Can Digestive Enzymes Protect You From Gluten? What You Need to Know
7 minute read
Gluten allergies, gluten intolerance, and gluten sensitivity are becoming more common these days, causing thousands of people digestive discomfort and malnutrition. While many products are now available in gluten-free varieties, there is plenty out there that still contains gluten.
Digestive enzymes are known for improving digestion and supporting vital organ function. It now seems they may also be the answer to protecting your from gluten too. Here’s how.
Digestive Enzymes and Gluten
While digestive enzyme supplements do not promote the ability to help digest gluten, they do make a different claim. The enzymes they provide help your body to better break down gluten, which means it should not have the same damaging effects in your digestive tract.
This is by no means a cure for celiac disease, but enzymes are known to boost digestive processes and this can allow you to eat more foods without upset.
There is controversy over whether digestive enzymes prevent gluten reactions and there are limited studies on this. The help you will get from digestive enzymes is that by providing enzymes that you may be deficient in, your overall digestion will improve.
An improved digestive system as a whole is likely to experience less disruption or sensitivity but not guaranteed. It is important to remember that gluten intolerance is serious, and enzymes alone will not fix the situation.
They may serve to provide support to an otherwise weakened digestive system, but ultimately avoiding gluten is the only way to prevent gluten intolerance.
For those who only have mild sensitivity issues, the enzymes may improve digestion enough that the reactions to gluten are not as pronounced due to the more effective breakdown of the compound. By making the gluten easier for your body to process, the negative effects may be minimized.
The Benefits of Digestive Enzymes
Beyond making gluten a little easier to digest, digestive enzymes are essential to your overall digestive health. Their activities even extend beyond the digestive tract, which is why it is important to ensure you support the natural production of these as well as supply additional support from your diet.
By working to enhance digestion, and because your gut health influences overall health, there is much to be gained from high-quality digestive enzyme supplements.
Reduced Inflammation
Inflammation results from indigestion and nothing corrects indigestion better than digestive enzymes. Whatever the reason is for your lack of enzymes, a supplement can help boost levels to ensure digestion is efficiently carried out. As a result, there will be less inflammation triggered which protect your body from several serious diseases.
Better Immunity
Digestive enzymes help you absorb essential nutrients that in turn help boost your immune system. Without a strong immune system supported by nutrients, you can easily fall prey to infections, oxidative damage, inflammation, and even cancer.
Weight Loss
Lipase is a specific digestive enzyme that works to breakdown fat. Without this you are at risk of weight gain. By adding lipase, you can ensure fats are digested and not stored, so you can better control your weight.
Enhanced Metabolic Rate
Digestive enzymes boost your metabolism and research has shown that metabolic rate determines overall health. You get better oxygen flow and better circulation with a more optimal metabolic rate.
Healthy Heart
Digestive enzymes ensure all the heart health nutrients you need are able to get to the heart. In addition to this, lipase breaks down fats, so they do not accumulate and clog your arteries. Clogged arteries lead to high blood pressure as well as heart disease, so reducing fat storage is an essential role for enzymes.
Liver Health
Without the absorption of essential nutrients, your liver is adversely affected. Your liver requires nutrients in order to effectively protect you from toxins and chemicals. By enhancing digestion and absorption, enzymes make sure your liver has all the support it needs.
Joint Pain Relief
Poor digestion is a major contributing factor to systemic inflammation. When your gut is unable to process foods, leaky gut syndrome can occur, which triggers widespread inflammation. This inflammation can worsen joint conditions like arthritis.
On the surface it may not seem that digestive enzymes would impact joint health, but by promoting digestion and gut health, they reduce the inflammation that can cause serious joint pain and immobility.
Healthy Bones
By enhancing nutrient absorption, digestive enzymes make sure that your bones get the vitamin D that is both consumed and made within your body. Studies have found that without proper absorption of this vitamin, your risk for bone fractures and diseases like osteoporosis are significantly increased.
Diabetes Management
An inefficient digestive system can cause excess blood glucose, which is dangerous for diabetics. Equally dangerous is the inability to break down carbohydrates for those with prediabetes. Digestive enzymes play a critical role in making sure the food you eat is well processed and prevents blood sugar spikes that can be damaging for diabetics.
Clear Skin
Digestive enzymes promote a healthy outward appearance too. Healthy skin requires good internal health, and digestive enzymes make sure your skin gets the nutrients it needs and reduces toxins by ensuring all food is appropriately broken down and digested.
| Related: How Best to Add Digestive Enzymes to Your Diet |
Outside of a high-quality digestive enzyme supplement, the top food sources for digestive enzymes include:
♦ Avocado
♦ Banana
♦ Honey
♦ Mango
♦ Papaya
♦ Pineapple
♦ Turmeric
♦ Watermelon
There may be mixed results as to whether digestive enzymes help with gluten intolerance, but there are definitely positive reasons to add digestive enzymes to your diet.
Your body is capable of making several of these, but as you get older, production begins to decline. By providing supplements or getting enzymes from natural food sources you can give your body a much deserved break from producing these.
The Bottom Line
Gluten intolerance is on the rise, with many people developing a serious form of allergy known as celiac disease. Digestive enzymes may allow more efficient breakdown of gluten and minimize reactions, but there is no way to know for certain that this is the best solution.
Digestive enzymes, however, are important to your digestion and overall health. Keeping your levels up is one way to promote your healthiest self.
