Everyone produces digestive enzymes naturally, but sometimes the body doesn’t make enough due to poor diet, chronic conditions, stress, or aging. Without enough of these enzymes, your body struggles to digest food properly, leading to symptoms like bloating, gas, constipation, or diarrhea. Poor digestion can also result in lower nutrient absorption, causing deficiencies. On the flip side, having an ample supply of digestive enzymes keeps you feeling healthy and vibrant, and helps ward off various health issues.
What Are Digestive Enzymes?
Before diving into digestive enzymes, it’s important to understand what enzymes themselves are. Enzymes are molecules that catalyze, or kickstart, chemical reactions in the body. They do this by forming an enzyme-substrate complex, which helps break down substrates into smaller by-products. All foods are composed of different macromolecules: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (lipids). Digestive enzymes specifically help break down these food components.
For instance, lipases break down fats, while proteases break down proteins. Carbohydrates are targeted by multiple enzymes: amylases break down starches, maltase breaks down maltose into simpler sugars, lactase handles lactose, and sucrase breaks down sucrose into glucose and galactose. While there are many more, these are among the most essential.
Besides the enzymes your body produces, you can also find them in certain foods, especially raw fruits, vegetables, and honey. For example, raw pineapple contains bromelain, a protease that helps break down protein. Raw papaya has papain, another protease with many health benefits. However, processes like canning and cooking can destroy these natural enzymes.
How Do Digestive Enzymes Work?
Throughout your digestive tract, different sections produce different enzymes. Digestion starts in the mouth, where salivary amylase begins breaking down starches. When food reaches the stomach, pepsin, alongside stomach acid, continues to break proteins into amino acids. The pancreas contributes by producing many enzymes like trypsin, chymotrypsin, pancreatic lipase, and pancreatic amylase, which are delivered to the duodenum (the upper part of the intestines).
As food moves through the small intestine, additional digestive enzymes continue to break it down, including lactase, sucrase, and maltase, produced by the small intestine itself. Together, all these enzymes ensure the body can absorb the nutrients needed to function properly, with the waste passing out of the body.
Causes of Digestive Enzyme Deficiencies
Certain health conditions can reduce your body’s natural production of digestive enzymes. These conditions include pancreatitis, cancer, cystic fibrosis, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, chronic stress, and aging, as well as genetic factors.
Popular Digestive Enzyme Supplements
Digestive enzymes do more than just break down molecules; they also offer various health benefits. If you’re considering taking supplemental enzymes, you’ll find many over-the-counter options to support digestion by breaking down different forms of macronutrients in your food.
Common and useful digestive enzymes found in supplements include protease, peptidase, cellulase, hemicellulase, lipase, lactase, pectinase, beta-glucanase, catalase, and phytase. These enzymes help in breaking down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in various ways.
The Benefits of Digestive Enzymes
In addition to aiding digestion, some enzymes offer extra health benefits. They help prevent oxidative damage, relieve constipation, curb acid reflux, and optimize nutrition. For instance, catalase protects the body from oxidative damage by breaking down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. Likewise, bromelain from pineapples can inhibit bacteria like E. coli in the intestines, promoting normal digestion.
Other enzymes can help soothe acid reflux, reduce gas and bloating, and even minimize redness and swelling in the body, making them useful for conditions like osteoarthritis.
How to Naturally Boost Your Digestive Enzymes
You can naturally boost digestive enzyme production or get them from foods. Chewing your food thoroughly helps kickstart digestive enzyme production. Certain foods are excellent natural sources of enzymes. For example, citric acid foods like berries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, and Jerusalem artichokes stimulate saliva production, which in turn increases digestive enzyme levels. Pineapple and papaya contain bromelain and papain, respectively, aiding digestion and offering other health benefits. Raw honey, avocados, and even chewing gum (provided it uses natural sweeteners like Stevia) can also help boost enzyme levels.
Digestive Enzyme Side Effects & Safety
Generally, digestive enzymes are safe for healthy individuals. However, people with certain conditions like IBS may need to consult a healthcare provider before taking additional enzymes, as they already produce high levels of specific proteases. Plant-based enzymes are often preferable as they can survive stomach acidity better and reach the colon where they are needed. Pregnant or breastfeeding women should also consult their doctors before taking these supplements. Moreover, digestive enzymes can interact with certain medications, so it’s essential to consult a healthcare provider if you’re on any prescribed treatments.
What Are the Best Digestive Enzyme Supplements?
When choosing a digestive enzyme supplement, opt for a variety that provides a comprehensive range of enzymes. Look for non-GMO, plant-based supplements, which work more effectively across different pH levels. A good example is Ultimate Enzymes, a full-spectrum blend that is non-GMO, vegan, and toxin-free.
Points to Remember
From amylase to protease, digestive enzymes make all the foods we eat more accessible to our bodies by breaking them down bite by bite. While some people produce enough enzymes naturally, others may need supplements to maintain optimal digestion. Besides aiding digestion, these enzymes help reduce inflammation, curb acid reflux, and support gut health. Taking a variety of enzymes can help ensure you receive the full spectrum of benefits, promoting overall health and well-being.
