Digestive health issues are moving to the forefront of American medicine, and for good reason. According to the American Gastroenterological Association, about 81 million chronic digestive health cases are reported each year. These conditions range from heartburn to abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea and gastroesophageal reflux disease. To combat these problems, consumers and healthcare providers are turning in greater frequency to dietary enzymes, naturally occurring bacteria and herbal supplements. The Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) reports that digestive health products have been undergoing double-digit growth recently, with sales up 15% in 2003 and 10% in 2004. According to SPINS data, the total sales for this current year for the Digestive Aids and Enzymes Category (including cleansing and organ supplement herbal formulas) is over $213 million, up 11% from last year.
"Everything starts in the gut," says Tara Levy, N.D., president of the California Naturopathic Doctors Association and one of the first licensed naturopathic doctors in the state.
Levy considers dietary enzymes to be the first weapon in her arsenal of supplements to improve the digestive health of her patients. Digestive enzymes are an up-and-coming area of dietary supplementation, with a 14% increase in sales in 2004 (NBJ).
The basic food-digesting enzymes are protease for proteins, lipase for fats and amylase for carbohydrates. Although everybody has these present in their digestive systems, the amounts of the particular enzymes vary by individual. "Just as everything starts in the gut, enzymes are important because, for many of us, our enzyme production decreases as we age," explains Levy. In addition to age, genetics and lifestyle factors also can influence the amounts of enzymes present, and low amounts of a particular enzyme can lead to digestive distress.
A well-documented example of "enzyme deficiency," or low levels of a particular enzyme, is lactose intolerance. It is especially common among people of African or Asian origin. Some have estimated that as many as 75% of all African-Americans and Native Americans, as well as 90% of Asian-Americans are lactose intolerant to some extent. Additionally, about 30-50 million Americans also are considered lactose intolerant. These people lack or have low levels of the enzyme lactase, which digests milk sugars known as lactose. Lactase deficiency may result in gas, bloating, cramping and diarrhea. Lactase supplementation can halt these symptoms when lactose-containing dairy products are consumed.
One of the most popular digestive enzymes on the market is papaya enzymes, commonly available as chewable tablets. But according to Tom Bohager, president and founder of Enzymedica, which produces a line of high-quality enzyme products, there are vast differences between enzyme products and brands on the market. "Enzymedica makes a popular digestive enzyme product that does not contain papain (the protease enzyme in papaya enzyme products) because papain is not very active at normal pH ranges found in the digestive tract. Papain, rather, is more active at sights of inflammation and, therefore, Enzymedica includes it in our athletic recovery and repair product, called Repair. Enzymedica's digestion product, Digest Gold, contains a blend of various proteases, amylases and lipases that are active at pH ranges likely to be found in the digestive tract," Bohager says.
Supplemental enzymes also provide systemic health support, help combat inflammation and enhance the efficiency of the immune system. According to Harry Friedman, D.O., from the Asante Health Center, enzyme nutrition therapy is a "valuable resource that is often overlooked for cases of inflammation, particularly in chronic arthritis and sports injuries." He explains that enzymes play a crucial role in clearing inflammation from the body and work on a biological level to heal inflammation. Once the enzymes have helped clear cellular debris and inflammatory substances, the repair process can proceed more efficiently and quickly.