Tips to compensate for a digestive enzyme deficiency
Neil Goffart
Neil Goffart
We recently talked about lactic ferments and how they support the wellbeing of the gut flora. But did you know that digestion plays a key role in how well our body works?
And without digestive enzymes, it is simply not possible to digest well.
Types, roles, characteristics: how do you bring digestive enzymes into your diet?
Digestive enzymes are proteins naturally involved in turning food into simpler components the body can absorb. They take part in breaking down proteins, carbohydrates, fats and certain dietary fibres.
Each family of enzymes has a specific role:
In other words, digestive enzymes make the digestive system's work easier by keeping nutrients more accessible. They act alongside other elements that are essential to smooth digestion: chewing, stomach acidity, bile, the gut microbiota, and also certain plants traditionally used to accompany digestive comfort.
Digestion is a gradual process that begins with the very first mouthful. It does not depend on the stomach alone: several organs work together to transform food, absorb nutrients and eliminate what is not used.
1. The mouth: where digestion starts
Digestion begins in the mouth, through chewing. The better food is chewed, the more it is broken up, which then makes the work of the stomach and of the digestive enzymes easier.
Saliva contains salivary amylase in particular, an enzyme that starts breaking down certain carbohydrates. Taking the time to eat slowly is therefore a first simple habit for supporting digestion naturally.
2. The stomach: mixing and transforming food
Once swallowed, food reaches the stomach. There it is mixed with gastric juices, made up in particular of hydrochloric acid and of enzymes such as pepsin, which is involved in protein digestion.
At this stage, certain factors can influence digestive comfort: overly large meals, too much fat, not enough chewing, stress or meals eaten too quickly.
This is also where certain plants, such as ginger, fennel, green anise or coriander, can accompany a routine devoted to digestive comfort.
3. The small intestine: nutrient absorption
After passing through the stomach, the food bolus continues on its way into the small intestine. This is where a large part of the nutrients is absorbed: amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and simple sugars.
The pancreas releases various digestive enzymes, while bile helps emulsify fats. Certain plants such as artichoke or dandelion are often associated with digestive support routines, particularly when the aim is to accompany the elimination functions and comfort after meals.
4. The colon: gut balance and microbiota
The final stage takes place mainly in the colon. Undigested fibres are fermented there by the gut microbiota, a community of micro-organisms that plays an important role in digestive balance.
A regular fibre intake, sufficient hydration, a varied diet and good stress management all help preserve that balance day after day.
Certain plants are traditionally part of post-meal wellbeing routines. That is notably the case for fennel, anise, ginger, coriander, artichoke or dandelion, which you will find as infusions, as extracts or in certain food supplements.
In a natural approach to digestion, these plants can accompany good everyday habits: eating slowly, chewing well, avoiding overly large meals and choosing a varied diet.
Digesting well is about more than avoiding discomfort after meals. Digestion plays a central role in overall wellbeing, because it allows the body to turn food into usable nutrients: amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and simple sugars. These then contribute to the normal working of many of the body's functions, such as energy, gut balance, metabolism or the maintenance of a properly absorbed diet.
Yet in today's society the meal has often become a hurried moment, sometimes taken in front of a screen, between two appointments or in a context of stress. Many people eat too quickly, chew little, skip certain meals or eat richer, more processed and less varied dishes. These habits can make digestive work more demanding for the body.
Taking the time to eat is nevertheless a first essential step in supporting digestion naturally. Chewing breaks food up, mixes it with saliva and prepares the work of the stomach and of the digestive enzymes. A meal eaten calmly also makes it easier to listen to your body's food signals: hunger, fullness, heaviness or comfort after eating.
Restoring the meal as a genuine moment of pause can therefore contribute to smoother digestion. It comes down to simple habits: eating seated, slowing the pace, chewing well, avoiding excessive portions and choosing a varied diet, rich in well-tolerated fibre. Alongside these habits, certain plants associated with digestive routines can accompany comfort after meals and a feeling of lightness.
Even before turning to a food supplement, a number of simple habits can contribute to digestive comfort:
These habits support the smooth running of digestion and fit easily into an everyday routine.
Supporting digestion naturally rests on a simple, overall approach: chewing well, eating slowly, avoiding overly large meals and choosing a varied diet. Digestive enzymes take part in transforming food, but their action also depends on saliva, the stomach, bile and the balance of the gut microbiota.
In everyday life, often paced by stress and meals eaten too quickly, simply finding a genuine moment of pause at the table can already contribute to digestive comfort. Certain plants can also complement a digestive routine, as an infusion, in the diet or as a food supplement. Fennel, for instance, is traditionally used to accompany digestive comfort, while artichoke contributes to supporting digestion and the elimination functions.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Digestive enzymes help break food down into smaller molecules that can then be absorbed by the intestine. Amylase is involved in particular in digesting starch, proteases in digesting proteins and lipases in digesting fats. Digestion begins in the mouth and continues in the stomach and then above all in the small intestine, where pancreatic enzymes play a major role. Bile also takes part in the digestion of fats, even though it is not itself an enzyme.
Yes, but a genuine enzyme deficiency generally corresponds to a specific situation and cannot be inferred from simple discomfort after a meal. Insufficient lactase production may, for example, lead to poor lactose digestion. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, for its part, can sharply reduce the quantity of enzymes needed to digest fats, proteins and carbohydrates, and calls for a specific medical assessment. Bloating, gas or heaviness can have many other causes.
Some clinical studies suggest a potential benefit of multi-enzyme complexes in people with functional dyspepsia, but the results do not allow their use to be generalised to every digestive difficulty. One randomised trial in 40 patients looked at 150 mg/day of DigeZyme® over 60 days and reported an improvement in several digestive scores compared with placebo. The study nevertheless remains small and its authors were linked to the manufacturer of the ingredient.
Yes. Lactase breaks lactose down, and its use even has a specifically authorised European health claim: « lactase enzyme improves lactose digestion in individuals who have difficulty digesting lactose ». That claim is strictly conditional, however: the supplement must provide at least 4,500 FCC units of lactase per dose, with instructions to take it with every lactose-containing meal. As lactose tolerance remains individual, this condition must also be explained to the consumer.
An enzyme complex designed to accompany digestion is generally used in connection with meals, so that the enzymes are present at the same time as the foods they are intended for. The exact timing nevertheless depends on the formulation, and its instructions for use should be followed. For Enzyvits, the current usage advice is 3 capsules a day with a glass of water, spread across meals. In genuine pancreatic insufficiency, medically prescribed enzymes are likewise taken during meals or snacks.
An enzyme complex designed to accompany digestion is generally used in connection with meals, so that the enzymes are present at the same time as the foods they are intended for. The exact timing nevertheless depends on the formulation, and its instructions for use should be followed. For Enzyvits, the current usage advice is 3 capsules a day with a glass of water, spread across meals. In genuine pancreatic insufficiency, medically prescribed enzymes are likewise taken during meals or snacks.
Digestive enzymes and the micro-organisms of the microbiota do not have the same role. Enzymes directly catalyse the breakdown of certain food components, whereas gut bacteria are involved in particular in fermenting substrates that reach the colon. Cellulose illustrates the difference well: humans depend on gut micro-organisms whose enzyme systems can break part of it down. An enzyme complex and a product containing lactic ferments therefore answer two different logics and are not interchangeable.
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