We’ve probably all experienced the symptoms that come with not properly digesting our foods when we eat (even just once or twice) – nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain.
If you’re someone that constantly feels as if their body isn’t properly breaking down their food, or you are aware that your body doesn’t naturally produce digestive enzymes the way it should, it might be time to look at digestive enzyme supplements.
Digestive enzyme supplements can support your body to break down a number of different food groups, from carbohydrates to protein, improving the number of nutrients you absorb and improving your overall level of health.
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to supplementing with digestive enzymes, or you’re looking for the best digestive enzyme supplements on the market, this article has got you!
In this article, I’ll be covering all of the digestive enzyme basics, answering digestive enzyme FAQs, and sharing the best 7 digestive enzymes supplements on the market. So, let’s get started!
What Are Digestive Enzymes and What Do They Do?
Digestive enzymes are proteins that break down the food that you eat and turn nutrients into substances that your digestive system can actually absorb properly.
Digestive enzymes are created naturally within the body, in the stomach, small intestine, and pancreas.
Digestive enzymes allow the digestive system to break down fats, proteins, and carbs that you eat, and allow nutrients to be absorbed through the small intestine and then into the bloodstream.
If you don’t have sufficient digestive enzymes in your body, nutrients are not properly or fully absorbed into your body and therefore, go to waste and are excreted.
Where Are Digestive Enzymes Naturally Found?
As mentioned above, digestive enzymes are naturally produced within the pancreas, stomach, small intestine, and even in the salivary glands.
However, you can also find digestive enzymes within food, specifically pineapples, papayas, bananas, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and ginger.
However, if your body doesn’t naturally produce enough digestive enzymes naturally or you don’t consume enough foods that contain naturally occurring digestive enzymes, taking digestive enzyme supplements might be a good idea.
Who Should and Shouldn’t Supplement Digestive Enzymes?
Although digestive enzymes have become incredibly popular on the supplement market over the last few years, not everyone needs to take digestive enzyme supplements.
The only people that actually need to take digestive enzyme supplements are those that have exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, chronic pancreatitis, benign tumors, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, indigestion, IBS, or ulcerative colitis.
There are also others that should not be taking digestive enzymes! People with diabetes and those taking antacids should not consume digestive enzyme supplements.
What Are The Different Types of Digestive Enzymes?
There are a number of different digestive enzymes and they each break down different types of macromolecules.
These are the most common:
- Lipase helps digest dietary fats
- Protease helps digest proteins
- Amylase helps digest starches
- and lactase helps digest lactose sugar (from dairy)
7 Best Digestive Enzyme Supplements
If you’re looking for digestive enzyme supplements, you might feel overwhelmed – there are a lot of digestive enzyme supplements out there.
But, there’s no need to panic! In this article, I’m going to be letting you in on the 7 best digestive enzyme supplements on the market so that you can shop with ease and choose a supplement that works for you.
1Zenwise Health Daily Digestive Enzymes With Prebiotics & Probiotics
With nearly 40,000 customer reviews on Amazon, the Zenwise Health Daily Digestive Enzymes (With Prebiotics and Probiotics), is one of the most popular digestive enzyme supplements on the market.
This capsule supplement is supposed to promote healthy digestion, boost the immune system, relieve gas, reduce bloating, and offer relief from stomach pain and discomfort.
Each serving of the supplement provides an enzyme blend of an effective enzyme blend of Bromelain, Lactase, Protease, Papain, Lipase, Invertase, Cellulase, and Amylase.
However, it’s not just digestive enzymes this supplement offers, it also contains 1 Billion CFU probiotics, Turmeric, Ginger, Green Papaya, Inulin, Apple Pectin, Bladderwrack, Fennel, and Wakame. All of these ingredients are supposed to further promote gut health!
Unfortunately, only the herbal ingredients within the formula are fully disclosed.
Therefore, it’s unclear how much of the other ingredients, including the digestive enzymes, exist within the formula. This can make it difficult to work out whether the supplement will actually be effective or not.
One bottle of Zenwise Health Daily Digestive Enzymes costs $17.97 and contains 60 servings. This means the cost per serving works out at $0.30. This is a reasonable cost per serving.
Pros
- Incredibly popular – 40,000 customer reviews.
- Low cost.
- Contains other powerful ingredients to help with gut health.
Cons
- Doesn’t have a fully disclosed label and contains proprietary blends.
2Now Super Enzymes Tablets
Now Super Enzymes Tablets is another popular digestive supplement on the market! The capsules contain bromelain, amylase, protease, lipase, ox bile, pancreatin, and papain.
With these digestive enzymes within the capsules, Now Supplements claims that the capsules will support healthy digestion, and optimize nutrient availability.
The majority of the ingredients within the formula are fully disclosed, which is great news when it comes to working out the efficacy of it.
However, unfortunately, the amylase, protease, and lipase within the formula exist within a proprietary blend which is a shame.
However, the capsules are soy-free, made without gluten, and keto-friendly.
One bottle of Now Super Enzyme Tablets costs $19.84 and contains 180 capsules, therefore meaning the cost per serving works out at $0.11, which is incredibly cheap.
Pros
- Variety of digestive enzymes.
- Extremely cheap.
- Made by a popular brand.
Cons
- One proprietary blend containing three digestive enzymes.
3Sunwarrior Enzorb
Sunwarrior Enzorb is a great plant-based digestive enzyme supplement for those that are vegan.
The capsules are supposed to reduce gas, relieve bloating, reduce IBS and leaky gut symptoms, and boost the immune system, as well as support digestion and absorption.
The supplement contains a wide range of enzymes – Amylase, Glucoamylase, Catalase, Lipase, Malt Diastase, AstraGin, Cellulase, Acid Stable Protease, Lipase, Pectinase, Bacterial Amylase, Lactase, and more!
However, unfortunately, all of these digestive enzymes exist within a proprietary blend, meaning it’s unclear how much of each enzyme exists within the formula – this makes working out the efficacy of the formula extremely difficult.
Unlike a lot of digestive enzyme supplements on the market, Sunwarrior Enzorb is vegan-friendly – it’s non-GMO, sugar-free, soy-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
One bottle of Sunwarrior Enzorb costs $34.95 and contains 90 servings, meaning the cost per serving works out a little higher than other supplements on this list, at $0.39.
Pros
- Suitable for vegans.
- Variety of enzymes.
Cons
- Doesn’t have a fully disclosed ingredients label.
4Doctor's Best Digestive Enzymes
Doctor’s Best Digestive Enzymes is a capsule supplement that contains Amylase, Protease, Dipeptidyl-peptidase, Bromelain, Papain, Invertase, Cellulase, Beta-glucanase, Alpha-galactosidase, Hemicellulase, and more.
The capsules also contain 1 Billion CFU probiotics to promote healthy digestion further.
The brand claims that the formula is supposed to support protein digestion, fat digestion, support digestive health and boost overall health.
Although technically the formula has a digestive enzyme blend, the brand does supply information about the amounts of the enzymes within the blend, which is wonderful when it comes to working out the efficacy of the formula.
Doctor’s Best Digestive Enzymes are non-GMO, gluten-free, soy-free, and suitable for vegetarians.
However, it may not be suitable for people with sensitive digestive systems, since there are a number of reviews that state the capsules are too strong and cause side effects.
One bottle of Doctor’s Best Digestive Enzymes costs $17.48 and contains 90 servings, meaning the cost per serving works out at $0.19, which is reasonable!
Pros
- Selection of digestive enzymes.
- Low-cost.
Cons
- Reviews say that it’s too strong and has made a lot of people experience side effects.
5Revly (Amazon Brand) Digestive Enzyme Complex
Revly is a successful Amazon brand that produces a variety of popular supplements, one of which is the Digestive Enzyme Complex.
The capsules contain a variety of digestive enzymes, including Bromelain, Papain, Amylase, Lipase, Protease, Lactase, Cellulase, Hemicellulase, and Microcrystalline cellulose.
The supplement has a fully disclosed ingredients label that shows the amount of each digestive enzyme within the formula, which is extremely useful.
The brand doesn’t provide any information about the benefits associated with the formula, which isn’t great.
However, clearly, the brand assumes that consumers know what the benefits of supplementing with digestive enzymes are.
The capsules are vegetarian and gluten-free.
One bottle of Revly Digestive Enzyme Complex contains 90 capsules, but since it has a serving size of 2 capsules, it contains 45 servings.
One bottle costs $6.99, meaning the cost per serving works out at $0.16.
Pros
- Powerful ingredients.
- Tastes pleasant.
- Vegan and USDA certified organic.
Cons
- More expensive than other sleep related formulas on the market.
- Made up of proprietary blends.
6Onnit Total Gut Health
Although Onnit Total Gut Health isn’t specifically a digestive enzyme supplement, it’s a powerful digestive health supplement that contains digestive enzymes.
The supplements contain 5 strains of probiotics, 2 types of prebiotics, and a wide range of digestive enzymes including Amylase, Protease, Lipase, Cellulase, Pectinase, Bacillus Maltase, Lactase, and more.
This capsule supplement is supposed to reduce bloating and gas, relieve indigestion, ease symptoms of IBS, leaky gut, and constipation.
Onnit is well-known for being a transparent brand, and this supplement’s ingredients label shows the amount of digestive enzymes (as well as other ingredients) within the formula, meaning it’s clear to see if the formula provides a substantial dose of each ingredient.
In addition, the formula is dairy-free, soy-free, caffeine-free, vegan, keto-friendly, and gluten-free.
One 15-serving tub of Onnit Total Gut Health costs $32.26 and therefore, the cost per serving of this supplement is $2.15.
Clearly, this is a very significantly higher cost than other supplements on this list.
So, if you’re on a budget, this might not be the best choice for you.
Pros
- Variety of gut-boosting ingredients, including digestive enzymes.
- Vegan and keto friendly.
- Range of enzymes.
Cons
- Much more expensive than other digestive enzyme supplements.
7Source Naturals Essential Enzymes 500mg Bio-Aligned Multiple Enzyme Supplement
Source Naturals Essential Enzymes is a popular digestive enzyme supplement on the market, although the branding may look a little aged – the supplement has over 3,000 reviews and the brand has been around since 1982.
Therefore, clearly, it stands the test of time!
The formula contains a smaller range of digestive enzymes than other supplements on this list, with only protease, lipase, cellulase, hemicellulase, and lactase.
However, the ingredients label is fully disclosed and therefore it’s clear to see the amounts of the digestive enzymes within the formula.
One 60 serving bottle of Source Naturals Essential Enzymes costs $8.19 and therefore, the cost per serving works out at $0.14, making it incredibly cheap.
Pros
- Disclosed label.
- Low cost.
- Popular and long-standing brand.
Cons
- Fewer ingredients in this supplement than the others.
Frequently Asked Questions About Digestive Enzyme Supplements
Are There Any Side Effects of Digestive Enzymes?
Although not all digestive enzymes will cause side effects, there are side effects associated with taking digestive enzymes. These side effects include abdominal cramps, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and gas.
When Should You Take Digestive Enzymes?
The job of digestive enzymes is to break down macromolecules. So, the best time to take a digestive enzyme supplement is before you eat or whilst you eat.
If you take specific enzymes, you can take them with a meal that contains the intended food source. For example, protease can be taken with protein.
How Should You Store Digestive Enzyme Supplements?
Digestive enzymes should be stored in either a cupboard or on a shelf at a cool, room temperature.
Although it’s often said that digestive enzymes should be kept in either the fridge or freezer, you typically don’t need to unless suggested.
The Last Word
If your someone that doesn’t produce enough digestive enzymes naturally, supplementing with digestive enzymes is a great idea, since they provide essential benefits to your body.
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand digestive enzymes better and give you some great recommendations of the best digestive enzymes supplements out there.
Now, let’s go and improve our digestive enzyme count!
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