Solaray - HCl with Pepsin - 250 mg - 180 capsules

It is the only hcl, I believe, that comes in 250 mg capsules which is important for easing into stomach acid replacement and being able to judge your increase by smaller amounts than 500 mg the other products have. It has the pepsin enzyme as well which is strongly recommended by health practitioners. The price for the amount of pills is very reasonable. Easy to swallow.

As far as I'm concerned, this product is a miracle, and more people should know about it. I've struggled with what has been diagnosed as both IBS and gastritis since I was a freshman in college (now almost 40). My symptoms were pain/burning in my stomach that intensified with hunger, drinking coffee, and was often worse first thing in the morning. It began with a very stressful time in my life during which I began skipping meals. After my life got back on track, the stress subsided and my eating habits went back to normal but the pain never went away. I saw a gastroenterologist who tested me for h. pylori and gallbladder issues and found none. So I was put on Nexium which I took for years, was very expensive, had scary long-term side effects, and only minimally helped my symptoms. It wasn't until I saw an integrative physician in my mid-30s who suggested this product that I found an effective treatment. I wish I had learned about it sooner! I take one capsule with each meal, and my symptoms have completely subsided. It's very important to take it with food because if you don't, you'll end up with painful burning. I had read all kinds of articles about acid reflux and excessive stomach acid over the years that never squared up completely with my symptoms, but now that this product works so well for me, I suspect that I actually had LOW stomach acid, not HIGH. I also suspect that many people who are on acid reducers are in the same situation due to the influence of the pharmaceutical industry. This much cheaper, non-prescription alternative works 10x better for me than acid reducers ever did. I'm so thankful to have found this supplement.Update: Since writing this review I have switched to using NOW brand Super Enzymes which contains 200 mg Betaine HCL. I highly recommend this product as well for the issues I mentioned above.

The Solaray HCL with Pepsin is a great product if you are dealing with stomach issues, Betaine HCl and pepsin are gastric-juice are essential to the digestion of food and absorption of most nutrients. Betaine HCL increases the level of hydrochloric acid in the stomach which helps with proper digestion and absorption of nutrients from food. Normal levels of hydrochloric acid are also needed for digestion of proteins and absorption of amino acids. Betaine HCL helps to restore the proper acid levels in the stomach and maintain a healthy gut. You can take one capsule up to six times during each meal. The capsule are small, easy to swallow, no noticeable taste, brown in color....the bottle has a slight earthy smell..contains 180 gelatin capsules. Cautions on the label state that you should not take this product when you meal consist only of salad or fruit. If you have high stomach acid or ulcers talk to your Dr. before taking...also if you’re consuming any anti-inflammatory medicines: corticosteroids, aspirin, Indocin, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) or other NSAIDs. These drugs can damage the GI lining and supplementing with HCL could aggravate it, increasing the risks of bleeding or ulcer. so please check with your Dr. I received this product at a discount for my honest opinion/review. My husband has leaky gut and he has been incorporating this with his diet...it does seem to be helping with his digestion, but he thinks that he is having issues with the Glutamic Acid HCL, so he is off of them for now.

This stuff has changed my life in ways I didn't think were possible. I must have had horribly low stomach acid because whenever I take this pill I just have this feeling of calm and energy and focus. Before taking the pill I apparently had a relentless anxiety about me that I didn't know I had until it was gone. I think the anxiety was a biological response to undigested food in my system which my immune system decided it didn't like. I think all this because I have had dishydrotic eczema for 7 years now and within a week it was 99% reduced. My eczema has always been triggered by certain foods so I am guessing there were undigested parts that my immune system didn't like and now I am digesting more hence less stuff to trigger eczema. I'm going on 3 months now and my skin hasn't been this clear in well... 7 years! I feel like I eat less now because I am getting more nutrients from proper digestion and now I only poop once or twice a day where as I used to go 4-6 times. I just cant believe how much of a difference this stuff makes, I just feel so calm and normal! I didn't even know I didn't feel calm and normal until I took these pills and was reminded of what that feels like! Its amazing!! Baaahh!!!!!!

I suffered with horrible acid reflux. They wanted to stretch my esophagus because I had trouble getting food down. I learned that as we age we don't produce enough stomach acid. This will not only cause acid reflux, but it also allows pathogens into the body via our food. I started taking a higher dose - something like 625 mg - with each meal that contained protein in the way of meat. I did not experience any burning with that and continued for several months. Eventually I reduced it to dinner or if I had a big meal otherwise. When almost all of my symptoms were relieved, I reduced the dose to this 250 mg for dinner or other heavy meals. The only food I don't tollerate is beans! I am way ahead of where I was. The occasional burn is relieved by my trusty DGL tablets. Since acid blockers are proven to cause dimentia and Alzheimer's, among other problems, I chose to heal and not just cover up!!!