach acid levels. This allows your body to break down food in the stomach. As a result, it makes it easier to absorb nutrients more efficiently in the small intestine. In addition, it helps kill off harmful bacteria in your stomach before they can enter your digestive tract.

Gut Restore with Betaine HCL Repairs Leaky Gut

Adding Gut Restore with Betaine HCL supplement to your routine maintains an ideal balance of acidity in your digestive system. This supports your vulnerable gut lining. To do this Gut Restore with Betaine HCL creates an unwelcome environment for harmful microbes, yeast, and bacterial and fungal infections. What’s more, it helps protect you against the effects of leaky gut syndrome by supporting protein digestion.

Without enough HCL to break down proteins, tiny undigested particles may leak into your bloodstream. The problem is, your immune system doesn’t recognize these particles. As a result, it responds by attacking everything in sight, including healthy tissue! Taking Gut Restore with Betaine HCL can potentially prevent this unfortunate sequence of events.

Gut Restore with Betaine HCL Stops Candida Overgrowth

Taking Gut Restore with Betaine HCL supplement inhibits Candida overgrowth. That is, it prevents it from accumulating in your small intestine. 

Maintaining a healthy acidity in your stomach helps your digestive tract digest your food correctly. This prevents undigested food from sitting in your stomach and feeding the Candida that disrupts your gut flora. 

If you have Candida overgrowth and leaky gut, the Candida can escape through your intestinal wall. As a result, this could create a widespread systemic issue — you want to avoid this!

Gut Restore with Betaine HCL Promotes Skin Health

Many people don’t realize that gut health is tied to the health of your skin. Common skin conditions, such as eczema, dermatitis, acne, and rosacea, are linked to low stomach acid. (1) Taking a betaine HCL supplement can indirectly support your skin health by promoting healthy stomach acid levels.

Gut Restore with Betaine HCL Supports Nutrient Absorption

Your body cannot absorb the nutrients from your food without healthy stomach acid levels. Consequently, nutrient deficiencies and poor nutrient absorption can lead to unintentional weight loss, fatigue, muscle wasting, digestive issues, dull hair, brittle nails, loss of bone density, and many other health conditions. Gut Restore with Betaine HCL supplement boosts your stomach acid to ensure your body can utilize all the nutrients you eat!

As mentioned, Gut Restore with Betaine HCL supports healthy stomach acid levels. So, what happens when your stomach acid gets too low? This is known as hypochlorhydria.

What Is Hypochlorhydria?

Hypochlorhydria is the medical term used for low stomach acid. Earlier, I mentioned that low stomach acid could cause leaky gut and Candida overgrowth. This is because it inhibits your body’s ability to kill harmful bacteria.

When your body can’t properly digest food and absorb nutrients over a long period, there can be detrimental effects. These include malnutrition, gastrointestinal disorders, leaky gut, and the overgrowth of Candida.

Hypochlorhydria damages your gastrointestinal system. It causes gut infections and other chronic health conditions if left untreated. Here are the symptoms of hypochlorhydria: (2)

  • Heartburn
  • Gas
  • Bloating
  • Fatigue
  • Iron deficiency anemia
  • Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
  • Hair loss
  • Undigested food in your stools
  • GI infections

If you suspect you have hypochlorhydria, you may want to test your stomach acid levels at home using the baking soda test. To do this, you’ll combine 4 ounces of water with a quarter teaspoon of baking soda. Then, drink it on an empty stomach. 

Combining baking soda and stomach acid will produce carbon dioxide. This will cause you to belch soon after drinking the mixture. However, if it takes longer than 3-5 minutes for you to burp, you may have low stomach acid.

To confirm, you can schedule a visit with your functional medicine physician to run a few stomach acid tests for a formal diagnosis. The good news is that a solution is in your control. 

I’ll talk more about my go-to solution for low stomach acid in just a minute! First, let me tell you what causes hypochlorhydria.

What Causes Hypochlorhydria?

There are many potential underlying causes of hypochlorhydria. It’s often caused by autoimmune disease, chronic overconsumption of alcohol, and bacterial infection. Some additional causes of hypochlorhydria include: (3)

  • A poor diet full of processed foods
  • Lack of exercise
  • Smoking
  • Overexposure to toxins
  • Advanced age
  • Use of NSAIDs or antibiotics
  • Food sensitivities
  • Hormonal changes

There are many reasons why you could have low stomach acid. Getting to the root cause of your low stomach acid is the first step in supporting your digestive health. 

That’s why I recommend Gut Restore with Betaine HCL to anyone with a gut infection or digestive problem. Yet, you might be wondering if betaine HCL supplements are safe. Let’s talk about that.

Is Taking a Betaine HCL Supplement Safe?

Anyone concerned about leaky gut and wanting to support healthy pH in their digestive system could benefit from HCL supplementation. In addition, it could help those dealing with gas, bloating, and nutrient deficiencies. 

Gut Restore with Betaine and HCL optimizes the pH levels of your stomach. It adds just the right amount of acid to your gastric juices. As a result, this will support optimal digestion, mineral absorption, enzyme activation, and microbe balance.

Acidic beverages such as apple cider vinegar and lemon juice can also increase stomach acid levels. However, consuming them in liquid form could cause issues if you have a gut infection. In addition, it could cause esophageal pain and discomfort. This is where betaine HCL supplements can be beneficial. (4)

What Is the Solution?

As I mentioned, HCL supplements can be beneficial in supporting the digestive process. However, not all HCL supplements work or contain betaine. 

With this in mind, a high-quality HCL supplement should be in the form of betaine HCL. This is essential for optimal nutrient absorption and digestion. It’s also important for preventing conditions such as leaky gut and bacterial overgrowth.

I created Gut Restore with Betaine HCL using top-quality ingredients, including 648 mg of betaine hydrochloride (Betaine HCL). To illustrate, this supplement helps increase stomach acid levels to improve digestion. The betaine HCL in Gut Restore helps break down proteins into amino acids and activates important digestive enzymes. In addition, it adds just the right amount of acid to balance your stomach's pH and support healthy digestion.

For maximum support, I recommend taking HCL with Complete Enzymes for digestive health. To demonstrate, Complete Enzymes offer a broad spectrum of digestive enzymes to maximize nutrient absorption, support a healthy inflammatory response, and break down proteins. It’s a winning combination!

The Final Word

Hydrochloric acid, or HCL, is so essential for proper digestion. Therefore, nearly everyone would benefit from a betaine HCL supplement. As we age, our body's natural HCL levels tend to diminish. Subsequently, this can lead to gas, bloating, and poor nutrient absorption.

Over time, this situation could lead to more serious issues such as leaky gut or autoimmune disease. In other words, you need to stay on top of this! 

If you notice digestive issues such as gas and bloating, you probably have low stomach acid. Adding Gut Restore with Betaine HCL to your daily routine supports healthy stomach acid levels. By incorporating Gut Restore into your routine, you’re giving your body the support it needs for healthier digestion, improved skin, and overall vitality.


Gut health is the foundation of your well-being, and with Gut Restore with Betaine HCL, you’re taking a powerful step toward feeling your best!

Article Sources

  1. Rosacea: Molecular Mechanisms and Management of a Chronic Cutaneous Inflammatory Condition. Yu Ri Woo, Ji Hong Lim, et al. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2016.
  2. Hypochlorhydria. Cleveland Clinic. 2022.
  3. Gastrointestinal Tract and the Control of Bone Mass. Thorsten Schinke and Michael Amling. Science Direct. 2013.
  4. Gastric Re-acidification with Betaine HCl in Healthy Volunteers with Rabeprazole-Induced Hypochlorhydria. Gillian S. Smelick, Lynda A. Frassetto, et al. Molecular Pharmaceutics. 2013.