Could we all benefit from some extra enzymes?
Over-the-counter digestive enzyme supplements are marketed to help with digestive symptoms like indigestion, bloating, and gas. But can these supplements really help you digest your food better or relieve these symptoms?
Nutrition Diva is hosted by Monica Reinagel. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Hello and welcome to the Nutrition Diva podcast. I’m your host Monica Reinagel and I have a question about digestive enzymes from Jennifer.
But first, a question from Melissa, who wants to know: “Are there supplements that can prevent graying hair? I have seen some for sale on cosmetics websites and I am wondering whether there is any science behind them.”
Yes, and no. I checked out a half-dozen or so supplements or serums that claimed to delay the graying of hair. And many of them cited scientific studies to support their claims. But a closer look at the science left me unconvinced.
Most of the citations had to do with premature graying, that is, people who start to go gray in their 20s, and for whom early graying doesn’t run in the family. (Graying is a highly heritable trait.) Some of these cases of premature graying were eventually linked to deficiencies of certain nutrients, such as copper or B12.
However, for people who are starting to go gray in their 40s or 50s, nutrient deficiency is a much less likely explanation. Accordingly, supplementing with those nutrients isn’t likely to do much for you.
Almost all humans will eventually end up with gray or white hair (unless they end up with no hair). And this is because the production of melanin (the pigment that gives hair its color) tends to decrease with age. Some of these formulas claim to provide nutrients that are essential for the biosynthesis of melanin. Which sounds pretty scientific. But there’s a logical fallacy here.
Imagine a factory full of aging workers who can't build widgets as quickly as they did when they were younger. Bringing more and more raw materials into the factory isn't going to make your elderly workers move any faster. Similarly, loading the body up with melanin precursors won’t necessarily result in higher melanin production.
Once hair has turned gray or white, there’s really nothing you can do to restore its former color, short of dying it. So, the only thing that these products could possibly do is delay the inevitable. If you’re going gray, that will likely continue either way—and there’d be no way to know whether it might have gone quicker without the benefit of one of these supplements. But, color me skeptical.
And now, here’s Jennifer’s question about digestive enzymes:
“My mother, who just turned 80, recently got some advice from a friend, who told her to begin taking digestive enzymes. Her friend says that ‘Obviously, our digestive systems wear out just like the rest of our bodies!’ Is it obvious? I trust you to tell me!”
Over-the-counter digestive enzyme supplements are marketed to help with digestive symptoms like indigestion, bloating, and gas. But can these supplements really help you digest or relieve any of these symptoms? Will they help you get more nutrition from your food?
First, a little background: Enzymes are proteins that enable chemical reactions, and most of the enzymes in our body are ones that we build ourselves. Our DNA contains the instructions for building the many thousands of enzymes that our bodies require to function. Most of these enzymes are involved in cellular metabolism. The rest help us digest our food by breaking down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into smaller pieces so that they can be absorbed.
Digestive enzymes are found in various places throughout your digestive tract: the saliva, stomach, and small intestine. Most of our digestive enzymes are produced by the pancreas and excreted into the small intestine, which is where most digestion and nutrient absorption occurs.
If your pancreas is not producing enough digestive enzymes (a condition referred to as pancreatic insuffiency), you may not digest your food as thoroughly. A mild enzyme insufficiency might cause symptoms like gas or bloating. A severe enzyme deficiency can lead to weight loss and malnutrition. In cases where there is medically diagnosed pancreatic insufficiency, prescription digestive enzyme preparation can be absolutely essential.
But what about everyone else? Could we all benefit from some extra enzymes? And to Jennifer’s question: Does enzyme production decrease with age?
In fact, the production of certain digestive enzymes actually increases with age. So, you don’t necessarily need to start taking digestive enzymes just because you are a certain age.
But, if you have symptoms like indigestion, gas, or bloating, it’s possible that digestive enzymes might help. One study that is frequently cited by people who sell OTC digestive products found that taking a digestive enzyme supplement with a heavy meal notably reduced gas and bloating. However, the product tested in this study is a pharmaceutical-grade supplement that is not available without a prescription. It’s hard to say whether an OTC supplement would produce the same effect.
OCT digestive enzymes are a large (and largely unregulated) category. There are lots of different products containing all kinds of different things—including various types of enzymes but also herbs and other nutrients that are thought to aid digestion. Because they are classified as dietary supplements and not drugs, the manufacturers are not required to prove that these products work or even to test them. As long as they don’t claim to “cure, treat, or prevent” a disease, it’s pretty much the Wild West.
Some of these supplements, for example, claim to break down gluten, allowing people with gluten intolerance to eat wheat without problems. Independent testing on such supplements finds that they are NOT effective in breaking down wheat proteins, so this is certainly not a safe approach for those with celiac disease. Nonetheless, people without celiac disease who believe themselves to be gluten intolerant often report that these supplements help them—but it’s a little hard to explain why.
Symptoms like gas and bloating can be caused by all kinds of different things—some of which have nothing to do with a lack of enzymes. But even in those situations where enzymes might help, you’d need to match the enzyme to the problem.
If, for example, your symptoms are being caused by the complex carbohydrates in legumes or cruciferous vegetables, you’d want a supplement containing an enzyme called alpha-galactosidase. This is the enzyme found in Beano—and it can be very effective in reducing gas from these foods.
If, on the other hand, your symptoms are caused by an inability to digest lactose, then all the alpha-galactosidase in the world isn’t going to help. You’re going to need a supplement containing lactase. Or, you could simply avoid dairy products, which are the only foods that contain lactose.
And if your symptoms are due to incomplete digestion of protein or fats, then you’d want to try a product containing protease or lipase. Because all of this can be hard to guess, most digestive enzyme products just throw the entire kitchen sink in and hope for the best.
Ironically, one of the most promising uses for digestive enzyme supplementation has nothing to do with digestion. A pair of double-blind studies found that a supplement containing protein-digesting enzymes bromelain, trypsin, and rutin (sold in the US as Wobenzym), was as effective in reducing arthritis pain as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat arthritis pain.
The good news is that over-the-counter digestive enzymes appear to be pretty safe when used as directed. If you suspect that your digestive symptoms are due to a lack of enzymes, you could always try one of these supplements and see if it helps. If you decide to try one, look for one that is enterically coated, which increases the likelihood that the enzymes will actually survive their passage through your stomach and arrive intact in the small intestine.
The other good news is that you should know pretty much right away if a supplement is helping. If it doesn’t seem to reduce your symptoms, then there is no point in continuing to take it. But you might want to talk to your doctor to see if any other causes can be identified and remedied.
Before you try a supplement, though, it might be worth trying another approach first. Simply slowing down and chewing your food more thoroughly can increase the activity of the enzymes produced in your body, reduce gas and bloating, improve digestion and increase nutrient absorption. But be careful what you wish for! Digestive enzymes are often marketed as a way to increase nutrient absorption—which sounds like a good thing. But we’re not talking about increasing your absorption of vitamin C or calcium. More complete digestion of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins will allow you to absorb more energy (or calories) from these foods!
You can send your nutrition questions to me at nutrition@quickanddirtytips.com You can also leave me a message at 443-961-6206
If you’re looking for more support for healthy weight management, please check out the tools and resources that are at weighless.life. where our goal is to help people create habits, mindset, and lifestyle that help them weighless without dieting. That’s at weighless.life
Nutrition Diva is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. It's audio-engineered by Nathan Semmes with script editing by Adam Cecil. Thanks also to Morgan Christianson, Holly Hutchings, Davina Tomlin, and Kamryn Lacy.
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