Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The decision to start taking a betaine supplement is the best decision I've made in my adult life. OK, marrying my awesome husband ranks higher. Moving to Hawaii is also up there. But in the order of things, this is right up there. I took one of those "burp" tests at home one day after googling to try to find a solution to the all-encompassing, nightmarish heartburn that I'd suffered from for YEARS. Nothing could kill the beast. No over the counter meds, antacids, diet change... nothing. So when it was suggested that heartburn could be caused by LOW stomach acid, I figured I'd might as well see if that was me. No surprise - it was. I drank my baking soda laced water and never burped. Not even once. It was recommended that I start taking a betaine supplement so I ordered these from Amazon and thus began the miracle. To keep from writing a novella, I'll line them up. 1. My heartburn was gone. Within 2 days, I had zero heartburn. Within a week I stopped taking Pepcid. Since then, I only get heartburn if I eat onions or chili peppers. This alone would be enough to give the product a stellar 5 star review. But wait, there's more! 2. I began to lose weight. Not just a few pounds... but tens of pounds! I've been quite overweight for years and no diet on the planet made a difference. I did the low-carb; south beach; no breads or sugar; calorie restriction; etc, etc, etc. Nothing made a smidgen of difference. So imagine my surprise when about 2-3 weeks into taking the betaine I discovered that my pants were fitting much more loosely. The weight loss has continued and as of now, I'm down 120 pounds. The last 40 were due to switching to a low-fat vegan diet to help with diabetes, but with the betaine alone and NO change in diet or exercise, I dropped 80 pounds. From a size 28 down to a 14. Yeehaw! 3. Not to be too graphic or revolting... but certain things don't stink like they used to. I believe it's because the food wasn't being digested (due to the low stomach acid coupled with my (likely) overuse of antacids and things like Pepcid and Prilosec) and undigested food coming out is as bad as you imagine. I've tried several different types of betaine from different companies but by far, NOW is my favorite. I have zero negative side effects (ie: stomach pain or the like), it's affordable, and it gets the job done. I thought I could lay off taking it once I switched to the vegan diet but found that the beans and such were giving me heartburn. Started taking betaine again and voila, no more heartburn. This is something I guess I'll be taking forever, but that's ok. I feel great, look great, and to be able to enjoy food without worrying about a nuclear explosion taking place in my stomach and throat is pretty awesome.