Digestive enzymes might be the most overlooked, underappreciated part of a healthy digestive system. Chances are, you’ve given them little thought. Perhaps, you don’t even know what they are.
* What are Digestive Enzymes?* Proteases and Peptidases (Proteolytic Enzymes)* Carbohydrases* Lipases* How to Increase Digestive Enzyme Levels
About 20% of the US population is known to have a digestive issue, or about 60-70 million people. The percentage continues to grow in the US and across the world. A lack of enzymes contributes to these digestive problems.
Symptoms can be as subtle as burping or gas following meals, or more extreme like constant diarrhea or periodic pain.
Exercise, increased core body temperature, injury, stress, and certain diseases increase the use of enzymes. Aging, and certain diseases, like pancreatitis, decrease production. Whether you experience an increased need, or decreased production, the result is the same. Enzyme insufficiency.
Digestive enzyme insufficiency is linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, hyperthyroidism, Celiac disease, Crohn's disease, excessive exercise, and diets high in processed foods.
My Own Messed Up Gut
This was one of the most challenging articles I've ever written. Normally, I can write a new article in three to five days, but this one took a couple of weeks. I found myself going down all sorts of rabbit holes, fascinated with the significant role enzymes play in our health. My notes for this article looked more like notes that could fill a whole book.
Part of the reason I did so much more reading was that this is a personal topic. I've had my own digestive challenges in the past, and I have a family history of it as well.
It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I got some control over my own issues. Prior to that, my stomach would feel irritated and look distended for hours after each meal.
I had horrible gas at night. Every night. If I were single, I probably wouldn't have cared as much, but when my gorgeous wife is sitting across the room and has to bear it, it's kind of embarrassing.
I'm convinced my issues were enzyme-related, and feel much better today, although I do still have challenges once in a while.
The articles I write come from a combination of education, experience, and experimentation. This one especially so.
All that said, I kept cutting stuff out of this article to make it short enough for you to read it when you saw it. If it was too long, I figured you'd set it aside and not come back. I thinks there is enough in this article for you to importance of enzymes for optimal health, yet brief enough that you'll read through the whole thing.
What are Digestive Enzymes?
Enzymes speed up the rate of virtually every reaction in the body. You use more than 5000 different enzymes every day. Most of those enzymes are metabolic enzymes, responsible for everything from your thoughts to the thickness of your blood.
A relatively small group of your 5000 enzymes convert the food you eat, to nutrients that fuel and build your body.
Without digestive enzymes, you wouldn’t break down protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and your foods would pass through you undigested. Along the way,