Leena Watts
Digestive enzymes are essential for breaking down food and absorbing nutrients. They are produced by the body and can be found in saliva, the stomach, small intestine, and pancreas. However, some people may have a deficiency in digestive enzymes, leading to digestive disorders and unpleasant symptoms. While most healthy individuals do not require additional enzymes, those with enzyme insufficiencies may benefit from dietary changes or supplements to improve their digestion and overall health. Enzyme-rich foods include pineapples, papayas, mangoes, honey, bananas, avocados, kefir, sauerkraut, and more. Additionally, lifestyle factors such as stress, diet, and physical exertion can impact enzyme production, so maintaining a balanced lifestyle is crucial.
How to add enzymes to your diet
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Enzyme-rich foods | Pineapple, papaya, mango, honey, banana, avocado, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, kiwifruit, ginger, coconut oil, raw dairy products, sprouted seeds and legumes, soaked nuts |
| Probiotic-rich foods | Kefir, sauerkraut, natto, kimchi, kombucha, tempeh |
| Lifestyle habits | Chew food thoroughly, eat a balanced diet, cut highly processed and fatty foods, reduce stress, exercise regularly, get adequate sleep |
| Supplements | Digestive enzyme supplements, lactase supplements, alpha-galactosidase supplements |
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What You'll Learn
Eat more raw fruits and vegetables
Eating raw fruits and vegetables is a great way to add enzymes to your diet. Enzymes are essential for breaking down food and absorbing nutrients. While our bodies produce some enzymes naturally, we also get them from our diets.
Fruits and vegetables are a vital part of a healthy diet, providing a wide range of vitamins and minerals. Eating them raw ensures that you get the maximum amount of enzymes, as cooking can destroy or alter some of these enzymes and reduce their nutritional content.
- Fill half your plate with raw fruits and vegetables: This ensures you get a variety of vitamins and minerals and helps with weight management. Include canned, fresh, and frozen produce, but be mindful of the sodium and sugar content in canned and frozen options.
- Eat whole fruits: Opt for whole fruits instead of juices, as juices often have added sugar and sodium. If you do choose to juice, stick to 100% fruit or vegetable juice and limit your serving to 1/2 cup.
- Bulk up your meals: Add extra raw vegetables to your sandwiches, soups, stews, sauces, and rice dishes. Try vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, leafy greens, celery, carrots, spinach, and more.
- Prepare raw snacks: Wash and cut raw vegetables like bell peppers, celery, carrots, radishes, and broccoli ahead of time for easy snacking. You can also make raw smoothies with fruit and vegetable juice, nut milk, or cold-pressed oil.
While eating raw fruits and vegetables can be beneficial, it's important to note that cooking also has its advantages. Cooking increases the availability of certain nutrients like lycopene and beta-carotene and helps destroy harmful bacteria. Therefore, it is ideal to include a combination of both raw and cooked foods in your diet to maximise the benefits.
Additionally, be cautious when consuming raw animal products, as they may carry a higher risk of food poisoning. Always wash your produce thoroughly before eating it.
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Try natural sources of enzymes
Digestive enzymes are essential for breaking down food and absorbing nutrients. While the body produces these enzymes naturally, some people may benefit from adding more to their diet. This is especially true for those with digestive disorders or enzyme insufficiencies.
There are a variety of foods that contain natural digestive enzymes and can help improve digestive problems like gas and bloating. These include:
- Fruits: Pineapples, papayas, mangoes, bananas, kiwifruit, and avocados. For example, mangoes and bananas contain amylase, which helps break down starch into smaller, more easily absorbed sugars. Papayas contain papain, which helps break down protein. Avocados contain lipase, which breaks down fat molecules.
- Vegetables: Sauerkraut, or fermented cabbage, is an excellent source of various digestive enzymes.
- Other foods: Honey, especially raw honey, contains amylase and protease. Kefir, a fermented milk beverage, contains lipase, lactase, and proteases. Miso, a Japanese seasoning made from fermented soybeans, is rich in lactases, lipases, proteases, and amylases.
It is worth noting that most healthy people do not need additional enzymes beyond what their bodies produce. A well-balanced diet with fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains is generally sufficient to support digestive health.
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Take supplements
If you are experiencing digestive issues, you may want to consider taking supplements to add enzymes to your diet. However, it is important to note that most healthy people do not need additional enzymes, and a well-balanced diet containing fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains is usually sufficient to support the work of your digestive enzymes.
Over-the-counter supplements
Over-the-counter (OTC) enzyme supplements can be found in pharmacies, health and nutrition stores, and online. They are available in various forms, including pills, powders, and liquids. OTC supplements may contain enzymes such as amylase, lipase, protease, lactase, and alpha-galactosidase. Amylase breaks down carbohydrates into sugar molecules, lipase breaks down fats, protease breaks down proteins, and lactase breaks down lactose, a natural sugar in milk. Alpha-galactosidase helps to break down a type of fiber found in beans, root vegetables, and some dairy products, which can otherwise cause gas and bloating.
It is important to note that OTC enzyme supplements are not regulated by the FDA, and the dosage, ingredients, and enzyme concentration may vary. As such, it is recommended to consult a doctor before taking any supplements, as they can have side effects and may not be suitable for everyone.
Prescription supplements
If you have been diagnosed with an enzyme insufficiency, your doctor may prescribe digestive enzyme supplements to help your body process food and absorb nutrients. The most common FDA-regulated enzyme replacement therapy is pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT), which includes amylase, lipase, and protease.
Magnesium supplements
Magnesium is a co-enzyme, meaning it is necessary for the function of enzymes within the body. Due to depleted soils and nutrient-deficient foods, it can be challenging to obtain adequate magnesium from a modern diet. A high-quality magnesium supplement may be recommended to support enzyme function.
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Avoid certain foods
While it is important to add enzyme-rich foods to your diet, it is also crucial to avoid certain foods that can hinder the absorption of nutrients or negatively impact your digestive health. Here are some foods to avoid to ensure you are getting the most out of your enzyme-rich diet:
Highly Processed and Fatty Foods
Highly processed and fatty foods, especially fried foods, can contribute to gastrointestinal (GI) irritation and other problems. These foods are often harsh on your digestive system and lack the fresh, living enzymes that your body needs. Denhard, a registered dietitian at Johns Hopkins Medicine, recommends cutting down on these foods and opting for a well-balanced diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.
Dairy Products
If you are lactose intolerant, dairy products like milk and ice cream can cause digestive issues. Some people with lactose intolerance choose to avoid dairy completely, while others may opt for lactose-free alternatives or simply reduce their dairy intake. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) can also make it difficult to digest dairy products, as the pancreas may not produce enough enzymes to break down the carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in these foods.
Chewing Gum
Chewing gum can stimulate the unnecessary secretion of digestive enzymes, depleting your enzyme supplies. Additionally, gum often contains a slew of chemicals that can be harmful.
Heated or Processed Honey
Honey is a great source of natural digestive enzymes, but processed or heated honey should be avoided. Heating honey can destroy its beneficial enzymes, so it is best to consume it in its raw form to maximize its digestive benefits.
Foods That Cause Distress
It is important to listen to your body and avoid foods that cause digestive distress. Everyone's body is different, and certain foods may trigger uncomfortable symptoms or food intolerances. By steering clear of these foods, you can help support your digestive health and the optimal functioning of enzymes in your body.
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Reduce stress
While a healthy person does not need to take digestive enzyme supplements, as the best digestive enzymes are those that the body makes naturally, stress can be a factor in enzyme insufficiency. Chronic stress can disrupt the internal synthesis of enzymes, preventing your stomach from efficiently producing stomach acid and digestive enzymes.
To reduce stress, you can take up stress-relieving techniques such as meditation and yoga. These activities can help to calm your mind and body, allowing for more efficient enzyme production.
Stress can also come from your environment, the medications you take, and the food you eat. Pesticides, car pollution, and plastic residues can all disrupt digestion and enzyme production, so it is important to minimise exposure to these compounds.
Certain prescription medications, such as steroids and antibiotics, may also affect your ability to produce digestive enzymes. It is important to use these medications only when necessary and to follow your doctor's recommendations for how long to use them.
Additionally, stress can come from physical sources, such as too much exercise, illness, surgery, a lack of sleep, or daily rhythm disturbances like time-zone travel or working night shifts. These factors can disturb your digestive tract and your body's ability to produce enzymes.
By managing your stress levels and making lifestyle changes, you can help increase the production of digestive enzymes in your body.
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Frequently asked questions
Digestive enzymes help your body break down food and absorb nutrients. They are produced by your digestive system, including the mouth, stomach, and small intestine.
If your body doesn't produce enough digestive enzymes, you may experience digestive issues such as stomachaches, diarrhea, gas, and malnutrition. Adding enzymes to your diet can help relieve these symptoms and improve your overall health.
Many fruits and vegetables are rich in digestive enzymes, including pineapples, papayas, mangoes, honey, bananas, avocados, kiwifruit, and ginger. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha are also good sources of digestive enzymes.
Most healthy people do not need to take digestive enzyme supplements, as the body produces its own enzymes. However, if you have a condition that affects your enzyme production, such as exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) or lactose intolerance, supplements may be beneficial. Always consult your doctor before taking any supplements.
Yes, certain lifestyle changes can help improve your digestive enzyme levels. These include eating more raw foods, chewing your food thoroughly, reducing stress, exercising regularly, and getting adequate sleep.
