SUMMARY

Enzymes are the biologically active proteins that help chemical reactions happen in our body. There are two kinds of enzymes, metabolic and digestive, with metabolic helping overall health and digestive helping turn food into energy. Every part of our bodies needs enzymes to function.

DETAILS

Metabolic & Digestive Enzymes: All enzymes are biologically active proteins found in every living cell. Metabolic enzymes catalyze and regulate every biochemical reaction that occurs within the human body, making them essential for cellular function and overall health. Digestive enzymes have a different job, turning the food we eat into energy to be utilized by the body for various biological processes. Our bodies naturally produce both digestive and metabolic enzymes, as they are needed—but sometimes may not produce enough for what we need.

Making Chemical Reactions Happen: Enzymes are protein chemicals, which carry vital energy needed to enable each chemical action and reaction occuring in our body. There are approximately 1,300 different enzymes found in the human cell. These enzymes can combine with coenzymes to form nearly 100,000 various chemicals enabling us to see, hear, feel, move, digest food and think. Every organ, every tissue and all the 100 trillion cells in our body depend upon the reactions of metabolic enzymes and their energy factor. Nutrition would be impossible to explain without describing the part that enzymes play.

DETAILS

Nearly one in three people in the U.S. experience some kind of digestive problem.1,2 Though many suffer, few have to. The typical benefits of enzyme supplementation include reduced digestive distress, increased energy and improved regularity.*

Soothe Digestive Distress:* When undigested foods travel through the intestines, they can irritate and potentially damage the sensitive intestinal wall. Over time, this irritation may reduce our digestive capacity and negatively influence the vital absorption process.

Increase Energy: According to Yuri Elkaim, author of Eating for Energy, in most cases, up to 80% of our body’s vital energy is spent on digestion.3 By aiding the breakdown and absorption of foods, you can free up enormous amounts of energy, increasing physical vitality and enhancing energy levels.*

Promote Regularity: Promoting proper digestion may encourage a healthy intestinal environment and help relieve occasional constipation and irregularity.*

References:

1. “Common GI Problems: Volume 1.” The American College of Gastroenterology. The American College of Gastroenterology, n.d. Web. 30 Jul. 2010 <http://www.acg.gi.org/patients/cgp/cgpvol1.asp>

2. U.S. Census Bureau (2010). Data Finders: Population Clocks. Retrieved October 28, 2010. www.census.gov ,<http://www.census.gov/>

3. Elkaim, Yuri. “Health Benefits of Fasting.” Eating for Energy Blog. Yuri Elkaim, 22 Oct 2009. Web. 2 Aug 2010. <http://eatingforenergy.ca/blog/177/health-benefits-of-fasting/>

SUMMARY

Metabolic enzymes are used to speed up the chemical reactions in our cells that keep us alive. Digestive enzymes break down food into nutrition and waste. While the food we eat contains digestive enzymes, it does not contain enough to digest everything we eat on its own, which is where our body’s enzymes and supplements fill in the gap.

DETAILS

Metabolic Enzymes: These are an essential component for optimal cellular function and health—they speed up chemical reactions within cells for detoxification and energy production enabling us to see, hear, feel, move and think. Each organ, every tissue and all 100 trillion cells in our body depend upon the reaction of metabolic enzymes and the energy factor they contribute. Without these metabolic enzymes, cellular life would cease to exist.

Digestive Enzymes: These are secreted along the digestive tract to break food down into nutrients and waste. Most digestive enzymes are produced by the pancreas. The liver, gallbladder, small intestine, stomach and colon also play pivotal roles in the production of these enzymes. Digestive enzymes allow the nutrients found in the foods we consume to be absorbed into the blood stream and waste to be discarded. Some human digestive enzymes include lipase, protease, amylase, ptyalin, pepsin and trypsin.

Food Enzymes: These are introduced to the body through the raw foods we eat and through consumption of supplemental enzyme products. Raw foods naturally contain enzymes, providing a source of digestive enzymes when ingested. However, raw food manifests only enough enzymes to digest that particular food. Cooking and processing of food destroys its enzymes, meaning our bodies have to pick up the slack. Since most of the foods we eat are cooked or processed in some way and because the raw foods we do eat contain only enough enzymes to process that particular food, our bodies must produce the majority of the digestive enzymes we require, unless we use supplemental enzymes to aid in the digestive process. A variety of supplemental enzymes are available through different sources. It is important to understand the differences between the enzyme types and make sure you are using an enzyme product most beneficial for your particular needs.

Summary

Enzymes are activated when we start to chew our food and break that food down into the nutrients we need to live. While enzymes change the structure of the nutrients we eat, turning them into what our body needs to function, the enzymes themselves remain unchanged.

Details

The Digestive Process: When we eat raw foods, heat and moisture in the mouth activate the enzymes in food. Once active, these enzymes break down the food and make it small enough to pass through the villi (small pores of the intestines) and into the blood.

From the Gut to the Cells: The metabolic enzymes found in the blood then take the digested nutrients and build them into muscles, nerves, bones, blood, lungs and various glands. Every cell in the body depends on certain enzymes to function properly.

Enzyme Specificity: This is referring to the fact that a protein digestive enzyme will not digest a fat, a fat enzyme will not digest a starch (carbohydrate), and so on. Each enzyme has a specific function in the body. This is referred to enzyme specificity.

Staying Unchanged: Enzymes act upon chemicals and change them into other chemicals, but enzymes themselves remain unchanged. Simply stated, enzymes help transform something in our body turning it into something else we need. Without enzymes, nothing in our body could function.

Details

As much as we try to get all the enzymes we need without supplementation, there are a lot of things working against us:

• The process of cooking our food destroys its enzymes, and the processing that gas ripened and irradiated food goes through destroys their enzymes, too.
• As we age, our body’s natural ability to make enzymes decreases.
• Nuts that are raw contain an enzyme inhibitor (as do most beans).
• Many grains and flour are processed, robbing them of their enzymes.

In a world with so many factors keeping us from getting the enzymes we need, enzyme supplements provide support for more complete digestion and nutrient absorption.

Summary

Not only can the lipase enzymes in Lypo Gold break down the fat we eat, but enzymes can improve our metabolism, helping us to lose weight the healthy way.*

Details

The number on the scale doesn’t tell you how much you can bench press or the results of your last blood panel. It can’t tell someone how fast you can run a mile or how much water you drink each day. It doesn’t tell someone how well you sleep or manage daily stressors or how often you go to the gym. But, for the more than 160 million Americans who are “on a diet” at any time, that number does help track progress when working toward maintaining a healthy weight.

Eating a nutrient-rich diet, drinking plenty of water and moving your body regularly are all habits that can be part of a healthy weight management plan. But what about digestive enzymes? Can enzymes be used for healthy weight management? Enzymes speed up digestion, boost energy and break down the macronutrients in your food, turning into fuel.* Read on to learn more about digestive enzymes (including lipase) and the benefits they can offer.*

What are Digestive Enzymes?

Digestion begins before your first bite. Your salivary glands get the signal to start the digestive process, then release your first set of digestive enzymes. After you’ve chewed and swallowed, macronutrients get digested at different stages, with help from the stomach, small intestine, liver and pancreas, the primary producer of digestive enzymes.

Digestive enzymes help break down food into essential nutrients that your body uses for energy and other biological processes. When you don’t have enough enzymes, your digestive system can’t fully break down the foods you eat, which can impact your digestion and transit times. When digestion is sluggish or incomplete, undigested food ferments in the large intestine, which can cause occasional gas, bloating and indigestion.

There are plenty of reasons why you might not have enough digestive enzymes. Aging and everyday stress are common culprits, but lifestyle, habits and an inherited genetic deficiency (like lactose intolerance) can also be to blame. So can overeating or overindulging! Up to 20% of the population has one or more food intolerances due to insufficient enzyme levels. Digestive enzyme supplements can provide the enzymes your body needs (without interfering with your natural production).

How Do Digestive Enzymes Support Health?

For those working to maintain their weight, the motto is “calories in, calories out.” The goal is a calorie deficit (burning more calories than you consume). No matter what’s on your plate – or what you’ve left off – you deserve to feel your best after each meal. Digestive enzymes speed up digestion, boost energy and reduce occasional indigestion.*

Digestive enzymes (like Digest Gold® -- America’s #1 selling digest enzyme supplement formula) break down the foods you eat, to reduce occasional gas and bloating.* While banning the bloat doesn’t move the needle on the scale, it can help you feel more like your best self! Our Thera-blend® enzymes are scientifically formulated for total-body results.* They quickly break down the carbs, dietary fats, fiber and protein in your meals, converting food into fuel (which your body uses to get you through your day).*

You might also be interested in combining enzymes and probiotics. Our Digest Gold® + Probiotics formula delivers all the benefits of digestive enzymes along with 1.5 billion active cultures per daily dose. Those shelf-stable, guaranteed potency probiotics support immune health and regularity while bringing balance back to the gut.*

What is Lipase?

Enzymes are specialists. In the digestive system, each enzyme or group of enzymes targets a certain nutrient. Here’s a quick list.

Enzyme(s) - Nutrient It Breaks Down

Proteases - Proteins

Amylases - Carbohydrates

Lipases - Dietary fats

Cellulase - Fiber

DPP-IV - Gluten (wheat protein)

Lactase - Lactose (milk sugar)

Alpha Galactosidase - Cellulose (plant fiber)

Xylanase - Phenols

Let’s talk more about lipase as an example. Lipase refers to any one of the group of enzymes that break down dietary fats. Just as proteins are made up of amino acid building blocks, the plant- and animal-based fats you consume in your meals need to be broken down.

Lipids are water-insoluble compounds that include oils, waxes and steroids. Fats and oils are made of fatty acids and glycerol. Fatty acids (and glycerol) are the building blocks of fats.  Lipase enzymes help break down lipids and fats into molecules that are small enough to be absorbed into the blood.

They also help your body "unlock" fat-soluble nutrients (such as vitamins A, D, E and K; omega-3 and other fatty acids) so you can absorb them. When you don't have enough lipase enzymes, it's like your body doesn't know what to do with these nutrients. These nutrients are essential for immune, bone, brain and cardiovascular health since they are involved in many functions. That's why lipases are also so important!

For those who are following a ketogenic or higher-fat diet, supplementing with lipase can boost digestion of the added fats.

Lypo Gold™ can break down up to 22 grams of dietary fat per capsule, making it keto diet-friendly.* Also helpful for those without gallbladders, this formula relieves discomfort associated with the digestion of fatty foods.*

How to Choose Quality Digestive Enzymes

Enzymes are not weighed in metric units like milligrams or grams. They're also not measured like recipes, in dashes or teaspoons. That is just not the way that digestive enzymes function! Enzymes instead are always measured according to their respective activity levels, utilizing a certain set of purity, quality and identity of food ingredients standards established by the internationally accepted Food Chemical Codex. As the industry leader in digestive enzymes for over 20 years, we know this -- and we always follow the Codex. So you will see that no matter which of our products you take for your digestive health, there will always be a rating of each enzyme's activity levels. Look at any of our products, and you'll see the "Supplement Facts" label. We have nothing to hide, so we provide the various types and activity levels of each enzyme or combination, as well as the specific activities included with each one.

Regardless of the formula that you choose, it will contain Enzymedica's proprietary Thera-blend® technology. That means that the enzymes will be guaranteed to work throughout the entire pH spectrum found along your GI tract. When other brands’ enzyme formulas may fall short or simply not work, our enzymes will be effective in almost all acidic or alkaline environments.

Products You Might Like

Digest Gold™ breaks down your biggest meals. Take daily with each meal to enjoy the foods you love and beat the bloat – with no gas or discomfort!* With bloat-busting, high-potency enzymes, Digest Gold™ is the gold standard for digestive enzymes, as proven by its ongoing status as the number one best-selling enzyme formula in the US for over 10 years and counting. With Thera-blend™ enzymes, it quickly breaks down carbs, fats, fiber and protein. Plus, it prevents that too-full feeling and converts food into fuel with ATPro™ for greater energy!*

Digest™ delivers full-range, everyday enzymes. This formula helps you enjoy the foods you love when taken daily with each meal. It eliminates bloat (for no gas or discomfort)! Digest Complete effectively breaks down carbs, fats, fiber and protein. It speeds digestion and helps absorb nutrients. And it converts daily meals into all-day energy.

Digest Basic™ breaks down the simplest meals – so you can enjoy the foods you love.* Take it daily with each meal to ease bloat (for no gas or discomfort). These essential, easy-on-you enzymes gently and effectively break down fats, fiber, protein, carbs and hard-to-digest foods. Digest Basic prevents indigestion and converts food into vital energy.

Details

Of all enzyme sources—plant, glandular and vegetarian—vegetarian is the most active, or potent. This means they contain more active units and can break down more fat, protein and carbohydrates across a broader range than any other source. This is why vegetarian enzymes make up 80% of the enzyme supplements sold in health food stores today.

Details

Our bodies produce two kinds of enzymes: digestive and metabolic. Digestive enzymes help us to digest food, and metabolic enzymes allow the necessary actions for life to occur in our cells. By allowing our bodies to produce less digestive enzymes, it frees the body up to produce more metabolic ones, helping us to live healthier lives.