THE CORE FOUR SUPPLEMENTS
Nutritional supplements are quintessential to optimum health heedless of age, sex, or level of physical activity. In today’s Personal training industry, many supplements are prescribed on a daily basis. But with the countless number of supplements in today’s market, how do you decide which ones to take? As a NYC Personal trainer working in the fitness industry for over ten years, I recommend my top four choices.
The Core Four
HCL
More than half of the adult population in the U.S. has low stomach acid, a condition known as hypochloridia. It is necessary to have adequate levels of stomach acid in order to digest proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that we ingest on a regular basis. Low stomach acid results in poor digestion of food, which leads to poor absorption of food.
So how do you know if you have low stomach acid? Some common symptoms include belching or bloating after meals, bad breath, and undigested food in the stool.
BETAINE HCL TEST
A valid test for checking your level of stomach acid is the betaine HCL test. It is always a good idea to consult your physician before administering this or any other test. You will need one bottle of betaine Hcl capsules with a dosage of 200mg per capsule.
Step 1: Eat a high protein meal (steak, fish, eggs, chicken,etc.)
Step 2. Take one 200 mg hcl capsule. Wait 15 minutes and observe the reaction.
Step 3. If you feel heartburn (burping doesn’t count), flush with one to two glasses of water and stop the test: Your stomach acid levels are normal. If you feel nothing, continue to step 4.
Step 4. With your next high protein meal, increase the dosage to two capsules. Keep increasing the dosage by one capsule per meal until you feel heartburn. If you feel heartburn, reduce the dosage by one for each consecutive meal. If you get to seven capsules and feel nothing, stop the test. You are achloridic and you need Hcl as a supplement.
