Digestive enzymes are crucial in helping our digestive system take the food and liquids we consume and break them down molecules like carbs, proteins, fats and vitamins into even smaller molecules that can be easily absorbed.
There are three main types of digestive enzymes:
Amylases: Break down carbs like starch into simple sugars
Proteases: Break down protein into small peptides and amino acids
Lipases: Break down fat into three fatty acids plus a glycerol molecule
There are other enzymes made in the small intestine, including lactase, maltase and sucrase.
We need to have an optimal balance of these enzymes to maintain healthy digestion and overall wellbeing.
Enzyme Imbalance
The phrase ‘you are what you eat’ bay have its origins back in 1826, but the truth is you are what you digest – more importantly absorb.
If the body is unable to make enough digestive enzymes, food molecules cannot be digested properly. This can lead to digestive disorders like food intolerances and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
If food is our vehicle of supplying our body with energy, then digestive enzymes are the road that lead us to optimal health. Digestive enzymes aren’t just beneficial, they’re vital! They break down food into simple sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, cholesterol (this is a good thing), and nucleic acids essential in the formation of our DNA.
Benefits of digestive enzymes
Help break down difficult-to-digest protein and sugars like gluten, casein and lactose.
Enhance nutrition absorption and prevent nutritional deficiency.
Counteract enzyme inhibitors naturally in foods like peanuts, wheat germ, egg whites, nuts, seeds, beans and potatoes which are common intolerances.
Improve symptoms of acid reflux and IBS.
Getting more digestive enzymes
The best way of getting more digestive enzymes to improve your digestion and nutrient absorption is by eating foods that are high in natural digestive enzymes.
We’ve put together 12 of the best sources for your here.
1. Pineapple
This delicious tropical fruit is definitely more useful than just a garnish to a cocktail. Pineapple contains a protein-digesting enzyme called bromelain. These enzymes are proteases which break down protein into amino acids, aiding digestion and absorption.
Bromelain is usually available as an extract or supplement produced from pineapple stems and cores, rather than the fruit flesh. It’s widely used as a health supplement to help people digest proteins better and treat everything from indigestion, allergies, inflammation and swelling (2) – bromelain has its culinary uses too in helping tenderise meat.
2. Papaya / Pawpaw
Christopher Columbus called papaya the “fruit of the angels”. Like pineapples, papayas also contain enzymes from the proteases group called papain that help digest protein (3).
Papaya has a multitude of other health benefits in addition to being a digestive powerhouse it can help the ease bloating, constipation, IBS and reduce inflammation (4).
3. Mango
Another tropical fruit to get your teeth into. Mangoes contain the digestive enzymes amylases, which break down complex carbs like starch into simple sugars.
Amylase enzymes are also produced by the pancreas and salivary glands. The more we chew our food before swallowing, the more the amylase enzymes in our saliva help break down carbs, helping the digestion process even before food enters our stomach (5).
4. Ginger
Ginger has been used as a culinary spice and naturopathic staple for thousands of years due to its array of healing benefits (6).
Ginger contains the enzyme zingibain, part of the proteases enzymes group, which breaks down proteins into amino acids.
The high antioxidant profile and anti-inflammatory properties of ginger is well-known to treat infections, nausea, regulate blood sugar and ease menstrual pains.
Ginger has been known to help move food faster through the stomach by contractions which reduces the risk of indigestion. Try adding ginger to your dish or sip ginger tea after a meal.
5. Avocados
Avocados are one of the most nutritionally-dense foods on the planet. For many decades they were avoided by fat-fearing dieters, but now people realise this superfood claims healthy benefits far beyond the healthy fats it provides.
In regards to enzymes, avocados are rich in lipase. This enzyme helps digest the fats we eat into smaller molecules, such as fatty acids and glycerol, which can be absorbed and utilised by the body (9).
Avocados are also loaded with vitamins, important trace minerals and have more fibre content and protein than most other fruits.
6. Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is cabbage which has undergone a fermentation process which provides health benefits far beyond those of fresh cabbage. This ancient method of preserving food which can be traced back to the fourth century (10) prior to modern-day refrigeration, freezers or canned foods. Fermentation has been adopted by many cultures by taking vegetables or milk and altering the chemistry to provide a more nutrition food.
Popular in Central Europe, sauerkraut contains a spectrum of digestive enzymes and contains probiotics that have been linked to improvements for digestive symptoms such as IBS, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, bloating, gas and constipation (11, 12, 13, 14).
7. Kimchi
Kimchi, also called gimchi or kimchee, is a traditional Korean food dating back to the 7th century and is made from vegetables and spices.
As with sauerkraut, the fermentation process adds healthy digestive enzymes including proteases, lipases and amylases (15, 16)
Aside from aiding digestion, kimchi has been shown to provide many other health benefits such as lowering cholesterol, cancer, obesity and gastric ulcers (21, 22, 23).
8. Kefir
Kefir is a fermented dairy product (cow, goat or sheep milk) that tastes like a drinkable yogurt. Its unique name comes from the Turkish work “keif,” which means “good feeling.” Kefir is one of the most probiotic-rich foods available, which has been used in European and Asian cultures to treat a variety of health conditions.
It’s made by adding kefir starter “grains”, which are a combination of bacteria and yeast cultures, that digest the natural sugars in milk to make a lightly fermented drink that even lactose intolerant people can drink (17).
The fermented drink produces many digestive enzymes including, lactase (which helps digest lactose, which is often poorly digested) and also contains lipase and proteases enzymes (18, 19, 20).
Adding any of these foods to your diet may help promote digestive health, support better nutrient absorption and provide more energy from the foods you’re eating.
References
1 – http://gut.bmj.com/content/54/suppl_6/1.full
2 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11577981
3 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25705851
4 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23524622
5 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27966720
6 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92775/
7 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18403946
8 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21218090
9 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7865271
10 – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25568828
11 – http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2006.02963.x/full
12 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12788716
13 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25099542
14 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21180611
15 – https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1745-4549.2007.00111.x
16 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28534820
17 – http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/20030530/kefir-helps-lactose-intolerance
18 – http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1517-83822011000200034
19 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25613046
20 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24294220
21 – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24377584
