A common misconception contends that you can take weight loss pills containing lipase to help you lose weight. Lipases are enzymes that break down fat, but breaking down fat in the digestive tract isn't the same thing as breaking down fat in the body. Lipase-containing weight loss pills don't actually work.
Weight Loss
To lose weight, you probably know that you need to take in fewer calories than you expend each day. This is, however, easier said than done, and it's normal to turn to supplements to help you achieve your weight loss goals. To break down stored body fat, your cells use enzymes called lipases; an enzyme is a protein that regulates a chemical reaction and helps it take place faster than it otherwise would.
Different Lipases
Not all lipases are the same, which is one of the reasons you can't take lipase supplements to help you lose weight. Your digestive tract uses pancreatic lipase, which comes from the pancreas, to break down the fats in your food so you can absorb them. Your cells recycle bits of membrane with phospholipases. Still other lipases break down stored fat in your body and release it into the bloodstream so that your cells can use it for energy.
Enzyme Supplements
Another major problem with the idea of taking a supplemental enzyme, such as a lipase, to assist in functions outside the digestive tract is that you don't have a mechanism for moving enzymes from the digestive tract into the cells. As such, lipase -- and any other supplemental enzyme you take -- stays in the digestive tract. The only enzyme supplements that can actually function in the body are certain digestive enzymes, such as lactase, which helps you digest milk sugar.
Acid Barrier
One more reason why you can't take lipase for weight loss is that lipase is destroyed by exposure to acid. When you take lipase, it passes through your stomach, which is filled with a very acidic mixture of juices. The acid breaks down the lipase -- which is a protein -- just as it would break down any other nutrient protein that you ingested. As a result, you simply absorb the components of the lipase and burn them for energy.
References
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett and Charles Grisham, 2007
- "Human Physiology"; Lauralee Sherwood; 2004
- "Anatomy and Physiology"; Gary Thibodeau; 2007
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