Digestive Enzymes

[imisskitkats]

My naturalpath suggest thorne bpp and vitalzyme enzymes to help me digest food. I am gluten and dairy intolerant and get excessive burping after eating ANYTHING. SHe says they are 100% safe and not addictive. My gastroenterologist says that the digestive enzymes are harmful and cause fiberous tissue like scar tissue to clog up in the colon that will eventually cause surgery. Who is right? I need them to eat but I also don't need more colon/digestive problems. I am only 32!

[burdee]

My naturalpath suggest thorne bpp and vitalzyme enzymes to help me digest food. I am gluten and dairy intolerant and get excessive burping after eating ANYTHING. SHe says they are 100% safe and not addictive. My gastroenterologist says that the digestive enzymes are harmful and cause fiberous tissue like scar tissue to clog up in the colon that will eventually cause surgery. Who is right? I need them to eat but I also don't need more colon/digestive problems. I am only 32!

I googled the Thorne BPP product and was very impressed. That addresses hypochloridia (insufficient stomach acid which is much more common than excess stomach acid) and pancreatic insufficiency (which is rarer than hypochloridia, but still occasionally found). Both of those conditions can cause gas and burping after eating. So your ND had a good idea. I was diagnosed with hypochloridia by Heidelberg capsule test and now take betaine hydrochloride with every meal.

HOWEVER, my doc warns people not to use betaine hydrochloride unless they have been tested for stomach acid production (not just how much acid is in the esophagus). If people have H. Pylori which causes ulcers or any other stomach damage, HCl capsules can cause serious problems. The Thorne BP capsules contain about 500mg of HCl each. IF your doctor thinks you have hypochloridia or wants to test you for that, I suggest taking one capsule per meal and really pay attention to how you feel afterward. Even though I was diagnosed with Hypochloridia, I started with 1 capsule per meal and slowly worked up to my current level.

As for the gastro's comments, I don't know where he/she got those ideas. However mainstream docs are greatly influenced by Big Pharma, which opposes anything that can't be patented and sold as a 'drug'. I can only imagine what things pharmaceutical reps say about naturopathic recommended products.

[imisskitkats]

thank you for your reply. I was tested for low stomach acid by a stool sample. I was very low. I feel better when taking the digestive enzymes. No burping what so ever. If I don't take the the burping returns no matter what I eat. So it makes me feel like the naturalpath is correct but I am also a little nervous not to listen to the recommendation of my md..

[Gemini]

thank you for your reply. I was tested for low stomach acid by a stool sample. I was very low. I feel better when taking the digestive enzymes. No burping what so ever. If I don't take the the burping returns no matter what I eat. So it makes me feel like the naturalpath is correct but I am also a little nervous not to listen to the recommendation of my md..

Your MD is completely wrong on this and you should not listen to such crazy advice. People who have compromised digestive abilities due to pancreatic insufficiency have to take digestive enzymes or they cannot completely digest their food. I am one of them. It replaces what your body does not make enough of. To say it can cause scarring or other such nonsense sounds like your doctor is either not educated enough on the matter or they are against taking any supplements that may help you feel better. Some doctors are like that...they want you to take RX meds and nothing else. To be honest, if I did everything doctors told me over the years, I would be dead or disabled by now. I take digestive enzymes myself because I have to. If they make your food digest better and get rid of symptoms you have, continue to take them, unless there is a genuine medical reason why you shouldn't.

[burdee]

thank you for your reply. I was tested for low stomach acid by a stool sample. I was very low. I feel better when taking the digestive enzymes. No burping what so ever. If I don't take the the burping returns no matter what I eat. So it makes me feel like the naturalpath is correct but I am also a little nervous not to listen to the recommendation of my md..

I don't think you can diagnose hypochloridia from a stool sample, because the intestinal pH is alkaline. However you can diagnose malabsorption from stool samples (Enterolab includes those in their tests). So maybe your ND prescribed the enzymes after your stool sample indicated malabsorption.

[domesticactivist]

I noticed I am much more comfortable and have much more normal stool and less gas with digestive enzymes. But it says right on the bottle not to take them regularly. I hadn't heard about the scarring your MD talked about and would be interested in knowing why it's something the bottle would say to use sparingly.

[imisskitkats]

interesting. Neither of my enzymes say that. They say to use with each meal. What brand do you take and what type?

[eatmeat4good]

I miss kitkats too...just saying....