Re: Have you tried Betaine HCl (hydrochloride) supplements?

"As toxins and foods contact the mucosa, the immune system is activated to neutralize them from entering the body. Normally, much of this work would have been done by beneficial bacteria. With leaky gut more toxins make it to the mucosa where they will be tagged with secretory IgA (sIgA), which attracts macrophages and other white blood cells to neutralize the toxins. Of course if there are too many toxins or undigested food, this immune response is overwhelmed and not only do some toxins and allergens enter the body but the immune system is depleted.
A second stress on the immune system with a leaky gut is when the liver and lymphatic system become overwhelmed and as a result, the immune system serves as an overflow.
As more microbes (viruses, bacteria, and fungi) multiply in an unhealthy GI environment, the immune system is unable to keep the microbes in check. As a result opportunistic infections take advantage of a weakened immune system.
The most important organ in resistance to infection is the adrenal gland. Leaky Gut Syndrome slowly diminishes adrenal function. In the early and middle stages, there is actually an adrenal excess, as measured by excess cortisol output. Eventually, cortisol levels drop and exhaustion develops.

Candida grows and thrives when the terrain in the intestines favors it. Just killing Candida is usually not successful, because if the anti-fungal is stopped and the intestinal terrain has not been normalized, the Candida returns. Although Antibiotics may be the original cause by killing acid forming bacteria (Lactobacillus bacteria produce lactic acid, for example), if the environment is alkaline, Candida will grow. Antibiotics and chronic illness also reduce stomach acid production, contributing not only to the alkalinity but also impairs digestion. In fact, many people with leaky gut are malnourished, no matter how healthy the food is that they eat.
While lactobacillus supplementation is often recommended to help with leaky gut and Candida overgrowth, most of the lactobacillus sold today does not survive in the intestine, either due to poor terrain or due to being a strain that does not implant in the human intestines. There are specific Lactobacillus preparations available that do implant and do help establish a healthy intestinal environment."