Digestive Enzymes

[Ennis-TX]

I thought I would bring up a interesting topic of digestion enzymes. I myself have issues with digestive enzymes for me my issues spike in the evenings, it gets so bad in the lat day, that my dinner has to be a smoothies, porridge, shake, or super soft with no hard solids in it. Other wise I puke it up, I also find that I can not digest red meats, or poultry, and fish and crab can be consumed early in the day but not afternoon, and many times they pass through undigested. I started taking Jarrow Enzymes Plus and extra Jarrow Bromelain to deal with digesting my foods, failure to do so means puking up said food 3-6hours later. PS if it floats on top of my stomach it is going to come back up since it can not be broken down, when it starts going rancid it comes back up.
Amusingly Cooking our food super soft, and easy to digest also neutralizes the natural enzymes in said foods making them a double edge sword of easier on our stomach, less abrasive, and seemingly easier to digest. But requiring our body to put out more enzymes from our pancreas to break them town tapping into our own reserves and in many cases is not enough. This leads to malabsortion of nutrients and compounds issues for those of us with celiac disease, colitis, etc.
I did some research and am going to paste some information I have found from various sources about enzymes and how they effect the body.

Are you suffering from malnutrition? If you are suffering from digestive enzyme deficiency, there’s a good chance you are. It’s hard to believe someone who eats three full, healthy meals a day and takes a multivitamin every morning could be malnourished. But it’s more than possible, especially if your digestive system doesn’t get the enzymes it needs to fully do its job. Digestive enzymes take the foods we eat and break them down into the nutrients our bodies need to stay strong and healthy. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t always produce enough enzymes to digest food properly.

Even if you eat properly, being careful to consume nutrient-rich foods every day, it won’t do you much good if your body can’t make the best of those nutrients. Also, your body can’t digest food properly without enough enzymes. Not only can improperly digested food seep into the bloodstream and adversely affect on your immune system, it can also gather in the bowels and become toxic, which can result in many ailments and diseases.
Also, if you find yourself craving certain foods, this can be a sign that you are suffering from digestive enzyme deficiencies. Food cravings are often your body’s way of telling you that you aren’t getting enough of something it needs. Chronic enzyme deficiencies have been linked to a variety of health problems, including:

    Acne
    Allergies
    Arthritis
    Chronic Fatigue
    Depression
    Hay Fever
    Heart Problems
    Hypoglycemia
    PMS
    Psoriasis
    Sinus Infections
    The Common Cold

Making sure your digestive system gets the enzymes it needs to digest food properly is one way to put an end to minor ailments, prevent more serious health problems, and improve your overall health.

Protease deficiencies:

With a protease deficiency the body lacks protein. A lack of protein can result in poor absorption of calcium as the blood needs protein to do this. The longer effects can result in brittle bones, osteoporosis, arthritis, sore and painful joints and ear infections. Undigested proteins, especially from meat, lead to an over acidic and toxic digestive tract. This can lead to a range of symptoms from indigestion, bloated stomach, excessive gas and inflammation of the colon. The long term impact can result in the chronic digestive disorders colitis, Crohns disease and an increased risk of colon cancer. Protease has an active role in cleansing the blood of waste, bacteria and viruses. With a deficiency your immune system is weakened and compromised exposing you to more yeast and gastrointestinal infections and disease.

Other protease deficiency symptoms include

• water retention
• PMS
• lack of sleep
• candida
• constipation
• low blood sugar

Amylase deficiencies:

Amylase is the enzyme that digests carbohydrates and converts them in to glucose. Glucose is the fuel that provides us with energy. If you are deficient in amylase there is a high possibility your diet consists of too much carbohydrates. Amylase plays a role in controlling the inflammatory responses to the  allergic reactions. Therefore,  a lack of amylase can increase occurrences of the skin conditions eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and allergic reactions to insects stings.

Symptoms can include;

• bacterial infections that do not respond to antibiotics
• sore and stiff joints
• high blood pressure
• poor blood circulation – cold hands and feet
• mood swings
• chronic fatigue

Lipase deficiencies

Lipase is the fat digester. If your deficient in lipase you have an increased risk of becoming overweight and diabetic. Fat is the hardest of all foods to digest and with a lipase deficiency high fat foods are the ones you  need to avoid. This enzyme has an important role in helping cells absorb nutrients and dispel waste. With a lipase deficiency  cells are unable to obtain the nutrients they need and toxic waste builds up because it cannot escape. This can lead to complications with diabetes and also cause symptoms such as chronic fatigue.

Other symptoms include;

• diarrhea
• bloating
• cystitis
• muscular pain

 

[desirun]

great post.

[Ennis-TX]

I have been using Jarrow enzymes for awhile but find them to be missing some others. I recently found this one company that has a good blend with it, I emailed them and got a response that they are gluten free. They even have a sale on right now if you buy several bottles and a 10% off. Thinking it might help with my digesting since my pancreas is not working right.......overly optimistic wondering if I can handle more meats, and some of my tolerance issues might resolve. I love the fact they are supposed to work in even higher PH acid, so those of us with low stomach acid will still benefit to some degree. 
https://www.silverfernbrand.com/products/digestive-enzyme

[Ennis-TX]

Thing I had to consider recently that you should review before getting digestive enzymes. My pancreas does not seem to work at all, and I had to break down my enzyme dosing by my food. Calculate your Carbs, Protein, and Fats. consider the 3 main digestive enzymes and what they break down at what doses

• One USP unit of Lipase activity digests 1 mg uEq. of fatty acid per minute at the pH of 9.0 at 37°C
• One USP unit of Amylase activity digests 1 mg of dry USP potato starch
• One USP unit of Protease activity digests 1 mg of casein (milk protein)
  
  As someone who is on a Keto or Atkins diet I found the ratio of lipase I needed to break down my meals required 4-6 pills Jarrow enzymes average for the lipease but the unneeded amounts of others seem to cause secondary issues and makes more more sensitive to spikes with glucose.
  I am looking at this brand which offers enzyme blends based on your diet and lifestyle but comes to a higher price. https://www.amazon.com/Real-ZymesTM-Digestive-Supplement-Probiotics-Digestion/dp/B07B9J56G8/

[lfortson]

Thank you for all of the suggestions and information.  I will see a lot of the symptoms that I have that I didn't mention listed caused by lack of certain enzymes.  I have blood tests every 3 months. That is when I noticed my cholesterol, etc. not in check.  I eat too many carbohydrates because it causes less diarrhea than a lot of vegetables.  But in talking to 3 of my sisters they are already on medication for the problem.   One has Celiacs the other has Sjorgrens which I also have.  I'm concerned about the Crohns.  When the doctor did my DNA test it came back with Celiacs and Crohns.  I don't have those symptoms to date but you never know what's around the corner.  Thank you for your time and I wish you the best you can be. Linda