The Genius Brand Digestion Optimizer Review: Gut Health and Digestion Help We Need

Ingredients Profile

We did a full deep-dive into the ingredient profile on The Digestion Optimizer here if you want to get more scientific. This supplement is meant to be taken 2-3x per day with meals to help you breakdown your food and improve gut health.

We start with 100mg Gingever. From the makers of Capsimax, a popular cayenne pepper fat burner additive, Gingever is a unique form of ginger. Ginger has been shown to help improve digestive health, joint health and immune system support. For decades, people have been supplementing with ginger to aid in gut health. The recommended dosage per day is 60-180mg per the manufacture. 

Next, we get 200mg ActaZin. Actazin is a form of non-GMO New Zealand Hayward kiwifruit. This little unique ingredient helps improve bowel regularity, which is an issue with a lot of people suffering from digestive health issues. In studies, the company used 600mg and 2,400mg. Both produced significant increases in bowel movements. This would require 3 dosages a day to get to the minimum level studied. 

Bromelain is dosed at 500mg. Bromelain is an enzyme found in the stem and fruit of pineapple. Research suggests that Bromelain is effective at breaking down proteins into their simpler forms of amino acids. Bromelain is especially beneficial for those who are on high-protein diets, that is most of the bodybuilding world. Recommended dosage of Bromelain is 80-400mg per day, two to three times per day. This means you’d want to get approximately 160-1,200mg per day, preferably with meals.

Lipase, dosed at 5,000 FIP, is an ancreatic enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of fats to fatty acids and glycerol or other alcohols. Lipase does a great job of helping break down the butter fat in your food. If you look at the macro-nutrients, Lipase is responsible for fat, Amylase is responsible for carbs and Protease is responsible for protein. Recommended dosage of Lipase is 6,000 LU 3x per day (18,000 LU per day). For the record, 1 FIP = ~2.5 LU. This means we are getting approximately 12,500 LU per dosage.

Betaine HCL is dosed at 400mg. Supplementing with Betaine HCl helps with stomach acid levels. Betaine HCL increases the level of hydrochloric acid in the stomach necessary for proper digestion and assimilation of nutrients from food. Normal levels of hydrochloric acid are required for complete digestion of proteins and absorption of amino acids. The proper dosage of Betaine HCl depends on many factors. You should start out by taking Betaine HCl with a meal, approximately 650mg or less to assess your tolerance.

Pepsin, the ingredient you’ve heard of before with heartburn, is dosed at 80mg. Pepsin is known as the chief digestive enzyme in the stomach, which breaks down proteins into polypeptides. For those of you not familiar with Pepsin, it is what causes damage when you have “acid reflux.” Dosage of Pepsin varies, but caps on the market today range from 150-300mg per tablet.

The last ingredient is GutGard at 50mg. GutGard is an extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra, which has been shown to help aid in indigestion. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, patients who received 75mg, twice/day of GutGard®, experienced significantly less indigestion than the placebo group. GutGard is great for heartburn and management of H. pylori.

Recommended dosage of GutGard® is 150mg per day.

Overall, at 3x doses per day, which is my recommendation, we are sitting in optimal levels. Yes, I know that each unit is 45-servings so this would only be 15-days of digestion health, but at the price point (we will talk about later) it is worth it.

Effectiveness

When you start supplementing with digestive enzymes, you can tell the different. First, your bloating will be reduced significantly. Your bowel movements will be more regular and consistent. You will be less gassy. The one thing for me was the reduction in heart burn (acid reflux). On my high protein diet I would get that from time-to-time and it was painful. I would take my 3-capsules with each big meal, and these symptoms would be reduced. Again, this is most effective when you use it with 3 meals per day, but even at 2 meals per day you will see an improvement. 

Value

Gut health is underrated and nearly neglected by many of us. Digestion Optimizer offers 45 meals (I say meals because I believe you should take this with each big one) for $37. That is less that $1 per meal, which, in my opinion is well worth it. Per the studies on the ingredients, they work, but you want to take this at least 2-3x per day, which would make the “day” servings down to 15, just over $2 a day for healthy gut. Remember that $5 cup of coffee you had this morning? This is going to be much more beneficial. Made from a brand you can trust, The Genius Brand Digestion Optimizer is completely worth the price for admission.