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December 14, 2010 | Comments: 1

Do You Need Extra Enzymes?

Your body makes and uses thousands of enzymes every day—so it may seem odd that many enzymes are sold as dietary supplements. Is more better?

Enzymes are proteins that regulate virtually every chemical reaction in our bodies and in all living cells everywhere. When secreted in the digestive tract, they help break down carbohydrates, fats, and dietary proteins and detoxify alcohol. Each enzyme is designed to do a specific task. “Proteolytic” enzymes such as pepsin and trypsin work on proteins, amylase on carbohydrates, lipase on fats. When they are not helping to break down compounds, they help syn­thesize them. Some enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), are antioxidants. A common suffix for enzymes is “-ase.”

When enzymes can help

Enzyme-deficiency diseases, often genetic, do exist, and enzyme therapy may be useful. For instance, doctors may prescribe digestive enzymes for pancreatic disease, chronic inflammatory bowel disease, or cystic fibrosis.

If you are lactose intolerant—that is, your body doesn’t produce enough lactase, the enzyme that digests lactose (milk sugar)—a lactase supplement can help ward off indigestion. And then there’s Beano and its generics, which contain enzymes that break down some of the complex sugars in beans and cruciferous vegetables that are hard to digest.   

And when they can’t

But do you need to take enzymes to boost immunity and fight inflammation, as many websites urge? To help your body make up a shortfall of enzymes that, according to the ads, occurs as you age? To ease arthritis? “Improving general wellness” is another claim made for enzyme supplements. Manufacturers assure you that the modern world is destroying your natural enzymes—that toxins are everywhere, and that only by taking something to combat them can you stay healthy or recover your health. Enzyme products may come from the organs of animals or from plants such as papaya.

In fact, very little is known about most enzyme supplements. Moreover, most enzymes that you swallow will be broken down and digested in the stomach or intestines like other proteins. It may be possible to design enzymes that won’t be destroyed by stomach acids; some are enteric-coated for this reason. But despite manufacturers’ claims, there’s no evidence that the enzymes you swallow survive intact long enough to get into the bloodstream and travel to the cells that might need them.

Words to the wise: No enzyme supplement can boost immunity, fight inflammation, quell arthritis, prevent or treat cancer, or improve general health, as some marketers claim. If you have an enzyme-deficiency disease (other than lactose intolerance), you should get medical treatment.

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