Testing your HCl

[Daniel Olmstead]

I've been reading today about low Hydrochloric Acid in the stomach leading to poor nutrient absorption (ie, http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Healt...oric-acid.php). I tend to be skeptical about things that tell me I need to buy more supplements, so I was wondering if anyone knew of an effective way (short of going to my doctor - Kaiser is too much trouble) to test one's own HCl levels?

The link I post has a test that involves buying a supplement ( ), and then a few other vague things like poking around under my ribcage (nothing hurts) and examining the ridges on my fingernails (I have them). I was hoping for something a little more definitive and simple, or for someone to tell me this is a load of BS.

[Garrett Smith]

If you'd like to self-test, buying the supplement is really the only way to do it.

Do you have reason(s) to look into this? Digestive issues?

[Daniel Olmstead]

Not beyond Poliquin's assertion that everyone needs to do it, no. My digestion is normal as far as I can tell.

[Greg Davis]

I'd say you can tell if your hcl is abnormally low if you eat a big protein meal and it takes longer than it should for the meal to fully digest. If it feels like you are dealing with protein within a few hours than you probably dont have a problem.

[Mike ODonnell]

I give things like that the 3 year test......if people are still talking about it in 3 years I'll look into it then......most things don't pass.

[Garrett Smith]

HCl supplementation has been around since at least the 1950's...it used to be the standard first-line MD treatment for acid reflux.

[Mike ODonnell]

I meant in terms of the whole "HCL supplementation builds more muscles" arena....if someone doesn't have digestive issues can't really see a huge benefit....but I could be proven wrong. I'd go with digestive enzymes first.

[Matthieu Hertilus]

I actually found an article on the subject and looked into HCL/ Digestive Enzyme supplementation because I noticed some signs of malabsorption after coming off the Warrior Diet. I hit the reset button w/ a 24hr fast and I am starting to take them with each meal.

Here's the link to the article if it's something you want to look into (http://www.elitefts.com/documents/wasting_time.htm). However, based on discussions with a friend of mine who is about to become a doctor, he thought the list of foods to cut out was a bit extreme.
Just my thoughts