What Are Digestive Enzymes and Why Do People Take Digestive Enzyme Supplements?
Digestive enzymes are proteins that your body uses to break down the food we eat into useful nutrients and waste products. You can only get the full benefit of food and nutritional supplements if your body has enough enzymes to properly digest and absorb the nutrients. Here’s the problem. Many digestive enzymes are found only in raw foods which most people do not eat enough of. Other digestive enzymes are produced by our bodies, but the older we get, the less our bodies produce of them. A lack of digestive enzymes can contribute to a myriad of illnesses including arthritis, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn, chronic fatigue syndrome and more. Many people have begun to take supplements to increase their levels of digestive enzymes and improve their bodies ability to access and use food nutrients for energy, cell growth and repair. By improving one’s digestion, supplements will often reduce gas, heartburn, and improve regularity.