When it comes to gut health, we often hear about leaky gut and the gut microbiome, but there’s one crucial component that doesn’t get enough attention: digestive enzymes.
You could be eating all the nutrient-rich foods, but if your digestive enzymes aren’t working properly, you might as well be flushing those nutrients down the toilet!
What are digestive enzymes?
Digestive enzymes are proteins that your body produces to control chemical reactions. They speed up the breakdown of food into absorbable nutrients, ensuring that your body can actually use all the good stuff you’re feeding it.
What causes low digestive enzymes?
Now, there’s a whole circus of factors that can mess with your digestive enzyme production, leaving you feeling less than stellar.
🔥 Inflammation: Inflammation impacts the pancreas’ ability to produce the enzymes and disrupts the brush border of the intestine. Drivers of inflammation include food intolerances and leaky gut, bacterial overgrowth, candida infection and Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria in your stomach lining that can lead to ulcers and cancer.
👵 Ageing: your body naturally produces fewer digestive enzymes as you age
📉 Low stomach acid: Low levels of stomach acid and pepsin will also lead to low pancreatic enzymes as they help to stimulate the pancreas to release digestive enzymes
📈 Stress: High stress shifts the body from a restful state to a “fight or flight” mode, prioritizing immediate needs over digestion. This diversion of energy away from the digestive system can impair enzyme production.
Taking antacids can inactivate proteases by raising the pH in the stomach.
How to increase your digestive enzymes?
Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do to give your digestive enzymes the boost they need. Check out these easy-peasy tips:
- Chew, chew, chew: Take your time with each bite and chew your food thoroughly—aim for around 20 chews per mouthful or until it is like mashed potato. Not only does this help break down your food physically, but it also sends signals to your stomach to kickstart the enzyme production process.
- Watch the liquids: Try not to guzzle down a big glass of water with your meals. Drinking too much liquid around mealtimes can dilute your digestive juices, making them less effective.
- Mix it up: Make sure your plate is a colorful mix of raw and cooked goodies. Raw foods like papaya, pineapple, and avocado are rich in digestive enzymes, while cooked foods provide essential nutrients for enzyme production.
- Get your protein and zinc: Fuel your body with protein-rich foods like quinoa, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Zinc-rich foods like nuts, seeds, and veggies are also essential for enzyme production and stress management.
- Bitter is better: Don’t shy away from bitter foods like arugula/rocket, dandelion leaves and peppermint—they’re great for stimulating digestive enzymes.
- Address food intolerances: If you suspect food intolerances are throwing a wrench in your digestion, try eliminating suspects for a few weeks to help you identify them. Common culprits include gluten, dairy, eggs, and fructose.
- Give fasting a go: Experiment with intermittent fasting such as the 16:8 or 5:2 diet, or avoid snacking between meals. Fasting can trigger the release of secretin (a hormone) that stimulates enzyme production.
- Stress less: Stress can put a damper on your digestive mojo, so find ways to unwind and chill out. Whether it’s through exercise, deep breathing, or a leisurely stroll in nature, make time to de-stress and give your gut a break.
- Take digestive enzyme supplements: Digestive enzyme supplementation can help out when your enzymes are low or to target a specific deficiency. Plant-based enzymes such as bromelain or papain are more shelf-stable and easier for those with sensitive immune systems to tolerate