Poliquin - Healthy. Lean. Strong.

Indisputably, health bulletins from such governmental organizations as the Centers for Disease Control are valuable, but you can tell a lot about the state of the nation's health just from watching television commercials. That's because major corporations spend millions of dollars airing commercials about health care products. One of their biggest investments is digestive aids, and among the best sellers in this category are those that deal with acid reflux.

First, it's important to understand that stomach acid plays a vital role in the digestive process, as it helps to break down food, chemically altering it so that the body can extract the required nutrients for proper structure and function, including muscle maintenance and growth. The acid begins the digestion of protein in the stomach and then triggers the pancreas to secrete digestive enzymes and the gallbladder to release bile into the small intestine. The acid is also responsible for killing pathogenic bacteria that enter the body via food. But many individuals have problems with stomach acid, in particular, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and low stomach acid production.
GERD?It's estimated that up to 70 million Americans suffer from stomach acid problems, including one known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In simplest terms, the muscular tube that connects the throat to the stomach is called the esophagus. With GERD, the liquid in the stomach, containing acid and pepsin, backs up into the esophagus. The result can be inflammation (swelling) and possible damage to the lining of the esophagus.

The pharmaceutical industry has developed many drugs to deal with the symptoms associated with GERD. One category of drugs is called proton pump inhibitors, which reduce the amount of stomach acid produced by the stomach. One of the best-selling proton pump inhibitors is called Prevacid, which goes by the generic name Lansoprazole; side effects may include nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea and constipation. I'd like to suggest a natural alternative to such drugs.
Rather than blocking the production of stomach acid, one way to quickly and effectively deal with GERD symptoms is to support the digestive system with adequate levels of hydrochloric acid (HCl). The over-the-counter, natural formulation I recommend to do this is called Ultra HCl 4.0 TM, which will aid in the digestion of all types of foods.

Ultra HCl 4.0 TM improves digestion by using two versions of HCl: betaine and glutamic acid HCl. Included in this formulation are pepsin, which aids protein digestion, and gentian root, which stimulates natural acid production by the parietal cells in the stomach.
 
Low Stomach Acid
This condition also is a prevalent problem today. Here are a few of the symptoms of low stomach acid:

¥ Belching or gas within one hour of a meal
¥ Bloating and fullness shortly after eating
¥ Loss of taste for meat
¥ Nausea after taking supplements
¥ Brittle fingernails
¥ Undigested food in stool
¥ Foul-smelling stools
¥ Stomach pain
¥ Bad breath
¥ Loss of appetite
¥ Estrogen buildup
¥ Acne rosacea
¥ Depression

Testing for low stomach acid levels is a common diagnostic tool at the Poliquin Performance Centers; and of 160 individuals tested, 158 were not producing optimal levels of HCl. Further, I have yet to see a single successful man over the age of 40 with normal stomach acid levels - some are even considered achloridic, which means that they make almost no stomach acid.

As with GERD, taking Ultra HCl 4.0 TM is the recommended approach for low stomach acid. Ultra HCl 4.0 TM ensures complete breakdown of food in the stomach. Further, the increased acid levels in the stomach improve the absorption of protein, calcium, B-12 and iron. I've often said that it's not how much food you eat but how much food you assimilate. Using Ultra HCl 4.0 TM therefore has the potential of enabling you to eat less but absorb more nutrients from the food you eat! This quality has obvious value to athletes, who have higher nutrient demands. In fact, some athletes I have worked with who have corrected low stomach acid levels often have gains of up to 18 pounds of lean muscle mass within two months.

What can HCL do for you?
Supplementing stomach acid levels offers the following benefits:

HCl is necessary for absorption and assimilation of vitamins and minerals such as B12, folic acid, vitamin C, beta-carotene and iron, by increasing their bioavailability and effecting their cleaving from food. As pointed out by Dr. Jonathan Wright, MD, Medical Director of the Tahoma Clinic, a wide number macro minerals and trace minerals have low absorption rates in cases of low stomach acid, namely calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, chromium, selenium, manganese, vanadium, molybdenum and cobalt.

 

It is been established that many are age related cognitive disorders are linked to declining levels of stomach acid which disrupt absorption of folic acid and B12, two vital nutrients in optimal cognitive function.

 

 

HCI starts the digestion of protein structures in the stomach by transforming pepsinogen into the proteolytic enzyme, pepsin. Once it is formed, pepsin acts to break proteins into smaller fractions easier to digest fractions called peptides that can be absorbed by the small intestine. When you don’t have enough gastric secretions, incompletely digested large protein molecules can be absorbed into the systemic circulation and set off a host of food intolerances.
Many strength individuals failed to make gains because of low levels of stomach acid.

 

In addition to breaking down your food properly and absorbing a host of nutraceuticals, HCl also plays an important role in maintaining a safe environment in the stomach.

 

HCl reaches that goal by defending against orally-ingested pathogens and creating a defensive barrier to prevent bacterial or fungal overgrowth in the small intestine.

 

Takumi et al. (1989) showed that a common pathogen, E coli (Escherichia coli) is inactivated when stomach acidity is high, with a pH ranging between 1.5 and 4.0.

 

Brummer and Kasanen (1956) showed that E coli is not found in the gastric contents of achlorhydric patients after treatment with HCL.

 

Morihara et al. (2001), in Japan, demonstrated that there was a strong correlation between low stomach acidity and increased infection by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori).

 

H. pylori is one of the most common chronic bacterial infections of humans and been linked to being a major cause of gastritis, gastric ulcer disease, gastric carcinoma and B-cell gastric lymphoma (Young, 2001).

 

Restored acid levels can also destroy ingested bacteria and microorganisms. This quality is important to prevent the proliferation of H. pylori (Helicobacter pylori), which is the bacteria that thrive in an acidic environment and can cause peptic ulcers, gastritis and duodenitis and, according to the National Cancer Institute, may be associated with gastric cancer.
 
Low stomach acid and gastroesophageal reflux are unpleasant digestive conditions that affect your quality of life and, for athletes, the ability to train and compete at optimal levels. Fortunately, Ultra HCl 4.0 TM is an exciting new formulation that may hold the promise of helping you get your life back.

 

 

References:

Brummer P, Kasanen A. The effect of hydrochloric acid on the indican metabolism in achlorhydria. Acta Medica Scan 1956;155:11-14.

Morihara M, Aoyagi N, Kaniwa N, Kojima S, Ogata H.Assessment of gastric acidity of Japanese subjects over the last 15 years. Biol Pharm Bull 2001 Mar;24(3):313-5.

Takumi K, de Jonge R, Havelaar A. Modeling inactivation of Escherichia coli by low pH: application to passage through the stomach of young and elderly people. J. Appl Microbiol 2000 Dec;89(6):935-43.

Young DG. A stain for demonstrating Helicobacter pylori in gastric biopsies. Biotech Histochem 2001 Jan;76(1):31-4.

Wright JV. Treatment of childhood asthma with parenteral vitamin B12, gastric re-acidification, and attention to food allergy, magnesium and pyridoxine. Three case reports with background and an integrated hypothesis. J Nutr Med 1990;1:277-282.