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Verywell
Health / Jessica Juliao The human body naturally produces digestive enzymes to break down big food molecules into smaller, easily digestible substances. Many people's bodies generate all the enzymes needed for digestion. But, if you have an enzyme deficiency, you may have trouble breaking down certain foods and experience uncomfortable symptoms like bloating, gas, and diarrhea. A famous example is lactose intolerance, when the body doesn’t make enough of the enzyme lactase to digest lactose (milk sugar). If you are digestively challenged, avoiding the food you don't digest well is the surest way to resolve symptoms. Yet this can be difficult in daily life. Supplemental digestive enzymes, which are forms of enzymes that can help with digestion, can offer relief. However, we don't recommend purchasing random digestive enzyme supplements that other people or companies claim are beneficial—it is important to identify which foods are driving your symptoms and to match a supplement accordingly. Only a limited number of enzyme supplements are backed by evidence to help with specific conditions, and they are not meant for everyone. Work with a healthcare provider to clarify the nature of your discomfort in order to determine whether a digestive enzyme will help you and, if so, which one to take. When selecting the best digestive enzymes to recommend, our registered dietitian (who works specifically with patients with gastrointestinal conditions) considered the most common health conditions that may benefit from supplementation as well as supplement ingredients and effectiveness. Verywell Health Approved Digestive Enzymes
Always speak with a healthcare professional before adding a supplement to your routine to ensure that the supplement is appropriate for your individual needs and which dosage to take. Are Digestive Enzyme Supplements Beneficial?“Digestive enzyme” is an umbrella term that includes many types of enzymes, each with their unique function. If you are experiencing digestive issues, you will only benefit from a digestive enzyme supplement if it contains the enzyme or enzymes that are targeted for your specific condition. The first step in considering whether or not you need a digestive enzyme and which type might benefit you is clarifying what is causing your symptoms. “It's hard to identify intolerances like these yourself,” says Shira Hirshberg MS, RDN, LDN, registered dietitian and founder of All Foods Nutrition. “Meeting with a registered dietitian who specializes in gastrointestinal difficulties can help you identify whether enzyme products might be helpful.” In addition to diet assessment, a variety of medical tests can be performed by a gastroenterologist to pinpoint the issue. For conditions where an over-the-counter enzyme is appropriate, a subset of enzymes has been clinically shown to improve symptoms in these associated conditions:
A digestive enzyme supplement may be beneficial for the following individuals:
For some people, a limited diet while eating out, traveling, or at social functions may be impractical or stressful, while for others long-term dietary restriction is not recommended. For example, those with food intolerances that are in recovery from an eating disorder may benefit from having a digestive aid instead of cutting foods out of their diet, or those that have strong cultural ties to certain foods can benefit from a supplement to help digest a food that is an important part of their diet and heritage. Who May Not Benefit from [Over-the-Counter] Digestive EnzymesIf you do not have digestive symptoms, an enzyme supplement is unlikely to provide a noticeable benefit. Although many products are marketed as improving digestion, there is no evidence for general health or for those who are symptom-free. Some medical conditions require treatment beyond over-the-counter products. Additionally, certain digestive enzyme supplements may not be safe for:
Some conditions require prescription enzyme replacement therapy. “True enzyme replacement therapy is a prescription medication that is FDA approved and tested, and contains much higher doses of the requisite enzymes,” notes gastroenterologist Yevgenia Pashinsky, MD. If you have any of the following conditions, work with a healthcare provider to determine the best treatment option:
In addition, there is no evidence of digestive enzymes to help with the following:
Microbiome Labs Pros
Cons
FODMATE is our top pick to reduce symptoms in people with multiple food intolerances because it contains the three over-the-counter enzymes most studied to improve digestive symptoms in intolerant people. If you have IBS, active (untreated) SIBO, or otherwise have a known intolerance to multiple commonly malabsorbed nutrients (such as lactose, fructose, and galacto-oligosaccharides), FODMATE by Microbiome Labs may be your new best friend. This blend holds great promise for providing dietary freedom to those with more than one FODMAP intolerance. FODMATE's blend contains lactase (for lactose aka milk sugar), xylose isomerase (for fructose sugar), and alpha-galactosidase (for galacto-oligosaccharides). The product contains two extra “bonus” enzymes, inulinase and pectinase, which are thought to help break down additional gas-promoting components of plant foods (though the data is still limited on this). While avoiding FODMAPs is a known way to prevent symptoms of FODMAP intolerance, it requires excluding a wide variety of healthy and tasty foods and can be difficult for travel, daily life, or other circumstances in which dietary restriction is not suitable. Each two-pill serving of FODMATE contains 10,000 ALU of lactase, 1,000 GaIU of xylose isomerase, and a 730-milligram blend of the three additional enzymes to support FODMAP digestion. Since FODMAPs include a wide variety of foods from wheat to beans to onions to watermelon, this digestive aid offers digestively sensitive folk the ability to have complex dishes without needing to take separate enzymes. Price at time of publication: $65 ($1.08 per serving) Active Ingredient: Lactase, alpha-galactosidase, endo- and exo-inulinase, glucose isomerase, pectinase| Form: Capsule | Standard Dosage: 2 capsules Amazon Pros
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There is a limit to how much of the sugar fructose any human can absorb: Our intestines have receptors that attach to fructose and move it through the digestive process. However, humans have varying amounts of these receptors, and if you consume more fructose than you have the capacity to absorb, the unabsorbed fructose can cause gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Pro Natura’s Fructaid enzyme supplement contains the only enzyme known to help improve fructose absorption: glucose (xylose) isomerase. If you consume excess fructose from foods such as honey, agave nectar, mangos, or asparagus (yes, fructose is in some vegetables too), this enzyme helps convert the fructose into more absorbable glucose, which can prevent digestive discomfort in sensitive people. Although Fructaid is not a cure for those with hereditary fructose intolerance, this European-born product can be a ticket to dietary freedom for those with temporary fructose intolerance due to active SIBO, or ongoing fructose intolerance associated with IBS. Many foods that contain fructose also contain other FODMAPs, which this product is not designed for. However, if fructose is your issue, a dose of 130 milligrams of this enzyme has been shown to adequately convert 25 grams of fructose (about the amount in one whole mango or one can of soda). Each Fructaid capsule contains 40 milligrams, so you may need to take four (the standard dose) or more capsules, depending on the fructose content of your meal. Price at time of publication: $25 ($2.22 per serving) Active Ingredient: Glucose (xylose) isomerase | Form: Capsule | Standard Dosage: 4 capsules (160 mg) iHerb Pros
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Histamine intolerance is an emerging area of research with more to uncover for the digestively troubled. Research has shown that histamine intolerance often stems from a deficiency in DAO, the enzyme responsible for degrading histamine. Seeking Health’s Histamine Block offers a dose of 10,000 histamine digesting units (HDUs), which is an exciting prospect for histamine sensitive people who routinely suffer from symptoms often mistakenly diagnosed as IBS and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). While a low-histamine diet is one way to improve things, it can be extremely challenging since histamine occurs in so many foods, from spinach to vinegar to deli meat, and the exact amount is unknown. If you are histamine intolerant, you may be interested to know that oral supplementation of DAO has been shown to significantly improve reactions to dietary histamine, such as watery diarrhea, severe bloating, and abdominal pain. Seeking Health’s Histamine Block comes in a capsule that may improve post-meal reactions and offer dietary freedom. When taken 15 minutes before a histamine-containing meal, this high dose of DAO works to help break down histamine in otherwise delicious and nutritious foods. Although it is still unclear how much someone with histamine intolerance may benefit from DAO supplementation, promising research suggests it’s worth a try. It’s a pricier product to use regularly, so it might be better only for occasional use. Note that this product is pork-derived. Price at time of publication: $33 ($1.10 per serving) Active Ingredient: DAO2 porcine kidney extract | Form: Capsule | Standard Dosage: 1 capsule (10,000 HDU /4.2g DAO2) Costco Pros
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Nearly 70 percent of the world’s population has lactose intolerance—a diagnosable deficiency in the lactose-digesting enzyme, lactase. The frequency of lactose intolerance mixed with the popularity of lactose-rich foods, such as milk, ice cream, and fresh mozzarella cheese, make lactase enzymes a top pick of digestive aid supplements. In fact, among the digestive enzymes available on the market, lactase has been most widely studied, and clinically proven to improve lactose intolerance symptoms such as gas, bloating, nausea, and diarrhea when taken in sufficient doses at the start of a meal. Each Kirkland lactase caplet contains 9,000 ALU (lactase units), which is about the amount needed to digest the lactose in 4.5 cups of milk. Compared to other products that contain 3,000 ALU, Kirkland lactase caplets fit the bill for “extra strength” and are suitable for most lactose-containing meals. When taken at the start of eating, the supplement offers a fast hit of lactase to help digest milk sugar that would otherwise be inadequately digested. Kirkland caplets are a top choice because they do not contain other potential gas-causing ingredients, such as mannitol, which competitor brands often include. Additionally, they are individually wrapped and portable to have on standby for a planned dairy chow-down or surprise lactose-heavy meal. Price at time of publication: $23 ($0.13 per serving) Active Ingredient: Lactase enzyme| Form: Capsules | Standard Dosage: 1 capsule (9,000 ALU) Amazon Pros
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Fiber, by definition, is not digested in humans. We simply lack the enzyme to fully break it down. This is a good thing, in fact, because bacteria in the gut are left to feed on it—a process known as bacterial fermentation—and produce beneficial byproducts. However, one of these byproducts is gas, and some forms of fiber result in larger amounts of it. Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), found in foods like beans, chickpeas, broccoli, cauliflower, and lentils, are one type of highly fermentable fiber. If you eat a lot of these foods, and especially if you have IBS, chronic constipation, or active SIBO, you may notice more digestive distress in response. Research has confirmed that the enzyme alpha-galactosidase, the active ingredient in Bean-zyme, can help break down fiber before it makes its way down to our gut bacteria. Humans do not produce this unique enzyme, which is derived from a food-grade, plant-derived mold called Aspergillus niger, so external supplementation is the only way to go. If you eat a very plant-rich diet, have IBS, constipation (e.g., an intestinal traffic jam), or active SIBO, a Bean-zyme tablet at the start of a GOS-rich meal can prevent bloating and gas that may otherwise accompany the fermentation party in your intestines. Bean-zyme is particularly great for sensitive people because it contains no other “gassy” ingredients (e.g., FODMAPs such as mannitol). Price at time of publication: $14 ($0.09 per serving) Active Ingredient: Alpha-galactosidase | Form: Tablets | Standard Dosage: 1 capsule (400 GalU) iHerb Pros
Digest Gold Enzymedica contains a proprietary blend of 14 digestive enzymes, including the main pancreatic enzymes needed for digestion—proteases (for protein), lipase (for fats), and amylase (for starch). The enzyme doses in Digest Gold are not on par with those in prescription enzymes for pancreatic insufficiency (and are therefore not suited for conditions like exogenous pancreatic insufficiency [EPI] or pancreatitis), but this product offers a significantly higher dose than most general enzyme blends on the market. According to recent research, those with IBS or functional dyspepsia may particularly benefit from supplementing with lipase before consuming fat-rich meals. While studies in humans are small, the higher dose of lipase (4,000 units) may be a helpful remedy if fatty foods tend to provoke your symptoms. Of note, a subset of people with sucrase isomaltase deficiency (SID) may also find a benefit from this product if they are starch intolerant and carefully chewing (for extra amylase production) is not enough to prevent symptoms caused by starchy foods like grains and potatoes. Price at time of publication: $33 ($0.37 per serving) Active Ingredient: Proprietary blend of 14 enzymes| Form: Capsule | Standard Dosage: 1 capsule How We Select SupplementsOur team works hard to be transparent about why we recommend certain supplements; you can read more about our dietary supplement methodology here. We support supplements that are evidence-based and rooted in science. We value certain product attributes that we find to be associated with the highest quality products. We prioritize products that are third-party tested and certified by one of three independent, third party certifiers: USP, NSF, or ConsumerLab. It's important to note that the FDA does not review dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they go to market. Our team of experts has created a detailed, science-backed methodology to choose the supplements we recommend. What to Look for in a Digestive Enzyme SupplementRisks of Digestive EnzymesThere are few risks associated with enzyme supplementation. Known side effects include gastrointestinal discomfort, particularly with increased dosage. As with any commercially available supplement, digestive enzyme products are minimally regulated and can include contaminants and doses that do not match the label or vary across brands. Products with ox and bovine ingredients may present risk of disease transition including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (aka mad cow disease). FormDigestive enzyme supplements can be formulas containing:
Over-the-counter digestive enzymes typically come in one of the following physical forms:
There is no research suggesting greater efficacy of one form of the supplement over another; however, keep in mind that some chewable and flavored products may contain additional ingredients such as sugar alcohols that can cause extra symptoms. Ingredients & Potential InteractionsIt is essential to carefully read the ingredient list and nutrition facts panel of a supplement to know which ingredients and how much of each ingredient is included, relative to the recommended daily value of that ingredient. Please bring the supplement label to your healthcare provider to review the different ingredients contained in the supplement and any potential interactions between these ingredients and other supplements and medications you are taking. Digestive enzymes may be derived from plant or animal sources. If you are vegan, vegetarian, or avoid certain animal products for religious reasons, read product labels carefully. Key ingredients to be aware of:
*Over-the-counter pancreatic enzymes are not the same as the high-dose prescription enzyme replacement needed for pancreatic insufficiency. Some digestive enzyme products may also contain added ingredients such as prebiotics, which can worsen gas and bloating in digestively sensitive people, or sugar alcohols, which can worsen diarrhea. Chewable supplements are more likely to contain one of these ingredients as a sweetener. Prebiotics (avoid for gas and bloating) include:
Sugar alcohols (avoid for diarrhea) include:
Digestive Enzyme DosageDigestive enzyme dosage is not standardized across products, and many enzymes do not have research-based guidelines. However, of the enzymes that have been studied in human digestion, the following dosages have been shown to improve symptoms:
Note that products that contain enzyme blends may contain lower amounts of each enzyme, compared to products that contain only one type of enzyme. If you have poor digestion of a single nutrient, such as lactose or fructose, you may benefit most from a product that contains only the necessary enzyme. If you have multiple intolerances (e.g., lactose and fructose) look for an enzyme that contains adequate doses of each enzyme. How Much Is Too Much?There are generally no established upper limits for over-the-counter enzymes. Unlike prescription enzymes, there is no standard dosing for commercially available digestive enzymes, and guidelines may vary across different products. Additionally, many products contain ingredients that have not been studied in human digestion and therefore have unknown health risks. Of the most researched enzyme products, documented side effects include gastrointestinal upset, such as gas, bloating, and nausea. Products should be used under the guidance of a healthcare provider to minimize the risk of excessive use. High-dose lipase intake, in particular, has been shown to cause damage to the colon walls. When it comes to digestive enzymes, there is no “adjustment period,” so if you find one is not working, or especially if you have an allergic reaction to any supplement, stop taking it. Digestive Enzymes We Do Not RecommendNumerous digestive products advertise enzymes derived from raw fruits and vegetables, as well as some from animal sources, for digestion enhancement. Although these ingredients may facilitate a chemical reaction (breakdown) outside of the human body, the following enzymes lack evidence as digestive remedies in humans:
Tips for Using Digestive Enzymes EffectivelyDigestive enzymes require specific conditions to do their job. A product is most likely to be effective with the following considerations:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Trust Verywell HealthSuzie Finkel, MS, RD, CDN is a nutrition consultant specializing in the nutritional management of digestive problems. She holds a master’s degree in nutrition from Columbia University and has trained in numerous clinical gastroenterology settings. As a GI dietitian, she provides evidence-based nutrition services for a wide array of conditions including enzyme deficiencies. Her goal is to demystify nutrition (mis)information and facilitate digestive comfort. Can digestive enzymes help gain weight?While more research is needed, increasing your lipase levels by taking digestive enzyme supplements could potentially increase fat absorption, thus contributing to weight gain. Lipase may decrease feelings of fullness. On the other hand, decreasing lipase levels can promote weight loss by reducing fat absorption.
Do bodybuilders take digestive enzymes?ARE YOU DRINKING INCOMPLETE WHEY PROTEIN? The benefits of digestive enzymes in bodybuilding are immense because for a bodybuilder premium nutrition is critical for building the muscles and digestive enzymes ensure just that. Digestive enzymes include proteases, lactase, cellulase, lipase and lactase.
Are digestive enzymes good for bulking?Since the digestive enzymes help you digest nutrients like protein, fats, and carbohydrates more efficiently, it only stands to reason that you'll also be absorbing their CALORIES more efficiently. That's good news if you're currently in a bulking phase, but not so good if you're trying to cut calories.
What is the most effective digestive enzyme?Bromelain is one of the best enzymes for digestion. It can be found in pineapple. Bromelain helps aid in the digestion of proteins found in meat, grains, nuts, and cheese. Research also shows bromelain has anti-inflammatory properties and may also support joint health.
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