A lack in digestive enzymes can cause many problems with digestion

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:

1. AMYLASE works to breakdown carbohydrates i.e. starches, sugars. Functions in the intestine and in the blood
2. BROMELAIN taken from pineapple plant, helps break down proteins
3. LACTASE needed to break down lactose found in milk products
4. LIPASE works to break down fats into fatty acids and glycerol functions in the intestine and in the blood
5. PAPAIN extracted from papaya fruit, aids in protein digestion
6. PEPSIN breaks down proteins, function depends on availability of HCL
7. PROTEASE works to breakdown protein into amino functions in the intestine and in the blood
8. CELLULASE, digests fiber
9. 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.

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.