Beet Juice and Low Stomach Acid

[Queen of Prosperity]

Hi guys I want to know what you guys feel about beet juice turning your urine and stools red? Some people argue that your body uses what it needs and discards the rest and thats why the waste is red and other people say that the red color means your stomach acid is low and so are your iron stores. I kind of agree with both. When I first drank beet juice a couple of years ago my urine was red, that was when I was in the beginning of my quest to become healthy so I know my health was jacked up lol. But now when I juice beets my pee is a normal color but my stools are red. In the book Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko, she says that red stools and urine means that your stomach acid is low and she conducted a study with her family which included evryone drinking green smoothies and beet juice everyday for months. At the beginning of the experiment everyones secretions were red but after two months the secretions were a normal color and they conducted tests that showed that the stomach acid had gotten stronger. Therefore the increased consumption of vegetable juices corrected the deficiency so what do you guys think? Attached below is a copy of the questionaire that includes some of the symptoms of low stomach acid and the specifics of the study. The whole book is online for free. Have any of you guys ever experienced red secretions from beet juice? I answered yes to a lot of those questions so I think Im about to go hard on beet juice lol.
 
Chapter 11
Roseburg Study

When I became aware of the important functions of hydrochloric acid, I decided to perform a study. Based on the symptoms of low stomach acid that I gathered from different medical articles, I created the following questionnaire. I then printed a thousand copies and distributed them among my students. The results were shocking! I have calculated that 98.5% of people who answered my questionnaire had some symptoms of low stomach acidity. I invite you to check if you might have any indications of hypochlorhydria yourself.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF LOW STOMACH ACIDITY

Please read the question and check the appropriate box on the right:

- Do you have bloating, belching or flatulence immediately after meals?

- Do you have indigestion, diarrhea, or constipation?

- Do you feel soreness, burning, or dryness of the mouth?

- Do you have heartburn?

- Do you have multiple food allergies?

- Do you feel nauseous after taking supplements?

- Do you experience rectal itching?

- Do you have weak, peeling, and/or cracked fingernails?

- Do you have redness or dilated blood vessels in the cheeks and nose?

- Do you have adult acne?

This question is only for women:

- Do you experience hair loss?

- Do you have an iron deficiency?

- Do you have undigested food in the stools?

- Do you have chronic yeast infections?

- Do you have low tolerances for dentures?

These symptoms can be indicators of hypochlorhydria. If you have marked several symptoms even in the "sometimes" column, you may want to check your stomach acidity at the doctor's office.

I spoke to a medical doctor from Russia and was intrigued to discover how they test hypochlorhydria there. They ask people to drink a quarter cup of beet juice and watch to see if the color of their stool or urine changes even slightly to the color of a beet. Now watch out If it changes, then yes, your stomach acid is low. I was so amazed at this, because I believed that such a change of color is normal for everyone, as it always was for me. However, a few months after drinking green smoothies, my family ate a big delicious beet salad and none of us had a change in color anymore! Since I could only attribute such a dramatic change to drinking green smoothies, I assumed that our hydrochloric acid level had improved. In order to obtain more solid proof of this, I began planning a study that would show the effect of green smoothie on stomach acid. I wanted to find several people who were diagnosed with low hydrochloric acid and would volunteer to add green smoothies to their diets for a duration of time. After they completed drinking smoothies for a certain amount of time, they would be tested again.

By some magical coincidence, as I was praying to find a doctor who would be willing to help me with such a study one sunny morning a physician named Dr. Paul Fieber called me from Roseburg, a nearby town in Oregon. He told me that he and his wife had recently adopted the raw food lifestyle and needed guidance. He also shared that recently he became disturbed by the fact that a great number of people had low stomach acid. We met the next morning to discuss our experiment in detail. Dr. Fieber seemed very interested in participating. The following week, Igor and I drove 120 miles to Roseburg to teach a nutrition class. After my lecture, 27 people stepped forward and offered to volunteer to drink one quart of freshly made green smoothies each day in addition to their regular mainstream American diet for one month.

This project started on April 29th 2005. My whole family took turns blending many gallons of the green drink. To increase variety, we used any fruits and greens we could get a hold of. Igor drove the valuable load 240 miles round trip, every other day. It was quite a commitment, not only for my family but also for all the participating people and even their families. None of my dear participants ever missed a day to come to the pick up site. When I thanked this new family of mine (I call them "my in-raves") for being so dedicated and disciplined, they replied that they all felt the urgent importance of this experiment and were excited to help. Besides, many of them wanted to improve their stomach condition by natural means.

The following segment describes Dr. Fieber's side of the story.

DR. PAUL'S STORY

Meeting Victoria and her family was a wonderful experience. It was amazing how fate brought us together. My wife and I were looking for help on our path to improve our health through raw food and Victoria needed help with her study.

There are different methods of testing H.CL, but we decided that the HCL challenge test would work out best for us, considering our time line. The HCL challenge test is designed to help determine the ability of the stomach to produce adequate stomach acid. The body has evolved to release stomach acid in response to appropriate stimuli. Thinking about food, chewing and the presence of certain foods (healthy or not) in the stomach e.g. proteins, milk, calcium salts, coffee ... stimulate the release of Gastrin, a hormone secreted by Gastrin cells, or G cells, in the pyloric glands located in the antrum of the stomach. Gastrin strongly stimulates the parietal glands to produce and secrete acid into the stomach. Histamine is another hormone that stimulates acid production. Its effect is potentiated by the presence of Gastrin. Many people have a deficient acid-producing process and suffer from hypochlorhydria or in more serious cases achlorhydria.

Many of my patients complain of gastric reflux due to "excess" stomach acid secretion. In my experience, hyper- secretion of stomach acid is not common. Inappropriate timing of stomach acid however is common, and can produce symptoms in an irritated or inflamed digestive tract.

For many the reflux of stomach content into the esophagus has more to do with inadequate secretions of stomach acid leading to the putrification of food and the accompanying symptoms of gas, bloating, reflux, and belching. Antacid therapy may provide temporary relief but does nothing to get to the cure.

In our study each participant was given 10 HCL capsules, which were enough to challenge 4 meals. We asked our group to challenge meals that were high in protein and a substantial complex meal. They started with 1 capsule with the first meal and if they had no mild burning or irritation they were to increase to 2 capsules with the next meal and continue until they had a reaction or reached a total of 4 capsules with no reaction at all. Out of the 27 participants, only two people had a reaction with 1 capsule and at that time they discontinued the study The rest of our group all had some degree of hypochlorhydria and went on to participate in the study The ages ranged from I 7 to 80. All the participants were asked not to change any other part of their diet.

After 30 days of drinking one quart of green smoothie each day, we then completed another HCL challenge test to see what improvement occurred over the month. One person dropped out in the middle of the study due to nausea. Out of the other 24 participants we had 16 of the group who showed improvement in their production of HCL. It was remarkable to me that 66.7% of the participants showed such vast improvement. I did not expect to see this much progress in such a short period of time. The fiber content and nutrient value of the green smoothies made for an incredible success. All the participants also noted many other improvements in their health, some of which were dramatic changes. [Please see the testimonials at the end of this book.]

I would like to also give my own personal testimonial as my wife and I had been drinking the green smoothies about two months before the study was conducted. My blood pressure, pulse rate, and cholesterol readings all improved substantially We lost all cravings for cooked food and the green smoothies were both delicious and fulfilling. The most significant change for me concerned a small growth that had appeared on my nose. After one month on the green smoothies, the growth fell off and left a small hole where it once was. This proved to me the tremendous healing properties of the green smoothie.

I would like to personally thank Victoria for providing me the opportunity to contribute to such a remarkable study I have met very few people in my life who have been as dedicated and have had such a passion for helping others. Thank you Victoria, you have changed our lives forever.

As Dr. Fieber mentioned, we were expecting some positive changes, but we didn't know they would he so significant in such a short period of time. Most experiments such as this one are usually planned for three to six months, but since the cost was out of our own pockets we did only what we could afford. The Roseburg Experiment demonstrated that regular consumption of green smoothies greatly benefits the health of people through improving the level of hydrochloric acid. Therefore the consumers of green smoothies should expect:

- to have better absorption of valuable nutrients;

- to lessen the possibility of infection and parasites;

- to heal allergies;

- to improve overall health.

Better absorption is in itself a great advantage. For example, better absorption of calcium may decrease the chances of osteoporosis, better absorption of iron may help to heal anemia; better absorption of B vitamins may protect against nerve disorders, and so on.

You may read personal testimonials of the Roseburg participants at the end of this book. As a result of regular consumption of the green smoothies for just one month, people named the following improvements: increase in energy, depression lifted and all suicidal thoughts gone, less blood sugar fluctuations, more regular bowel movements, dandruff healed, insomnia gone, asthma attacks stopped completely none of usual "PMS" symptoms any more, fingernails became stronger, wanted less coffee, sex life improved, skin cleared up, and many more. It was interesting to see that most of the participants who wanted to lose weight lost anywhere from five to ten pounds, and a couple of people who wanted to gain weight, were able to gain one or two pounds.

The participants of the Roseburg Study were so excited about their results that some rumors got back to me that. they were considering changing the name of their town to Raws'burg!

The fact that all of the healing qualities of green smoothies were proven by practical experimentation makes this simple drink truly special. Please note that. I am not trying to sell anything. I am hoping to inspire as many people as possible to incorporate green smoothies into their everyday lives.

From Roseburg to St. Petersburg

I am thrilled to let everyone know that a new, more detailed study similar to the Roseburg study has begun in Russia, at The Health Nutritional Center ROSTKI in St. Petersburg. For eight years, this center has been conducting various studies of the implications of chlorophyll on human. health under the guidance of medical doctors, professors and scientists. The budget was approved for conducting a study of the effect of drinking green smoothies on the concentration of HCL in the stomach and on vitamin B-12 level.

Chapter 12 - Greens Make The Body More Alkaline

Back to Green For Life by Victoria Boutenko

[UltraVioletMix]

Yes. Ive know for a while my stomach acid levels are low. When I first drank beet juice my urine and stools were both red, but now just my stools are red. I havent drank any beet juice in several weeks, but may have to start up again. 

I think ima invest in some Digest-Aid too

[Queen of Prosperity]

Yay! Somebody like me lol my urine is completely unaffected but my stools are red although my urine used to be red i remember it vividly lol and ive known my stomach acid has been low for awhile now too ive just got serious about juicing and learning this about beets has gotten me even more excited to see if my stools will turn a normal color the more i juice them and hopefully it will help my stomach get stronger as well. I have a very sensitive stomach thanks to all those years i took antibiotics for every little thing before i became health conscious. I was worse than the average person too lol because my mom is a nurse my brother and I were OVER MEDICATED!! IN my teen years if I thought I had an infection I would medicate myself because my mom had antibiotics all over the house lol. When I was 17 I got real sick and was taking antibiotics like candy and I realized that they just weren't helping me. I was depressed a lot too I was a senior in high school and hated that year because I felt like crap all the time. Then one day my mom brought home a book about curing stomach problems naturally and I hit it off from there. I stopped all the meds cold turkey and read more and more books about natural healing and I got better over the years although my stomach is better it is still mildly sensitive, my diet is vegan now so I'm getting there lol and oddly after all these years and watching my progression my mom still takes her meds for everything and finds no relief and when I try to get mad at her I stop myself because she was the one who brought home that book that day lol but she still takes the allopathic route for all of her health problems smdh lol but this beet study is interesting to say the least lol

[Radiance]

Good Info, thanks :-)

[UltraVioletMix]

Yay! Somebody like me lol my urine is completely unaffected but my stools are red although my urine used to be red i remember it vividly lol and ive known my stomach acid has been low for awhile now too ive just got serious about juicing and learning this about beets has gotten me even more excited to see if my stools will turn a normal color the more i juice them and hopefully it will help my stomach get stronger as well. I have a very sensitive stomach thanks to all those years i took antibiotics for every little thing before i became health conscious. I was worse than the average person too lol because my mom is a nurse my brother and I were OVER MEDICATED!! IN my teen years if I thought I had an infection I would medicate myself because my mom had antibiotics all over the house lol. When I was 17 I got real sick and was taking antibiotics like candy and I realized that they just weren't helping me. I was depressed a lot too I was a senior in high school and hated that year because I felt like crap all the time. Then one day my mom brought home a book about curing stomach problems naturally and I hit it off from there. I stopped all the meds cold turkey and read more and more books about natural healing and I got better over the years although my stomach is better it is still mildly sensitive, my diet is vegan now so I'm getting there lol and oddly after all these years and watching my progression my mom still takes her meds for everything and finds no relief and when I try to get mad at her I stop myself because she was the one who brought home that book that day lol but she still takes the allopathic route for all of her health problems smdh lol but this beet study is interesting to say the least lol

lol!! Im glad to hear (read) your stomach issues are getting better!! It is really exciting to see results with out harmful side effects.
I used to have 95% of the signs listed above! My diet is vegan too and for the past 3 wks Ive been raw...and will be until thanksgiving. Im now down to 6 of the items listed...within 18 months! WooHoo! It may not be fast progress, but its progress....and I learn more and more each day...soon ill be down to 0 items on the list

[Diamond]

Great Information! After reading this article I want to start incorporating green smoothies in my diet. They definitely don't look appealing but I hope they taste good!

Anyone can share any recipes?

[Queen of Prosperity]

soon ill be down to 0 items on the list

lol i cant wait for that day as well !!!!

Anyone can share any recipes?

Im pretty sure a green smoothie would usually consist of kale parsley spinach celery romaine and etc, I dont really know a recipe specifically but there are plenty online. I usually make a semi green juice daily which consists of a whole beetroot, handful of spinach, four carrots, four sprigs of parsley, 2cm of ginger, and half lemon or lime peeled if not organic. Sometimes I add a dash of cayenne to spice things up. Hope this helps.

[Diamond]

Thanks alot. What kind of juice do you use? How does it taste? Does it fill you up and keep the hungry at bay?

Sorry for all the questions...thanks

soon ill be down to 0 items on the list

lol i cant wait for that day as well !!!!

Anyone can share any recipes?

Im pretty sure a green smoothie would usually consist of kale parsley spinach celery romaine and etc, I dont really know a recipe specifically but there are plenty online. I usually make a semi green juice daily which consists of a whole beetroot, handful of spinach, four carrots, four sprigs of parsley, 2cm of ginger, and half lemon or lime peeled if not organic. Sometimes I add a dash of cayenne to spice things up. Hope this helps.

[Queen of Prosperity]

What kind of juice do you use?How does it taste? Does it fill you up and keep the hungry at bay?

Its not a certain brand I juice all the vegetables in my juicer. The juice recipe that I gave you in the earlier post tastes great to me, my brother came from out of town to visit me I made it for him and he loved it. And it doesn't really fill me up but thats due to the fact that juice is naturally low in fat for fullness you can add a tablespoon of oil to your juice such as olive oil, I do this when I eat food that I know is not going to keep me full for long like soup rice or beans, I just add a tablespoon of oil usually coconut or olive and it does the trick. Also Ive read that when you juice a vegetable or fruit that contains a high concentration of fat soluble vitamins you should add a tablespoon of oil to the juice to increase the absorption of the vitamins. And your questions are more than welcomed they don't bother me lol.

[knix20]

my favs(not all greens):  apple/kale
apple/carrot (ginger)
apple/kale/carrot
apple/kale/celery
apple/cucumber
apple/beets
grapefruit
orange/tangerine
orange
apple/pear
smoothie: spinach/banana/strawberry
banana/almond milk

if you couldn't tell, I like apple. I'm really boring sometimes and drink what my body wants. currently it wants apple/kale. last year it wanted citrus, and the yr before that smoothies with spinach as a main ingredient.

follow your bodies queues and grab whatever fruits/veggis come to mind. then from there experiment with the juices/smoothies

good books: juicing for life by: calbom & keane
any of the boutenko family books
the little booklet that comes with the juicer
light eating for survival by marcia acciardo

bon appetite!!

[knix20]

o yea and I like wheatgrass, cilantro,

[Diamond]

Thanks for the info. I thought you had to put some kind of juice in there to go with it..but I guess not.

What kind of juice do you use?How does it taste? Does it fill you up and keep the hungry at bay?

Its not a certain brand I juice all the vegetables in my juicer. The juice recipe that I gave you in the earlier post tastes great to me, my brother came from out of town to visit me I made it for him and he loved it. And it doesn't really fill me up but thats due to the fact that juice is naturally low in fat for fullness you can add a tablespoon of oil to your juice such as olive oil, I do this when I eat food that I know is not going to keep me full for long like soup rice or beans, I just add a tablespoon of oil usually coconut or olive and it does the trick. Also Ive read that when you juice a vegetable or fruit that contains a high concentration of fat soluble vitamins you should add a tablespoon of oil to the juice to increase the absorption of the vitamins. And your questions are more than welcomed they don't bother me lol.

[Diamond]

Thanks hun. I guess the apple makes it sweet depending on what type of apple you get. Now I have a few ideas. All I need now is the dern VitaMixer or BlendTec.

Anyone want to pass one on to a sista???.......lmao.

my favs(not all greens):  apple/kale
apple/carrot (ginger)
apple/kale/carrot
apple/kale/celery
apple/cucumber
apple/beets
grapefruit
orange/tangerine
orange
apple/pear
smoothie: spinach/banana/strawberry
banana/almond milk

if you couldn't tell, I like apple. I'm really boring sometimes and drink what my body wants. currently it wants apple/kale. last year it wanted citrus, and the yr before that smoothies with spinach as a main ingredient.

follow your bodies queues and grab whatever fruits/veggis come to mind. then from there experiment with the juices/smoothies

good books: juicing for life by: calbom & keane
any of the boutenko family books
the little booklet that comes with the juicer
light eating for survival by marcia acciardo

bon appetite!!

[UltraVioletMix]

Great Information! After reading this article I want to start incorporating green smoothies in my diet. They definitely don't look appealing but I hope they taste good!

Anyone can share any recipes?

My fave green smoothie would be:

Banana
Pear
Dandelion
Spinach
Wheatgrass
Kale
...yummy!!

Like knix20 said...ill grab whatever my body wants...some weeks ill toss some parsley or cilantro in the mix.

[Diamond]

Haha! Thanks.

What kinds of blender do you folks have?

Great Information! After reading this article I want to start incorporating green smoothies in my diet. They definitely don't look appealing but I hope they taste good!

Anyone can share any recipes?

My fave green smoothie would be:

Banana
Pear
Dandelion
Spinach
Wheatgrass
Kale
...yummy!!

Like knix20 said...ill grab whatever my body wants...some weeks ill toss some parsley or cilantro in the mix.