You’ve cleaned up your diet, focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables, organic when possible, lean meats, non-GMO options, with no artificial ingredients or preservatives, while avoiding sugar like the plague. All this for weight control and optimal health. Congratulations. However, equally important—perhaps even more so—than what you eat is what your body actually digests. Your clean diet won’t serve you if you can’t properly digest and absorb the vitamins and nutrients from the foods you consume. That’s where digestive enzymes come in. So, what are the best digestive enzymes, and which one is right for you? Let’s explore!
The Role Of The Digestive System
Digestion and absorption of foods—the breaking down of nutrients into small molecules—occurs within our digestive system. Digestion is a complex process that converts food into energy and waste products, providing the energy required for all bodily processes. The process takes place in the gastrointestinal tract, a long, connected tubular structure extending from the mouth to the anus.
Food travels through the system, where enzymes and hormones break it down into usable particles—carbohydrates, proteins, and fats—that are absorbed along the way. Once nutrients are broken into sufficiently small molecules, they pass through the small intestine wall into the bloodstream and are delivered throughout the body. Our body handles this process remarkably efficiently without conscious effort on our part.
When you experience heartburn, indigestion, or acid reflux, this process isn’t operating optimally, possibly due to insufficient digestive enzymes. As we age, our bodies naturally produce fewer digestive enzymes. Compounding this issue, decades of farming practices have depleted the soil’s vitamin and mineral content, meaning fewer of these crucial micronutrients reach the foods we eat.
What Are Digestive Enzymes?
Naturally occurring digestive enzymes help break down food so we can absorb nutrients effectively. They are a group of enzymes responsible for breaking down macromolecules into smaller building blocks for absorption. The major enzyme-producing organs in the human body are the:
- Salivary glands
- Stomach
- Pancreas
- Liver
- Small intestine
Here are the three primary types of digestive enzymes and their target nutrients:
- Lipases – fats and oils
- Proteases – proteins
- Amylases – carbohydrates such as starch and sugars
When the body cannot produce sufficient digestive enzymes naturally, food molecules aren’t digested properly. This can slow digestion and lead to uncomfortable symptoms such as lactose intolerance.
What Are Digestive Enzyme Supplements?
Digestive enzyme supplements are nutritional products, typically in capsule or chewable form, containing a combination of different digestive enzymes. Many popular brands, such as Nucific Bio-X4, also include probiotics to support beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. A typical enzyme blend might consist of:
- Lipase
- Protease
- Amylase
- Cellulase
- Bromelain
- Papain
Enzyme supplements are known to provide relatively quick relief when consuming foods that commonly irritate the stomach.
In this article, we’ll detail what to look for in a digestive enzyme supplement, discuss the purported benefits, and provide an unbiased assessment of their efficacy. We’ll also recommend several brands with formulas supported by scientific research.
Benefits Of Taking Digestive Enzyme Supplements
If you suffer from gas, bloating, heartburn, indigestion, diarrhea, or acid reflux, digestive enzymes may provide relief. Clinical studies indicate that multienzyme blends effectively address symptoms such as flatulence, bloating, belching, fullness, and postprandial distress in participants.
Additional benefits include:
- Increased energy through better food utilization
- A healthy inflammatory response
- May influence body weight
Supplement manufacturers often include these benefits in their marketing:
- Prevention of leaky gut
- Better mental focus
- Reduced anxiety
- Reduced IBS symptoms
- Clearer
We remain skeptical about these purported benefits, although there’s significant interest in better understanding the gut-brain connection. According to the FDA, claiming to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition or its symptoms with a supplement is strictly prohibited.
Will Digestive Enzymes Work for Me?
Every person’s body is unique, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for addressing digestive issues. However, both anecdotal evidence and scientific studies show that broad-spectrum digestive enzymes can effectively address many of the digestive problems discussed in this article. Additionally, we have personal experience with some of these issues and are favorably impressed with our body’s response when using digestive supplements.
Digestive Enzyme Supplement Alternatives
Most people first turn to over-the-counter antacids when experiencing heartburn. While antacids provide fast, short-term relief, they don’t address the underlying problem.
If symptoms persist, the next step is consulting your medical professional. Their initial recommendations will likely focus on lifestyle and dietary changes: regular exercise, avoiding nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), reducing coffee consumption, and eliminating high-fat foods, alcohol, and tobacco. Another option is prescription-strength enzymes if your doctor determines you have a digestive enzyme deficiency.
Alternatively, you may also consider taking fiber supplements like Colon Broom.
Will My Body Still Make Its Own Digestive Enzymes?
When using digestive enzyme supplements, your body continues creating them naturally. You won’t become dependent on digestive enzymes, but they’ll boost your body’s natural digestion when needed.
Do Digestive Enzyme Supplements Really Work?
Harvard Health reports that recent marketing research expects global digestive enzyme sales to reach $1.6 billion by 2025. They caution, “But don’t be too quick to reach for them. Some of them are clearly beneficial in certain situations. But enzyme supplements also are often used in situations where there is little evidence that they do any good.”
One common objection to supplementation is that the body can produce all necessary digestive enzymes. We counter that stress, poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle choices, and a nutrient-depleted food supply can create enzyme shortages and provide strong rationale for supplementation.
Best Digestive Enzyme Supplements
When selecting the best enzyme supplements, we followed these criteria:
- First, we ensured products are manufactured in certified cGMP facilities (Good Manufacturing Practices)
- We sought full-spectrum blends including clinically proven enzymes; Lipase, Protease, Amylase, Cellulase, Bromelain, and Papain
- We prioritized brands using plant-based enzymes where feasible
- We demanded transparency – products listing each enzyme’s dosage, with no proprietary blends
- We selected companies with independent third-party quality testing
- Each recommended brand offers a money-back guarantee, demonstrating manufacturer confidence in their product
Here are our picks for your consideration. Note: we have no bias or affiliation with any of these products:
Renew Life DigestMore Ultra Enzymes
First, we love the company. Renew Life was acquired in 2016 by the Clorox Company, owned by Proctor & Gamble. Renew Life earns our trust through their ethical business practices. They’re very conservative with structure-function claims, and we assure you, any claims they make are substantiated by science—Clorox wouldn’t allow otherwise.
The product contains naturally derived, plant-based enzymes in a full-spectrum blend featuring Protease, Cellulase, Amylase, Lipase, Lactase, and Invertase. While proprietary blends are included, individual component dosages are clearly indicated on the package. The company also produces a probiotic product, called Renew Life Probiotics. All Renew Life products are manufactured in U.S. certified cGMP facilities.
Customer reviews consistently praise its effectiveness.
GET THE BEST PRICE ON RENEW LIFENow Super Enzymes
Another company we trust. Now has operated as a family-owned Midwestern company since 1968. Their manufacturing facility is naturally cGMP certified. Notice the transparency in the Supplement Facts panel shown. Each ingredient is identified with its dosage clearly indicated, featuring a broad spectrum of enzymes including those with the most clinical trials.
This soy-free, gluten-free, and keto-friendly product offers excellent value at under $20 for a thirty-day supply.
Garden of Life, Dr. Formulated Enzymes Organic Digest +
Another nationally recognized brand, Garden of Life features products formulated by Dr. David Perlmutter, a board-certified neurologist and human microbiome expert. Beyond a broad-spectrum plant-based formula, this product contains a proprietary blend of twenty-nine different organic fruits and vegetables. Yes, it includes a proprietary blend; however, each enzyme is identified with its dosage clearly shown in the Supplement Facts panel.
This selection is a delicious Tropical Fruit Punch chewable taken after meals and is gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free.
For Added Gut Health Try Stacking your Enzymes with a Probiotic
Each of our recommendations comes from companies specializing in digestive health, marketing probiotics alongside digestive enzymes. We highly recommend combining a probiotic product with your enzymes for enhanced gut health support. Need help finding a quality option? Use our guide to the best probiotic supplements.
To Summarize: Do Digestive Enzyme Supplements Work?
If you experience occasional bloating, gas, or heartburn, we believe digestive enzyme supplementation is appropriate. Start with a minimal dose and adjust based on your tolerance. While digestive enzymes are generally considered safe, their side effects can mirror the symptoms you’re treating.
If you decide to take enzymes, we highly recommend choosing a reputable company and brand like those in our selections—one that’s scientifically formulated, quality tested, and backed by a money-back guarantee.
