Digestive Enzymes helping with... Chicken, Brocolli, Sweet 'Tatoes, Ect?

[SgtSlaughter]

ALLLLLLL this clean food... all day long (every 2-3 hours)... weeks/months at a time...

For those of you that take digestive enzymes:

In what ways do you feel it helping you directly, ect...?

 

[Lifterforlife]

There is alot of conflicting information as to the viability of using supplemental enzymes, or even probiotics for that matter.

On the one hand, as we age, our bodies may indeed produce less of the enzymes needed.

But, not sure supplemental enzymes or probiotics can survive through the stomach. Really depends....this refers more to probiotics, but still enymes have to go through the same process.

When food leaves the stomach, digestion is completed in the small intestine with the help of the enzymes secreted by the pancreas (lipase, amylase, protease, maltase, trypsin and chymotrypsin). The pH of food mass increases from about 2.0 to 6.5 (still slightly acidic), as it passes from the stomach through the small intestine to the colon. Very few nutrients, except water, is absorbed by the large intestine (colon).

Herein lies a problem....

To reach the intestine, strains must first pass through the stomach, which secretes hydrochloric acid and enzyme. More than two litres of gastric juice is secreted each day, with a pH as low as 1.5 providing a barrier to the entrance into the gut of bacteria. A clear quantitative measurement of the destructive action of this environment was provided in 1987 by Conway et al. They showed, using gastric juice obtained from human volunteers, that strains belonging to species used to produce yogurt(probiotics) were extremely sensitive to killing by gastric juice while enteric species of lactobacilli were more resistant, with significant strain to strain variations.

Another study conducted using human gastric juice (Goldin et al., 1992) showed that L. rhamnosus GG was unable to survive when challenged at pH 1 but there was no loss of viability at pH 3 or higher. In vitro results (Hood and Zottola, 1988; Charteris et al., 1998b) showed that enteric lactobacilli could tolerate exposure to pH 2 for several minutes, while higher pH slightly affected their viable counts and pH 1 was destructive for all of the lactobacilli that were tested.

Her is an example that may be worth thinking about....When adults and older children do not have enough lactase to digest lactose (the sugar in milk) lactose intolerance results and milk cannot be completely digested. But no "enzyme" supplement fixes this, does it?

 

[SgtSlaughter]

L4Life thanks, great read and study reference!

Yeah I'm just curious on what some opinions on them are out there.

Your stance is well understood.

Anybody else?

 

[SgtSlaughter]

When adults and older children do not have enough lactase to digest lactose (the sugar in milk) lactose intolerance results and milk cannot be completely digested. But no "enzyme" supplement fixes this, does it?

This seems HIGHLY unargueable!

So I guess if one was looking to boost the natural output of these enzymes one would have to look into what would stimulate the other organs that assist in this production.

 

[*Bunny*]

L4Life thanks, great read and study reference!

Yeah I'm just curious on what some opinions on them are out there.

Your stance is well understood.

^^ I agree .. My own expereience is mixed.

I found some benefical reading on Digestive Enzymes *here* as well if you're interested.

Previous discussions on the subject directly related to Beano and its effectiveness with broccoli bloating/gassy/full feeling, although I never really noticed MUCH a difference.

I have used a product from Vitamin Shoppe - *Essential Enzymes* that I was the best out of all the others I've tried in the past (GNC, etc) .. but to pinpoint a specific benefit, I honestly cannot think of one ... other than piece of mind I was taking it with every meal while clean eating & cutting last year, and also I felt better, not too full, or bloated, do you know what I mean? That 'random' bloaty feeling wasn't there .. I'm sure you understand.

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Great stuff.. thanks Buns!

Damn, yeah that random bloating is a beotch!

 

[musclemom]

Of course, when it comes to milk, there is that age old argument that human beings are the only mammal that is never weaned

Be that as it may ... there are some probiotics that are specially coated to survive the stomach (Primadophillus is one) and then there are some probiotics that are just totally different, like Primal Defense, that I can tell you for a fact DO make it to the intestines and, particularly for those of us with GI issues, they can really make a difference.

Digestive enzymes MUST help break the food down, else they'd never recommend them for folks with impaired digestion like those with cystic fibrosis. Doctors are pretty dense when it comes to this sort of stuff so something has to work undeniably before they recommend them

The bottom line IMO? The normal, healthy individual under the age of 40 probably doesn't need digestive enzymes, if you have a lot of indigestion, you need to look at your diet, but you should also be taking digestive enzymes with every meal. However, good probiotics are something we should all keep on hand. Every so often I'll put my husband and myself on a cycle of probiotics in addition to primal defense, which we take every day.

Alternative medicine has a theory that disease begins in the intestines, and it goes further than just regular elimination, but even that our immune system is based OUT of our guts, interesting concept ...

 

[*Bunny*]

Of course, when it comes to milk, there is that age old argument that human beings are the only mammal that is never weaned

Be that as it may ... there are some probiotics that are specially coated to survive the stomach (Primadophillus is one) and then there are some probiotics that are just totally different, like Primal Defense, that I can tell you for a fact DO make it to the intestines and, particularly for those of us with GI issues, they can really make a difference.

Digestive enzymes MUST help break the food down, else they'd never recommend them for folks with impaired digestion like those with cystic fibrosis. Doctors are pretty dense when it comes to this sort of stuff so something has to work undeniably before they recommend them

The bottom line IMO? The normal, healthy individual under the age of 40 probably doesn't need digestive enzymes, if you have a lot of indigestion, you need to look at your diet, but you should also be taking digestive enzymes with every meal. However, good probiotics are something we should all keep on hand. Every so often I'll put my husband and myself on a cycle of probiotics in addition to primal defense, which we take every day.

Alternative medicine has a theory that disease begins in the intestines, and it goes further than just regular elimination, but even that our immune system is based OUT of our guts, interesting concept ...

Anyone tell you that you are fabulous today?

 

[SgtSlaughter]

excellent post... i'll have to research the coated tabs!

 

[alex2678]

I still love using ginger, either fresh or in powder form. Whether or not it helps to increase the digestion of proteins or not remains to be proven completely; but anytime I have a stomache ache for whatever reason, a heaping tablespoon of ginger powder in water gets rid of it better than anything else. One of my favorites for just about everything.