BPC 157 Has Profound Health Benefits. Can We Increase It Naturally in the Body?

by Nils Osmar. Dec. 21, 2022. Medical Disclaimer

BPC 157 is a naturally occurring peptide that has many well established health benefits, including supporting and speeding up healing in tendons and ligaments, and almost doubling the survival time of rats with some types of cancer. See study

Like many compounds, BPC is available as a supplement (administered orally or by injection). Like other supplements, however, it has some drawbacks:

It’s expensive
There’s no guarantee that you’re getting what you pay for.
Most of the high quality BPC 157 available online is technically not intended for human consumption.

Thank you for supporting this website

BPC 157’s origins

BPC 157 didn’t just materialize out of nowhere; it’s a natural component which was originally isolated from human gastric juice. Gastric juice is the same as “gastric acid” or “stomach acid”. It’s a stomach acid that is formed within the stomach lining. See study

Can We Increase BPC-157 naturally?

Could increasing our gastric acid levels, also increase levels of BPC 157? I did not find any studies verifying that this was the case. But it seems reasonable to think that it might, since it’s naturally occurring in stomach acid. And supporting the production of more gastric acid can have health benefits of its own.

Benefits of HCl and Betaine HCl

HCl (the hydrochloric acid in our gastric juice breaks down the food and the digestive enzymes split up the proteins). See study. The gastric juice also kills bacteria. aids in digestion, fights heartburn and acid reflux, has antimicrobial effects, protects against leaky gut, defends against candida, supports skin health, and helps with nutrient absorption. See study.

Betaine is an active metabolite of choline. Betaine HCL is an acidic version of betaine. It works in the same way as hydrochloric acid (HCl) in your stomach. In vitro cancer studies have found that it can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. See article. Food sources of betaine include beets, broccoli, shrimp and other shellfish, wheat germ, wheat bran, and spinach.

Human studies have found that a higher dietary intake of betaine intake is associated a lower risk of breast cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (139, 140, 161–163). In these studies, a higher betaine intake resulted in a lower risk of cancer.

Increasing gastric acid

If you’d like to try increasing your gastric acid secretion, you can do so by:

Taking HCL (or Betain HCL) supplements
Chewing our food thoroughly
Eating protein before other food groups
Limiting processed foods. …
Eating fermented foods, including yogurt, kefir, miso, sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha
Drinking apple cider vinegar. …
Eating ginger.
Eating foods rich in zinc
Eating fewer carbohydrates

As with anything, be aware that there are possible benefits but also side effects from taking supplements and/or increasing our gastric acid secretion.

What I’m doing

I eat protein first; eat lots of fermented foods; make and eat my own yogurt and kefir; use apple cider vinegar; eat ginger; eat foods rich in zinc; and take HCL supplements once a day with protein-containing meals.

Will my doing all the above increase my BPC-257 levels without supplementing? I don’t know, honestly. But again, it seems reasonable to think that it might.

Not medical advice

This article is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice. I’m not advising that people eat any particular diet or take any particular supplements, just reporting on what I’m doing. All supplements can have side effects; I would encourage people to research both possible benefits and side effects before starting on any supplementation regimen. See full Medical Disclaimer

Want to support this website?

If you like the content of this website, you can support it in two ways:

Donating through my Buymeacoffee account: buymeacoffee.com/nilsosmar
Buying anti-aging supplements and products from DoNotAge.org using the discount code PATHWAYS. (DoNotAge is my channel’s sponsor; when you use the discount code, you’ll be buying high quality supplements developed to support healthy aging and life extension, and the channel will receive a small payment, enough to keep us going)

Other resources

You’re welcome also to check out my Youtube channel (Pathways to Longevity) — and the Anti-Aging and Life Extension Facebook group