Danna Schneider asked:
33 year old woman, I have struggled on and off with digestive issues, including bouts with IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and various types of indigestion, but mainly “acid indigestion” which is basically just a sour stomach from eating various different kinds of foods. Hey, even if you don’t suffer with stomach issues, there are bound to be times when you could benefit from the help of either digestive enzymes or the nearest bottle of Pepto Bismol or some other stomach soother, right?
We’ve all been there, and there are now tons of products on the market that can help those of us with digestion problems, namely one we are going to talk about today which I have recently experimented with myself, and that is digestive enzyme supplements. It just so happens for me that the foods which set my stomach into a frenzy are now deep fried and high fat content foods, as well as certain kinds of meats and sauces.
Red meat is one of the worst culprits, and fattening, buttery and creamy sauces such as alfredo sauces (which of course is one of my favorites, go figure), and other heavy creams also tend to not sit well. Sometimes I happen to be especially sensitive to dairy foods with high fat content as well, like ice cream and other desserts that are made with very fatty dairy bases.
Whatever it is that happens to be for you individually, your problem could be helped by a variety of supplements that now are out which have various types of digestive enzymes that are found naturally in the stomach acid “mix”. Usually they are in powdered form and encapsulated, and are taken before a meal with water. They are also usually designed To break down all types of different nutrients that we consume, including fats, starches, vegetables and fibrous substances, dairy, meats or proteins, and sugars.
The three enzymes that help to break these down in the pancreas are amylase, trypsin and lipase, and they go to work digesting, or breaking down starches, fats and proteins, which are some of the harder foods to break down. Lactase, as you may guess, is the enzyme that breaks down dairy products like milk, cheese, eggs and other various milk and dairy based products.
A good digestive enzyme aid supplement will supply all enzymes that work in unison to help the body break down these complex nutrients, and spares the enzymes that help to break these down, which means that your white blood cells in essence are spared, since many of these enzymes are contained within white blood cells. However, if you only have problems with digesting dairy, for example, you may be able to narrow your search down to a supplement that only contains dairy digestive enzymes. Your local natural foods or vitamin store can assist you with finding what you need personally.
The supplement that I purchased was very comprehensive, and contained all of the following digestive aids : Amylase, Protease, Lactase, Cellulase, Lipase, and Phytase. These are the “big ones” that will assist your stomach and other digestive organs with properly breaking down various foods, especially when these foods are combined together, which can cause havoc on your digestive system since it must pull all sort of various enzymes to digest say, a cheeseburger.
A cheeseburger assaults the system with not only starches from the bun, but also with one of the hardest meats to digest – red meat, and cheese, and then if you throw some lettuce and tomato in there, you’ve got cellulose that needs to be broken down as well. The American diet is chock full of traditional foods that are absolutely horrendous from a digestive perspective, so it’s no wonder many Americans suffer digestive disorders ranging from IBS to acid reflux, to more severe disorders such as Crohn’s disease.
If you are one of the millions of people that suffer digestive discomfort, or even if you think you could benefit from adding these digestive enzymes to your diet, it’s worth looking into. I for one have experienced greater comfort and ease in digesting foods that normally would have made my night miserable since I began taking them, so I can speak from experience that they can be a real life saver.
