The role of digestive enzymes

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Vu Huy Binh - Digestive Endoscopy Doctor - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital
Digestive enzymes are a term that is often confused with probiotics. Many people do not really understand the exact nature and effects of digestive enzymes, so they often add digestive enzymes in the wrong way, causing bad effects on the body.

1. What are digestive enzymes?

Digestive enzymes or enzymes are essentially proteins. These are catalysts for the breakdown of food. Under the action of digestive enzymes, the food is broken down and the bonds in the food become emulsions that help the intestinal lining to be easily absorbed into the bloodstream, nourishing the body. Most of the foods we eat including proteins, lipids, carbohydrates... cannot be absorbed into the blood by themselves, so we need the action of active enzymes to help convert food into nutrients. nutrients that the body can absorb.
Digestive enzymes: Digestive enzymes are secreted from organs in the digestive part of the body such as salivary glands, stomach, pancreas, liver. Each type of digestive enzyme has different functions. The enzyme alpha amylase is secreted by the salivary glands and pancreas to help break down cooked starches into sugars for the body to absorb. Protein digesting enzymes such as: trypsin, chymotrypsin, pepsin enzymes help break down proteins from meat, fish, eggs, milk, etc. to provide to the body. Digestion of fats by lipase enzymes and bile salts produced by the liver. Without these enzymes, the body will be afraid of eating fat, having a bowel movement, bloating, and slow digestion. Some enzymes digest cellulose (fiber) such as cellulose, hemicellulose, phytase, beta-glucanase.. When the body is deficient in a certain type of enzyme, it will lead to a situation where some foods cannot be absorbed by the body, leading to a lack of nutrients and causing indigestion and bloating ... So when the body encounters Something that leads to a lack of digestive enzymes requires some exogenous digestive enzymes from outside.

2. The role of digestive enzymes

Some of the known functions of digestive enzymes include:
Improve intestinal disorders: Digestive enzymes help the body break down food and thereby help the body use nutrients in food more favorable in the intestine. Without digestive enzymes, the foods that are not metabolized and cannot be absorbed by the body will cause malnutrition in elderly people with common manifestations of anorexia, loss of appetite, and indigestion. ; In addition, undigested food will make us feel full, slow digestion, passing raw feces. Thanks to the action of these digestive enzymes, the symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders are reduced, especially in the elderly. Maintain adequate nutrition for the body: In the elderly, organ function declines, so the production of digestive enzymes also decreases. Properly supplementing with digestive enzymes helps elderly people maintain their digestive ability, improve digestion, and increase absorption of important nutrients such as vitamins K, D, and Omega-3. Help improve symptoms of cancer patients: Digestive enzymes have been shown to reduce some of the symptoms of the disease as well as adverse reactions from radiation therapy in patients with colorectal cancer, from that improves the patient's quality of life.

3. Some notes when using digestive enzymes

Only add digestive enzymes when the patient has a deficiency of digestive enzymes because the excess or improper supplementation affects the body, especially for young children. If the child has poor appetite, indigestion, it is necessary to find the cause, not to add digestive enzymes right away. The main task of digestive enzymes is to break down food, so when using it, you should not fast or skip meals or diet too much because it can lead to gastritis, stomach ulcers. Digestive enzymes should be taken during or immediately after meals, not when hungry and away from meals. The duration of use should not last more than 10 days. When used, it can cause some side effects of digestive enzymes such as: allergic reactions, itching and rashes on the skin, stomach pain, digestive disorders such as nausea or vomiting, diarrhea. Avoid supplementing in the wrong way in some people with medical conditions such as: do not use digestive enzymes containing amylase for people with diabetes because it will quickly convert starch into glucose, causing a rapid rise in blood sugar.

Digestive enzymes are substances secreted by the body to help the body easily absorb substances in food, so if used properly, digestive enzymes bring a lot of benefits to the body. Therefore, the use of digestive enzymes should be consulted by a qualified doctor to know the right type of digestive enzyme needed. When having health problems such as prolonged digestive disorders, frequent bloating, slow digestion, you should go to a medical facility for advice, do not arbitrarily buy digestive enzymes for prolonged use.
When you have gastrointestinal problems, you should go to a medical facility to be examined and treated by a specialist, do not arbitrarily buy oral drugs, to avoid causing dangerous side effects.

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