There are many common misconceptions regarding the function, potential and use of enzymes. While you definitely need enzymes for your cells and body systems to function properly, you don't need to -- and really can't, in most cases -- supplement with these enzymes. For instance, papaya enzymes aren't an effective way to lower blood sugar levels.
Enzymes
Enzymes are proteins that assist chemical reactions to take place faster than they otherwise would. Enzymes also help regulate chemical reactions in your body. While they're essential for proper system and organ function, there's no scientific evidence to suggest that you benefit from supplemental enzymes in most cases -- lactase for lactose intolerance is a rare exception. This is because there's no mechanism in the body for getting enzymes from the digestive tract into your cells.
Papaya Enzyme
Papaya enzyme, also called papain, is a proteolytic enzyme. This means that papain digests proteins, breaking them down into their constituent molecules, which are called amino acids. Because papain breaks down proteins, it's often used as a meat tenderizer. It's very similar in function to many of the digestive enzymes you rely upon to break down the proteins in your food. However, like all proteolytic enzymes, papain has only one possible function: breaking down protein. It has no effect on other chemical reactions, meaning it can't regulate your blood sugar.
Blood Sugar Regulation
Your blood sugar is regulated by several hormones and processes, one of the most familiar of which is insulin, which decreases your blood sugar by causing cells to take up glucose -- sugar -- from the blood. Other hormones, such as glucagon and epinephrine, increase blood sugar in response to cellular needs. All blood sugar regulation takes place at the cellular level; there's no way for enzymes in the gut to affect blood sugar, which is one of the reasons that papaya enzyme taken orally can't lower your blood sugar.
Another Concern
One final reason that papaya enzyme can't affect your blood sugar is that it's digested by the acid and proteolytic enzymes in your stomach. Enzymes are very sensitive to acidity and temperature; they operate within very narrow ranges. Since papain isn't normally exposed to a strongly acidic environment, it's actually destroyed by acid, meaning that you denature papain -- render it inactive -- as soon as you swallow it.
References
- "Anatomy and Physiology"; Gary Thibodeau, Ph.D.; 2007
- "Human Physiology"; Lauralee Sherwood, Ph.D.; 2004
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D. and Charles Grisham, Ph.D.; 2007
