Digestive Enzyme Supplements

About Digestive Enzyme Supplements

Digestive Enzymes are foundational for the health of the digestive system. Enzymes are proteins that we would not survive without. They typically cause a specific chemical reaction in the body. For instance, they may break a peptide bond that hold a large protein molecule together. 

Enzymes are produced in a number of areas in the human body. Firstly, amylase and lipase are released into saliva, which begin the digestion of carbohydrates and fats, respectively. If you had a parent who used to—or still does—nag you about chewing your food properly at the dinner table, they might have had good intentions after all! A longer chewing time creates smaller food particles and more time for enzymes to do their work. Once the bolus (chewed food and saliva) is swallowed, the amylase and lipase enzymes are inactivated. This is caused by the release of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Stomach acid plays a crucial role in not only denaturing or unfolding protein molecules, thus preparing them for digestion, but also destroying harmful bacteria in food. There is also a protein-specific digestive enzyme released by the chief cells of the stomach, called pepsin. 

Once food enters the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine), the pancreas releases an alkaline wash of enzymes, including another lot of lipase and amylase. In the small intestine, other enzymes are also released, such as protease and lactase, which digest protein and lactose, respectively. 

Now that we have all of that out of the way, we can talk about the use of digestive enzyme supplements. The beauty of these products is that they provide us with some of the foundational enzymes in capsule form, such as protease, lipase, amylase and sometimes even lactase and cellulase as well. In order, these enzymes digest protein, fats, carbohydrates, lactose and fibre, respectively (with a lot of respect). Without them, I'm sure you can imagine the digestive upheaval and malnourishment that we would experience. It wouldn’t be pretty. Digestive enzyme supplements are great for use in high-calorie diets or mass gain programs, for those wishing to gain weight for exercises such as powerlifting. They may even be useful for periods of convalescence when weight gain is needed for health reasons. There are also many therapeutic uses of digestive enzymes, such as bloating and indigestion.

Digestive Enzyme Supplements are a great way to ensure that food components are broken down, in order to maximise nutrient absorption and improve gastrointestinal wellness and general health. They are also great for use during detoxification programs. 

It was the father of modern medicine himself, Hippocrates, who said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This illustrates the importance of quality in supporting our general health. Of course, if we don’t digest this food, or absorb the nutrients from it properly, this would be the equivalent of a diet that is low in nutrition. We do need to liberate the nutrients from food with a healthy digestive system, rich in digestive enzymes.