Digestive Enzymes Guide

When you eat food, your body uses enzymes to digest that food. These digestive enzymes play an important role in our digestive health.

Unfortunately, many of us don’t have the right balance of enzymes in the body. This can lead to gastrointestinal problems – like acid reflux, gas, or painful digestion after meals.

Fortunately, thanks to digestive enzyme supplements, it’s easier than ever to get the digestive enzymes you need to stay healthy. Learn everything you need to know about digestive enzymes today in our digestive enzymes guide.

Top 3 Most Important Digestive Enzymes

The following three enzymes are called the “main” digestive enzymes and are most important for digestive health. In no particular order, those enzymes are:

— Protease

Protease digests proteins while also breaking down the debris from parasites, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells.

— Amylase

Amylase digests carbohydrates. Since most western diets have an overabundance of carbohydrates, amylase is one of the most important digestive enzymes in the body.

— Lipase

Lipase digests fats and fat-soluble vitamins. It’s used to digest omega-3 and omega-6, for example, as well as valuable vitamins like lutein and vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Where Do Enzymes Come From?

Our bodies get enzymes from three sources:

— First, we produce some enzymes in our digestive system. These enzymes are naturally produced by the body in order to facilitate the breakdown of food.

— Second, we get enzymes from the foods we eat. Raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, and raw meat are all excellent sources of enzymes.

— Third, we can get enzymes from synthetic enzyme supplements. These supplements are formulated in labs – although some supplements claim to use “vegetable formulas” and other semi-natural compounds.

Some people get more than enough digestive enzymes in their normal, healthy diet.

Many people, however, are enzyme-deficient and need to turn to supplements to get the enzymes they need.

Buying Enzyme Supplements

Typically, when you buy digestive enzyme supplements, you’re not buying one of the enzymes listed above. You won’t see too many “Amylase” digestive enzyme supplements, for example.

Instead, you’ll see supplements that support the full spectrum of digestive enzymes, single-highhandedly improving your digestive health.

Digestive supplements range from $10 to $30 for a 30-day supply of digestive enzyme caplets.

You can also find some digestive enzyme supplements which offer probiotic effects, or come in the form of a multivitamin. These supplements tend to cost more (over $40), but can replace multiple daily supplements in your life.

How to Use Digestive Enzyme Supplements

There are two ways to take digestive enzyme supplements: on an empty stomach or a full stomach.

Full Stomach: Taking digestive enzymes while eating (or immediately after eating) can alleviate stress on your pancreas and small intestine. These digestive enzymes will also “predigest” up to 60% of carbs, 30% of protein, and 10% of fat before food even reaches the digestive system!

Empty Stomach: When taking digestive enzymes on an empty stomach, they act more as “vacuum cleaners” then as “pre-digestion agents.” Some people take digestive enzymes on an empty stomach to reverse inflammation or cleanse toxins from the body.

Digestive Enzymes Are More Important Today Than Ever

More and more people are taking digestive enzymes. Why? Modern food is more processed than ever before. It’s packed with artificial sugars, saturated fats, and synthetic chemicals.

All of these foods force our bodies’ digestive systems to work extra hard. When our bodies work hard, they become weaker, inflamed, and are more likely to incur disease.

That’s why many nutritionists recommend adding a digestive enzyme supplement to your diet while also returning to a diet based on organic vegetables, proteins, and fruits. This allows the body to heal and digest foods more efficiently.

Conclusion: Who Should Take Digestive Enzymes?

Digestive enzymes are called the “construction workers” of the body. These enzymes take raw materials – the food you eat – and then turn those raw materials into something useful – like energy.

Having imbalanced digestive enzymes is kind of like watching those construction workers go on strike: your body stops working as efficiently and certain foods aren’t processed fully before leaving the body.

If you want to avoid this problem and make your digestive system as efficient as possible, then digestive enzyme supplements are one of the best ways to restore balance to your gastrointestinal system.