If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best betaine HCL supplement for acid reflux, then we recommend BiOptimizers HCL Breakthrough as the best one.
Do you suffer from acid reflux?
You’re not alone.
So do I.
In fact, acid reflux is a common condition for many people.
In fact, over 60 million Americans deal with acid reflux at least once a month. However, the good news is that there are best betaine HCL supplement products that can help.
In this article, I’ll explain what acid reflux is, everything you need to know about betaine HCL, and finally, I’ll examine five of the best betaine HCL supplements and conclude which of the round-up is the winner.
Here are the top betaine HCL supplements we’ll be reviewing:
- NOW Supplements Betaine HCl
- Best Naturals Betaine HCL
- Doctor’s Best Betaine HCI Pepsin
- Nutricost Betaine HCl
- BiOptimizers HCL Breakthrough
What is Acid Reflux?
Gastroesophageal reflux disease, otherwise known as acid reflux, occurs when stomach acid goes back into the esophagus.
Acid reflux can occur after eating a heavy meal, lying on your back, bending to lift an object, while pregnant, etc.
For me, it typically happens when I’m bending down or if I overeat!
Certain foods can cause acid reflux, such as chocolate, garlic, onions, tomatoes, coffee, etc.
Some of the most common acid reflux symptoms include heartburn, regurgitation, and dyspepsia.
Heartburn is a condition where pain, that feels like burning, moves from the stomach to the chest, and sometimes it can move to the throat.
Keep in mind that even though the condition is called “heartburn,” the state doesn’t affect one’s heart.
Regurgitation occurs when it feels like acid is backing up in the mouth or throat. Dyspepsia is another word for discomfort in the stomach, such as nausea, burping, or bloating.
When acid reflux becomes severe, which is rare, your esophagus can become inflamed. Barrett’s esophagus can occur.
This is a condition where the esophageal lining changes. From there, a precancerous condition called dysplasia can occur.
Finally, dysplasia can turn into esophageal cancer.
The good news is that the risk of developing this kind of cancer from Barrett’s esophagus is low at about 0.5 percent per year.
Furthermore, most acid reflux problems are treatable and don’t develop into anything serious.
What is HCL and HCI?
It can be challenging to understand what exactly HCL and HCI are and how betaine relates. However, to break it down simply, hydrochloric acid or HCL is a hydrogen chloride solution or HCI dissolved in water.
HCI is a common salt used for medication.
As far as betaine hydrochloride, it is created in a laboratory and used in medicine. However, it can also be found in foods, such as grains.
What is Betaine Hydrochloride?
Let’s take a closer look at betaine hydrochloride or betaine HCL.
It is found in a wide variety of natural food sources. These include wheat bran, wheat bread, wheat germ, pretzels, spinach, shrimp, and more.
A healthy amount of betaine hydrochloride is good for the body and can help keep it healthy. Here are some conditions betaine HCL can help with:
- Acne Rosacea
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Candidiasis
- Gallstones
- Hives
- Indigestion
- Arthritis
In addition to the above conditions, betaine HCL can help with acid reflux. Healthy stomachs are highly acidic.
That’s why a healthy stomach can properly digest the food and drink we consume and provide our bodies with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
However, if you have a stomach with low acidity, you can suffer from acid reflux and other problems.
Although you can get betaine HCL in the foods I’ve listed, as with a lot of helpful substances found in our foods, we don’t always eat enough of these foods to get the specific substances we may need. I know I didn’t.
Americans lead busy lives, and we are bombarded with food choices that accompany our busy lives.
Unfortunately, many of those food choices lack the appropriate vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients we need.
That’s where talking to your doctor, and using betaine HCL supplements can help.
What is Pepsin?
Before I move on with more information about betaine HCL, I’d like to mention pepsin briefly. Pepsin is an enzyme found in our stomachs.
This enzyme helps to digest protein, such as the protein in meat, dairy products, and eggs. Pepsin is found in betaine HCL supplements as an excellent enhancer.
In fact, no betaine HCL supplement can be considered “best” without pepsin added or a vegan pepsin equivalent.
How Do I Take the Best Betaine HCL Supplement?
Before I begin with this section, it should be evident that you should not take one of these supplements if you have a healthy stomach.
Your stomach could become too acidic otherwise. It’s always good to talk to a doctor before taking betaine HCL supplements.
A betaine HCL supplement, while in the stomach, separates into betaine and hydrochloric acid. The HCL increases stomach acid.
Therefore, you should not take substances that can negate its effectiveness, such as an antacid. Also, don’t take betaine HCL if you’re taking ibuprofen, Tylenol, or other NSAIDs.
The appropriate dose of betaine HCL will depend on an individual’s age, health, and other conditions.
Most of these supplements will instruct you to take one with every meal. But that does not mean you should take such a supplement on an empty stomach.
It would be best if you took them halfway through a meal or at the end of a meal. (Halfway through a meal is probably better.)
The Best Betaine HCL Supplement List
Below are five of the best betaine HCL supplements. I’ll describe each of them including the pros and cons, and then I’ll choose a winner.
NOW Supplements Betaine HCl
NOW Supplements Betaine HCl is made with 648 mg betaine and is composed of 150 mg of a vegetarian acid-stable protease equivalent to animal-derived pepsin.
In addition, NOW’s formula is vegan, soy-free, non-GMO, dairy-free, egg-free, and ketogenic or KETO.
The product is also halal, which means that it is permissible in Islamic dietary laws.
Betaine HCI is GMP quality assured, which means the NOW manufacturing process has been thoroughly examined.
The dose is one capsule at each meal and should not be taken on an empty stomach.
Pros
- Betaine HCI is made in the USA.
- Betaine HCI is made with 648 mg betaine.
- The product is vegetarian, equivalent to animal-derived pepsin, suitable for vegetarians and non-vegetarians.
- The product is soy-free.
- NOW’s formula is non-GMO.
- The product is dairy-free.
- Betaine HCI is egg-free.
- The product is KETO.
- The company is GMP quality assured.
- The product is affordable.
Cons
- An individual needs to take a tablet with each meal for it to be effective.
Best Naturals Betaine HCL
Best Naturals Betaine HCL is made with 648 mg betaine and 150 mg of pepsin enzyme, and it is bitter in taste to stimulate an individual’s production of digestive enzymes.
Betaine HCL has no artificial flavor, color, or sweetener. In addition, it has no preservatives.
The product does not contain sugar, corn, starch, eggs, soy, lactose, wheat, gluten, yeast, fish, or sodium.
Betaine HCL is GMP quality assured, which means the Best Naturals manufacturing process has been thoroughly examined.
The dose is one capsule at each meal and should not be taken on an empty stomach.
Pros
- Best Naturals is an American company.
- Betaine HCL is made with 648 mg betaine and 150 mg of pepsin enzyme.
- The product contains no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners.
- Best Naturals’ formula has no preservatives.
- There is no sugar, corn, starch, eggs, soy, lactose, wheat, gluten, yeast, fish, or sodium added.
- The company is GMP quality assured.
Cons
- An individual needs to take a tablet with each meal for it to be effective.
Doctor’s Best Betaine HCI Pepsin
Doctor’s Best Betaine HCI Pepsin is made with 648 mg betaine HCI and 25mg pepsin. The product contains 20 mg of gentian plant extract, as well.
The gentian plant is native to Europe, and it’s a natural herbal remedy to stimulate the body’s production of digestive enzymes.
This Doctor’s Best formula is non-GMO and gluten-free. The dose is one capsule at each meal and should not be taken on an empty stomach.
Pros
- Doctor’s Best is an American company.
- The product is made with 648 mg betaine HCI, 25mg pepsin, and 20 mg gentian.
- The product is non-GMO and gluten-free.
Cons
- An individual needs to take the product three times a day with each meal to be effective.
- This product is pricier than similar products.
- The combination of betaine HCI, pepsin, and gentian can also be considered a con because it is different from most on the market.
Nutricost Betaine HCl
Nutricost Betaine HCl is made with 650 mg betaine HCI and 140 mg pepsin, which is higher than similar brands, and you need to take only one capsule a day.
The easy to swallow capsules are non-GMO and gluten-free.
Betaine HCl Plus Pepsin is third party tested and GMP compliant, which means the Nutricost manufacturing process, undertaken in America, has been thoroughly examined.
Pros
- This product is affordable.
- Betaine HCl Plus Pepsin contains a high combination of betaine and pepsin.
- An individual needs to take only one capsule a day instead of three capsules a day like other brands.
- The product is non-GMO and gluten-free.
- The capsules are easy to swallow.
- The product is third-party tested.
- Nutricost is an American country that is GMP quality assured.
Cons
- The capsules have a fishy smell that may be offensive to some users.
BiOptimizers HCL Breakthrough
BiOptimizers HCL Breakthrough is also a 100 percent plant-based product and does not contain pepsin. HCL Breakthrough is dairy-free and gluten-free.
The dose is one capsule at each meal and should not be taken on an empty stomach.
Pros
- The product is 500 mg Betaine HCL.
- HCL Breakthrough is a 100 percent plant-based product and does not contain pepsin.
- The product is dairy-free.
- The product is gluten-free.
Cons
- An individual needs to take the product three times a day with each meal to be effective.
And the Winner is…
The winner of the best betaine HCL supplements is BiOptimizers HCL Breakthrough.
It’s is suitable not just for meat-eaters but also non-meat eaters.
A product that is good for both meat-eaters and non-meat eaters makes it a more accessible product.
For example, I’m working on eating less meat and eventually becoming a vegetarian.
Betaine HCI is an appropriate product to help me with acid reflux and contribute to my future vegetarian goals.
There are also other great things about the product, such as it being non-GMO, soy-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and KETO.
The KETO diet is trendy these days, and this supplement would not interfere with that.
Of course, the product is made in the USA, and the manufacturing process is GMP quality assured.
Because of the unfortunate abundance of substandard supplements on the market, many of them produced outside of the United States, it’s important to find a USA product made under strict safety adherences.
You do need to take the supplement with every meal, which for a supplement in general is a con.
However, most betaine HCL supplements are going to require you to take the supplement with every meal.
