Enzymes aid in digestion and if not available in
the right amounts can cause all sorts of problems
What are enzymes?
Plant based or animal based
enzymes?
22 different types of enzymes
Are you deficient in enzymes?
Benefits of enzymes
Food sources of Enzymes
How much enzymes do I need?
Any side effects?
Recommended reading
Related Links
Digestive enzymes are proteins specially tailored to break down foods
into nutrients that your body can then readily digest. The human body
produces some 22 different digestive enzymes. Many more are found in the
fruits, vegetables, meats, grains, and other foods. A number of
digestive enzymes--from both plants and animals--are also sold as
supplements.
When you eat a meal, digestive enzymes that are released from your
salivary glands, stomach, and small intestine immediately get to work to
speed up the digestive process. Each enzyme acts on a specific type of
food. A variety of different proteases, for example, break down the
components of protein. Amylases help digest carbohydrates; lipases break
down fats; and cellulases, found in plants, digest fiber.
Some practitioners believe that even in the absence of symptoms many
people can benefit from routinely taking extra enzymes to maintain peak
digestion and enhance stores of vital nutrients.
Many enzymes on the market today are made from animal organs - hog
stomach, beef pancreas, lamb fore-stomach, etc.
For example, Pancreatin, a digestive enzyme that comes from the
pancreas of pigs
Animal-based enzymes usually work in a narrow pH range and can only
digest protein, starch, and fat.
Plant enzymes are derived from microorganisms grown on a plant medium,
such as bromelain (from pineapples), papain (from papayas), and enzymes
grown on the fungus aspergillus.
A broad-based plant enzyme, in addition to providing 9 different kinds
of enzymes instead of just 3, has a wider pH range of activity, allowing
it to function throughout the entire digestive tract. It begins working
in the mouth, esophagus, and upper stomach, thus decreasing the enzyme
secretion needed for digestion.
Temporarily inactive in the lower stomach, plant enzymes return to their
active state in the intestines, helping to complete the digestive
process.
Enzymes are needed for the digestive system to work.
They are necessary to break down food particles so they can be utilized
for energy. The human body makes approximately 22 different digestive
enzymes which are capable of digesting carbohydrates, protein and fats,
the most common are:
-
AMYLASE works to breakdown carbohydrates i.e.
starches, sugars. Functions in the intestine and in the blood
-
BROMELAIN taken from pineapple plant, helps break
down proteins
-
LACTASE needed to break down lactose found in milk
products
-
LIPASE works to break down fats into fatty acids and
glycerol functions in the intestine and in the blood
-
PAPAIN extracted from papaya fruit, aids in protein
digestion
-
PEPSIN breaks down proteins, function depends on
availability of HCL
-
PROTEASE works to breakdown protein into amino
functions in the intestine and in the blood
-
CELLULASE, digests fiber
-
TRYPSIN and CHYMOTRYPSIN
Enzymes are essential for normal digestion. Unfortunately, most adults
don't have enough of them. The main reason is the kind of food we eat.
As we get older, there is a definite decline in the level of digestive
enzymes produced in the stomach, pancreas and small intestine, usually
after age 30 to 35. The reason for this is not clear.
These symptoms could be cause by a lack of enzymes:
-
poor digestion,
-
poor absorption
-
accumulation of undigested food, material, metabolic
waste and putrefied fecal matter in the intestinal tract
-
food allergies
-
overgrowth of parasites, yeast and unfriendly
bacteria
-
indigestion
-
constipation
-
belching
-
bloating
-
decreased energy
-
headaches,
-
fatigue
-
general malaise
-
reduced resistance to infections
-
celiac disease
-
Crohn’s disease
-
pancreatic insufficiency
-
cystic fibrosis
A true enzyme deficiency can also be detected by a stool
analysis.
Research shows that enzymes are important not just for
digestion, but for a variety of functions within the body:
-
Improve Circulation - Enzymes are vitally important
in preventing excessive blood clotting and reducing the "stickiness"
of the platelets and red blood cells.
-
Dissolve blood clots: also called fibrinolysis
-
Remove metabolic waste.
-
Inflammation - Regardless of the reason for
inflammation, enzymes are essential for tissue repair. They reduce
swelling and pain, decrease the duration or inflammatory process and
help speed up the recovery rate. These effects are also important in
the treatment of injuries.
-
Help with food allergies, bloating, belching, gas,
bowel disorders, abdominal cramping, heartburn
-
Other benefits - There are many other uses for
enzymes, including autoimmune conditions, arthritis, chronic
diseases, pre and post-surgery and multiple sclerosis.
Food sources of Enzymes
Raw vegetables and raw fruit are rich sources of enzymes. But the
enzymes in raw foods are destroyed by heat. Most raw food, like our
bodies, is very perishable. When raw foods are exposed to temperatures
above 118 degrees, they start to rapidly break down, just as our bodies
would if we had a fever that high. One of the constituents of foods
which can break down are enzymes.
Once enzymes are exposed to heat, they are no longer able to provide the
function for which they were designed.
The digestion of cooked food uses valuable metabolic enzymes in order to
help digest your food. Digestion of cooked food demands much more energy
than the digestion of raw food. In general, raw food is so much more
easily digested that it passes through the digestive tract in 1/2 to 1/3
of the time it takes for cooked food.
Eating enzyme-dead foods places a burden on your pancreas and other
organs and overworks them, which eventually exhausts these organs.
While all raw foods contain enzymes, the most powerful enzyme-rich
food is sprouted seeds, grains, and legumes. Sprouting increases the
enzyme content in these foods enormously.
The digestive enzymes—proteolytic enzymes, lipases, and amylases—are
generally taken together. Pancreatin, which contains all three digestive
enzymes, is rated against a standard established by the U.S.
Pharmacopeia (USP). For example, “4X pancreatin” is four times stronger
than the USP standard. Each “X” contains 25 USP units of amylase, 2 USP
units of lipase, and 25 USP units of protease (or proteolytic enzymes).
Three to four grams of 4X pancreatin (or a lower amount at higher
potency) with each meal is likely to help digest food in some people
with pancreatic insufficiency.
Supplemental enzymes that state only product weight, but not activity
units, may lack potency.
HCL hydrochloric acid stimulates pancreatic secretion, activates pepsin
and sterilizes the stomach from bacteria and parasites. If you don't
have enough HCL, pepsin can not be activated. Check with your
practitioner for HCL levels.
As we are all individual it is best to discuss taking enzymes with your
current healthcare provider.
The most important digestive enzymes in malabsorption diseases are
usually fat-digesting enzymes called lipases. Proteolytic enzymes can
digest, as well as destroy, lipases.
Therefore, people with enzyme deficiencies may want to avoid proteolytic
enzymes in order to spare lipases. If this is not possible (as most
enzyme products contain both), people with malabsorption syndromes
should talk with their doctor to see if their condition warrants finding
products that contain the most lipase and the least protease.
Avoid enzymes that are enteric-coated.
Please consult with your physician before taking enzymes if you suffer
from cystic fibrosis
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