How Do Digestive Enzymes Work?
The ability to effectively break down food into functional nutrients is compromised when the pancreas cannot produce enough digestive enzymes. Malnutrition, as well as bloati
What Are Digestive Enzymes And Why Do You Need Them?
The command center of your body is your digestive system and gut. Your digestive system (GI) produces and secretes digestive enzymes that break down and metabolize macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates, and fat. These enzymes then absorb nutrients to power thousands of metabolic processes.
To help reduce inflammation, bloating, and improve digestive health, digestive enzyme supplements are becoming a more and more common therapeutic option. We will expand on the definition of digestive enzymes, their mechanism of action, and the benefits they provide.
What Are Digestive Enzymes ?
Your body naturally produces proteins called digestive enzymes to aid in the absorption and digestion of food. From your mouth’s saliva to your small intestine and pancreas, various types of digestive enzymes are released and secreted.
The majority of your digestive enzymes are produced in your pancreas, which is thought to be their production center. Digestion support and assistance is the main goal of digestive enzymes.
Types Of Digestive Enzymes:
- Amylase:a digestive enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates and is secreted by the pancreas and mouth.
- Maltase: metabolized into glucose for energy by the small intestine from maltose or malt sugar.
- Lactase: an enzyme that disintegrates lactose, a sugar present in dairy products. Lactose is transformed into glucose and galactose by it. The digestive system ferments lactose that is not absorbed, which can result in gas and bloating.
- Lipase: Fat is broken down by the enzyme lipase into fatty glycerol and acids.
- Proteases: These are the digestive enzymes that disassemble protein into its constituent amino acids.
- Sucrase :Sucrose (table sugar) is broken down into fructose and glucose by the small intestine’s secreted enzyme, sucrase.
ng, cramping, and inflammation, can result from this.
Supplementation can help with malabsorption-related auto-immune diseases like cystic fibrosis and lactose intolerance.
Digestional enzymes break down food into smaller molecules like sugars or amino acids, beginning in the mouth through saliva and moving through the gastrointestinal tract. Foods are sterilized and broken down by the hydrochloric acid that is both produced and found in the stomach, which also activates the stomach’s digestive enzymes.
In addition to bicarbonate, the pancreas releases a number of digestive enzymes to process food as it moves through the small intestine, and the gall bladder releases bile into the same area. By neutralizing stomach acid, bicarbonate creates a neutral environment that deactivates stomach enzymes and activates intestine-resident enzymes.
Digestive Enzymes Found In Food:
Natural digestive enzymes are present in a variety of foods and can help with digestion. Proteases like papain and amylase, which break down protein, are present in papaya, pineapple, kiwi, ginger, bananas, and mangos. Lipase, which breaks down fat, is found in avocado. Increased consumption of these foods can aid in promoting healthy digestion.
Symptoms of Digestive Enzyme Inefficiency:
You might have an enzyme deficiency if you frequently experience digestive problems like cramps, bloating, diarrhea, gas, oily stools, or rapid weight loss. Of course, this can result in severe malabsorption and nutrient deficiencies.
The state of your digestive system and gut affects your overall health and vitality. Ineffective digestive enzymes can cause uncomfortable symptoms like gas, bloating, inflammation, and abdominal pain. Better digestion and the support of a healthy gut can be achieved by taking supplements or including specific fruits and vegetables.
The 6 Best Digestive Enzymes:
Digestion enzymes are naturally produced by the human body to disassemble food molecules into more manageable chunks. All the enzymes required for digestion are produced by many people’s bodies. But if you don’t have enough enzymes, you might have trouble digesting some foods and deal with uncomfortable side effects like bloating, gas, and diarrhea.
Lactose intolerance, which occurs when the body produces insufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase, which is required to digest lactose (milk sugar), is a typical example.
The best way to treat symptoms of digestive problems is to avoid foods that you have trouble digesting. The right choice of supplemental digestive enzymes can provide relief because it can be challenging to always avoid trigger foods in daily life.
When choosing a supplement, it’s critical to determine which foods are contributing to your symptoms. Only a small percentage of enzyme supplements—those intended to treat particular diseases—are supported by research.
To determine whether a digestive enzyme will benefit you and, if so, which one to take, we advise discussing the nature of your digestive discomfort with a healthcare professional.
The most typical health conditions that may benefit from supplementation, as well as supplement ingredients and effectiveness, were taken into account by our registered dietitian (who works specifically with patients with gastrointestinal conditions) when choosing the best digestive enzymes to recommend.
- Fodmate Digestive Enzymes
- Fructaid Digestive Enzymes
- Seeking Health Histamine Block
- Kirkland Fast Acting Lactas Enzymes
- Bean-zyme
- Enzymedica Digest Gold
Fodmate Digestive Enzymes
Because it contains the three over-the-counter enzymes that have been shown to improve digestive symptoms in those with food intolerances, FODMATE is our top recommendation for easing symptoms in people with multiple food intolerances. FODMATE by Microbiome Labs may be helpful if you have IBS, active (untreated) SIBO, or a known intolerance to a number of frequently malabsorbed nutrients (like lactose, fructose, and galacto-oligosaccharides). Those who have more than one FODMAP intolerance may benefit greatly from the dietary freedom that this blend offers.
For lactose, also known as milk sugar, alpha-galactosidase, xylose isomerase, and fructose sugar, respectively, are all present in the FODMATE mixture. 123.
Ianiro G, Pecere S, Giorgio V, Gasbarrini A e Cammarota G.. Supplementing with digestive enzymes for gastrointestinal diseases.
The supplement includes the “bonus” enzymes inulinase and pectinase, which may help break down additional plant foods’ gas-promoting ingredients (though the evidence for this is still limited).
While avoiding FODMAPs is a well-known way to avoid FODMAP intolerance symptoms, doing so necessitates excluding a wide range of nutritious and delectable foods, which can be challenging for travel, daily life, or other situations where dietary restriction is inappropriate.
Since a wide range of foods, including wheat, beans, onions, and watermelon, are considered to be high in FODMAPs, this digestive aid enables people with digestive sensitivities to eat complex dishes without having to take additional enzyme supplements.
Fructaid Digestive Enzymes
Any human being can only take up a certain amount of the sugar fructose. Fructose is moved through the digestive process by receptors in our intestines that bind to it. Humans vary in their ability to absorb fructose, so if you consume more of it than you can, the unabsorbed fructose may cause gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
One enzyme, glucose (xylose) isomerase, is present in Pro Natura’s Fructaid enzyme supplement, and it is known to help increase fructose absorption. This enzyme aids in the conversion of excess fructose from foods like honey, agave nectar, mangos, or asparagus (yes, fructose is present in some vegetables as well) into more readily absorbed glucose, preventing digestive discomfort in sensitive individuals.
Fructaid, a product with European roots, can be a key to dietary freedom for people with temporary fructose intolerance brought on by active SIBO or ongoing fructose intolerance linked to IBS. It is not a cure for people with hereditary fructose intolerance, however.
Numerous foods that contain fructose also contain other FODMAPs, for which this product is not intended.
However, if fructose is your problem, it has been demonstrated that a dose of this enzyme of 130 milligrams is sufficient to convert 25 grams of fructose (roughly the amount in one can of soda and whole mango). The standard dose of Fructaid is four capsules, but depending on the amount of fructose in your meal, you might need to take more or less than that. Each Fructaid capsule contains 40 milligrams.
Seeking Health Histamine Block
There is still more to learn about histamine intolerance for those who have digestive problems. According to research, a lack of DAO, the enzyme in charge of degrading histamine, is a common cause of histamine intolerance.
For histamine-sensitive people who regularly experience symptoms frequently misdiagnosed as IBS and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), 6 Seeking Health’s Histamine Block, which contains 4.2 milligrams of DAO with 10,000 histamine digesting units (HDUs), is an exciting prospect.
A low-histamine diet is one way to make things better, but it can be very difficult because it is unknown how much histamine is present in many foods, including spinach, vinegar, and deli meat. It has been demonstrated that oral DAO supplementation significantly reduces symptoms of watery diarrhea, extreme bloating, and abdominal pain brought on by dietary histamine.
When taken 15 minutes prior to a meal containing histamine, the high dose of DAO in Seeking Health’s Histamine Block may reduce post-meal reactions.
While the extent to which DAO supplementation might help someone with histamine intolerance is still unknown, promising research indicates that it may be worthwhile to give it a shot. It may be better to only use this product occasionally because it is more expensive when used frequently. Due to the fact that this product contains pork, vegans and vegetarians should avoid it.
Kirkland Fast Acting Lactas Enzymes
A diagnosable deficiency of the lactose-digesting enzyme known as lactase affects close to 70% of the global population. Lactase enzymes are among the most popular digestive aid supplements due to the prevalence of lactose intolerance and the popularity of lactose-rich foods like milk, ice cream, and fresh mozzarella cheese.
When taken in adequate doses at the beginning of a meal, lactase has actually been the digestive enzyme that has undergone the most research and has been clinically shown to help with symptoms of lactose intolerance like gas, bloating, nausea, and diarrhea.
The amount of lactase contained in one Kirkland lactase caplet, or 9,000 ALU (lactase units), is roughly equivalent to the amount required to digest 4.5 cups of milk’s lactose. Kirkland lactase caplets meet the criteria for “extra strength” and are appropriate for the majority of lactose-containing meals when compared to other products that contain 3,000 ALU.
When consumed at the beginning of a meal, the supplement provides a quick burst of lactase to aid in the adequate digestion of milk sugar.Because competitor brands frequently include mannitol, which can cause gas, Kirkland caplets are a top pick. They are also portable and individually wrapped, making them ideal to keep on hand for an unexpected or planned dairy-heavy meal.
Bean-zyme
By definition, humans are unable to digest fiber. Simply put, we lack the necessary enzyme to completely break it down. In fact, this is advantageous because it allows gut bacteria to feed on it and produce advantageous byproducts through a process called bacterial fermentation. Gas is one of these byproducts, though, and some types of fiber produce higher levels of it.
Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), a type of highly fermentable fiber, are present in foods like beans, chickpeas, broccoli, cauliflower, and lentils. If you consume a lot of these foods, particularly if you have IBS, chronic constipation, or active SIBO, you might experience increased digestive distress.
According to studies, the Bean-zyme active ingredient, alpha-galactosidase, can aid in breaking down fiber before it enters our gastrointestinal tract and affects the bacteria there. 19 Because humans are unable to produce this special enzyme, which comes from the food-grade mold Aspergillus niger, external supplementation is the only option.
A Bean-zyme tablet taken before a GOS-rich meal can help prevent the side effects that could otherwise come along with the fermentation party in your intestines if you typically get uncomfortable gas or bloating from plant-rich meals, have IBS, constipation, or active SIBO. Since Bean-zyme doesn’t contain any other “gassy” ingredients (e. g. mannitol, and FODMAPs).
Enzymedica Digest Gold
Proteases (for protein), lipase (for fats), and amylase (for starch) are the three main pancreatic enzymes required for digestion and are all included in the proprietary blend of 14 digestive enzymes that make up Digest Gold Enzymedica.
While Digest Gold’s enzyme doses are not comparable to those in prescription enzymes for pancreatic insufficiency (and are therefore not appropriate for conditions like exogenous pancreatic insufficiency or pancreatitis), this product still offers a significantly higher dose than the majority of other enzyme blends available in the market.
Recent studies suggest that taking lipase supplements before eating meals high in fat may be especially beneficial for people with IBS or functional dyspepsia.
Koch SY, Levine ME, and Koch KL. Before a high-fat meal, giving healthy subjects lipase supplements reduces their feelings of fullness.
While there haven’t been many studies done on humans, the higher dose of lipase (4,000 units) might be an effective treatment if you find that fatty foods tend to aggravate your symptoms.
Notably, a subset of people with sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (SID) who are starch intolerant and whose careful chewing (for increased amylase production) is insufficient to prevent symptoms brought on by starchy foods like grains and potatoes may also benefit from this product.
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