People who are in good health generally have a sufficient amount of naturally occurring digestive enzymes. There are three specific categories of digestive enzymes that the body produces: amylases, lipases and proteases. If you do not produce enough of these enzymes, consult with your health care provider to inquire about taking digestive enzyme supplements. Digestive enzymes perform several important bodily functions.
Digestive Enzymes
Digestive enzymes assist the body with the break down of food into nutrients. Once broken down, the proteins in the enzymes help with the digestion of the food and the absorption of the nutrients. There are approximately 22 different digestive enzymes produced in the human body, all falling into one of the three enzyme categories and each working on a different type of food. Proteins are digested by protease enzymes, carbohydrates are digested by amylase enzymes and fats are digested by lipase enzymes. Enzymes can be found in various fruits and vegetables, meats and other foods.
Digestive Enzyme Supplements
Digestive enzymes are a source of food and energy. Digestive enzyme supplements serve the same function as natural enzymes. Supplements are designed to dramatically increase the rate of digestion for people who lack enough naturally occurring digestive enzymes. Pure digestive enzyme supplements derived from plant sources can replenish the viable live enzymes that are depleted as a result of certain medical conditions or from eating cooked foods.
Who Might Benefit
Holistic nutritionists sometimes prescribe digestive enzymes to patients suffering from a variety of digestive health issues. Some conditions that might benefit from digestive enzyme therapy include heartburn, indigestion, bloating and irritable bowel syndrome. Medical doctors and specialists might prescribe enzymatic therapy to treat more serious diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and pancreatitis. Digestive enzymes help restore normal digestion in pancreatitis patients suffering from malabsorption, leading to weight gain and better overall health. The Food and Drug Administration approved pancreatic digestive enzymes to improve food digestion in patients whose bodies do not produce enough pancreatic enzymes.
Lipase is the category of digestive enzymes that helps in breaking down fats and digesting them. These enzymes are found in the pancreas and stomach and can be obtained from foods that contain fat. Lipase enzymes help to maintain regular bowel movements which aids in the prevention of excess fat being stored in the body. A supplement containing lipase can be taken to reduce strain placed on the pancreas, liver and gallbladder, the organs responsible for the breakdown of certain fats.
The digestive amylase enzymes are responsible for breaking down carbohydrates. As there are several kinds of amylase enzymes, each individual amylase enzyme will assist the body in metabolizing a particular sugar type. For example, the amylase enzyme sucrose will break down cane sugar, but not sugar found in milk. Only the amylase enzyme specific to milk sugar, lactase, can break down milk sugar.
Contraindications
Several claims have been made about the benefits of digestive enzyme therapy to treat conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, Parkinson's disease and other serious ailments. Although there are natural health practitioners and medical doctors who support digestive enzyme therapy in patients suffering from these conditions, more research is needed to determine the beneficial effects, if any, that are derived from such therapy. As there are no known contraindications with digestive enzyme supplement usage, an integrative approach can be used, combining enzymes and prescribed treatments. Patients always should consult their health care provider prior to adding digestive enzyme therapy to their daily medication routine.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Pancreatitis
- LiveStrong; Why Do We Need Digestive Enzymes?; Brindusa Vanta
- Digestive Enzymes: Digestive Enzymes Q&A
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse: Gas in the Digestive Tract
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Use an Approved Pancreatic Enzyme Product (PEP); 5/24/2010
