Vital Nutrients Betaine HCL Pepsin with Gentian Root Extract | Digestive Enzyme Formula to Support Protein Digestion and Nutrient Absorption* | Gluten, Dairy, Soy Free | 225 Capsules

After trying many different diets, supplements, antibiotics, and prescription drugs for over 3 years, this is the first and only product type that has had any beneficial effect on reducing my chronic and extreme nighttime gas. Even going from overweight to ideal weight had no effect! Doctor's Best has a similar product that has less Gentian Bitters which also works well but I think this specific mixture seems to work best for me. I take 2 with every meal and 1 or 2 with all snacks and even when I take my other supplements on an empty stomach. I still have some annoying gas but this product seems to stop most of my gas buildup as long as I take it within an hour of eating.

Great product! I started having problems with digestion after I went through a period of heavy stress. I had constant heartburn, was burping up food all day long, (even in the morning from what I'd eaten the night before) and had frequent diarrhea. I was miserable for a long time until a doctor recommended this product. I take it before each meal and it's now rare for me to burp anything up at all, much less something from the night before. Even heartburn and diarrhea are rare now. I've been using this product for about a year and, although I wish my stomach would go back to normal, I'm grateful that this product exits. It has really been a life saver.

I'm in my fifties and I’m blood type A if that makes a difference. In my thirties, I used to have acid reflux so bad I began to lose my voice. I also had trouble eating. At meal time I would sometimes have to stop eating and wait (and hope) the food would go down. Sometimes it did. Sometimes it didn’t. It was serious. I tried various things including sleeping at an angle by raising the bed. When I traveled I took a board with me to prop up on some pillows in the hotel room so I could sleep at a good angle. I tried a couple over the counter meds and various RX’s. Nexium was the biggest help for me and I ended up taking it for years. One day in my forties, I visited my doctor and he told me I would have to take Nexium the rest of my life. I didn’t like the sound of that and began to look at other options. I lost some weight, paid closer to attention to avoiding foods that bothered me and learning what to do (and not do). I got off the Nexium. I think losing weight may have been the biggest help. I now take two of these Betaine HCL with Pepsin by Vital Nutrients before each meal (about five minutes before if I remember or just as I’m starting to eat if I forget). Some people may need to take more or less. This was not a simple process and is not something I was able to do overnight. It took time. On a side note, I believe proton pump inhibitors (like Nexium) may hurt the body’s ability to absorb vitamins properly. I’ve also read it can cause brittle bones. I'm not anti-Nexium and am thankful for having it when I needed it. At age fifty I was diagnosed with MTHFR (Gene mutation). I learned proper vitamin absorption is a big deal with MTHFR. And a book that was helpful is ‘Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You’ by Jonathan Wright, available here on Smile.Amazon.com (Smile.Amazon is the same as Amazon but with the option to support your favorite charity for free in case you weren't aware).

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My wife had some chronic digestive issues and her doctor recommended these. Within a week she was feeling much better.

ORIGINAL: The containers have a plastic wrap cover, but the true seal under the twist off cover is only 80% sealed. I cannot tell if the smell and taste is proper, but it seems pretty terrible.EDIT: Amazon could not help with the return, but after contacting the company directly, and providing pictures and videos of the broken seal, they issued a refund for both containers.

I tried the usual antacids and they just made my heartburn worse. So I realized that less stomach acid must mean impaired digestion of stomach contents with increased gastric pressure and ... MORE reflux. I found studies online that showed this to be the case and then found a recommendation for increasing consumption of acids in the diet and using pepsin. As you age your stomach makes less acid with resultant decreased gastric digestion. If this sounds like you do some online searches and make your own conclusions. I can say this has eliminated my reflux. It also eliminated constipation and I have more energy. I was really suffering from indigestion and malabsorption all due to under production of stomach acid and the treatment of my reflux with medications that further decreased gastric acid making my indigestion even worse.

It helps digest protein. I had nausea when eating meat, I take 2 before each meal, no nausea.