Digestive Enzymes: Well-needed But Often Forgotten

Most serious athletes know the importance of adequate protein and carbohydrate intake to support working muscles and high-intensity exercise.

By Wayne Bellfax, Personal Trainer   Talk to the Author.

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Digestive Enzymes: Well-needed But Often Forgotten

Most serious athletes know the importance of adequate protein and carbohydrate intake to support working muscles and high-intensity exercise. And many spend time, money and effort carefully planning their daily diet and nutrient intake based on their energy output. But, how can we be sure that our bodies are making the best use of the nutrients in the food— especially all those protein shakes— we consume?

In order for our body to be able to absorb and make use of food we eat and the nutrients in it, our bodies need to break food down into smaller molecular pieces. This process of breaking down food is done in the digestive system with the help of digestive enzymes. Enzymes are nature’s most efficient workers and are responsible for many important chemical reactions in all living beings.

Some common digestive enzymes include:

• Protease: aids in the digestion of proteins.



• Lipase: aids in the digestion of fat.



• Amylase: aids in the digestion of carbohydrates.



• Lactase: aids in the digestion of milk and milk products.

The body produces digestive enzymes on its own and can also obtain them from the diet. If the digestive system is deficient in any of these enzymes though, certain nutrients from food may pass through the digestive system without being fully digested and therefore will not be fully utilized. Gas and bloating are the most common discomforts associated with a decrease in enzymes.

Stress, medication and the modern diet are much to blame for improper digestion or a lack of enzymes. The modern diet consists mainly of cooked and processed foods that have lost many of their nutrients and are devoid of natural enzymes. And, when you factor in the stress that is placed on our digestive systems by either unhealthy lifestyle habits, medications or poor eating, you can better understand why our bodies are often unable to properly extract the nutrients we need from food.

Supplementing with specific digestive enzymes or an enzyme formula

can help support better digestion of food, increase the bioavailability of nutrients and promote overall better health. When choosing an enzyme supplement, look for the following important features to ensure its efficacy:

• Units of Measurement: Because enzymes are involved in the process of breaking certain components of food down – such as proteins, carbohydrates and fats – they are measured in “units of activity” such as “gelatin digestive units” (GDUs) or “milk clotting units” (MCU). Products that list enzymes by weight – such as in grams (g) or milligrams (mg) – do not lend way to an enzyme’s ability to act on a given component of food.



• Proven Bioactivity: Because enzymes are active entities, manufacturers of quality products may choose to have their products tested to ensure that the enzymes in a given product are capable of acting on a given component of food thus making its components more available to the body.

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