What is the difference between probiotics and digestive enzymes?
Do I need probiotics or digestive enzymes?
The digestive system is dependent on many different organisms and chemicals for normal function. Digestive enzymes aid the digestive process of all sorts of foods and drinks, they spring into action from your very first bite. They break food molecules into small pieces (fats, carbs and protein) just before absorption. Probiotics are live organism in our gut, probiotics main role is to keep the digestive tract function normal, keeping it healthy and clear of bad bacteria. Both digestive enzymes and probiotics have different roles in our gut, working together they achieve a healthy functioning digestive system.
Probiotics
Probiotics are living organisms, there are many different probiotic strains all with many benefits for the gut. They eliminate bad bacteria in the gut which helps reduce the chances of infection after a course of antibiotics. Particular probiotic strains help build a strong immune system and respond to bad bacteria which cause stress in the gut.
Probiotic strains work to build a healthy and efficient environment inside the gut, as they are live organisms they need to survive past the harsh acidity of the stomach. Due to the hectic lifestyle and diets our digestive system is not equipped to counter such toxins which cause inflammation (ibs or constipation). Probiotics do a great job repopulating good bacteria in our gut, probiotic supplements have become ever popular as they survive the stomach acid and released in the small and large intestine.
There are many probiotic strains which come with many benefits, popular probiotic strains help reduce stomach issues such as bloating, indigestion and ibs. They can also help improve immunity and urinary tract, some crowd out bad bacteria and eliminated out of the gut. By combining a number of probiotic strains they form an environment where they can help the digestive system stay healthy and efficient.
Digestive Enzymes
Digestive enzymes are made by our body organs. They are secreted by the salivary glands, stomach and the small intestine. The food we eat will contain minerals and nutrients we need to function. Foods we eat have (fats, carbohydrates and proteins) in them, these need to be broken down so our bodies can digest them. Digestive enzymes are special proteins which help break down large food molecules into smaller digestible molecules.
We need digestive enzymes to break down food, uncooked foods already contains natural food enzymes. When we cook food we kill the majority of the food enzymes meaning they can not aid the digestion in our gut. Eating foods such as salads and fruit are digested better than meats (chicken, fish and pork). When the foods we eat do not have food enzymes our digestive organs give a helping hand and produce digestive enzymes to break down food molecules.
The more we depend on our organs to produce digestive enzymes, the more stress we put them under. The time and energy spent producing digestive enzymes required to digest food results in less time for our organs to rebuild worn or damaged cells and tissues which keep our immune strong.
Digestive enzyme supplements have now become widely available to help digest foods. They come in a variety of formulas to help with a specific digestive issue or just a helping hand. They ease the pressure of organs to produce digestive enzymes and break down fats, carbs or proteins.
