Digestive Enzymes and Hydrochloric Acid: 2 Must Have’s For Efficient Digestion

Digestive Enzymes and Hydrochloric acid are crucial to a properly functioning digestive system.  Enzymes begin to assist digestion as soon as food hits the mouth, and continue their work throughout the digestive process.  Hydrochloric Acid, more widely known as stomach acid begins the digestion of protein.  Without it our stomach would be susceptible to build up of bad bacteria and yeast. 

Enzymes Amylase and Lipase are found in saliva and begin the breakdown process on carbs and fat that has been consumed.   Other live enzymes include Protease, Cellulase, Maltase, Lactase, Sucrase and many more.  They all have duties somewhere along the digestive tract beginning from the mouth on through the stomach or small intestine where the majority of their work takes place.  By supplementing enzymes, it helps your body create even more natural enzymes, which in turn helps food digestion.  When they outnumber the bad bacteria, food can be digested more completely and efficiently.  Digestive Enzymes seem to decrease with age, so they become more important as you get older.

In addition to lowered enzymes in the body, lack of enough hydrochloric acid is the number one cause of stomach discomfort.  Most forms of stomach aches due to rough digestion can be solved with one supplement, Betaine Hydrochloride.  Beta Hydrochloride is a stable, more tolerable way to add hydrochloric acid to one’s stomach acid.  Hydrochloric acid doesn’t actually assist in digestion but aids in the digestion process, which is why the stable form helps in both digestion and digestion preparation. Often, Betaine HCL is paired with enzymes to provide a more complete and helpful digestion like in SOLARAY’s HCL with Pepsin. Pepsin, like the others, helps with the break down of protein, specifically poultry and eggs.

Bromelain helps first and foremost with the digestion of proteins. Especially as people age, hormones and enzymes are produced less and less naturally in the body. This makes it harder on the stomach to comfortably handle the hours following meals that contain meat or poultry. Bromelain softens and helps break apart protein peptides, making them less harsh on the stomach.  So, if a protein rich meal becomes uncomfortable or painful, there are plenty of supplements that can be taken to ease the discomfort, including the NOW Bromelain 500mg.

With all of the different enzymes that are out there to aid digestion, you could have a bunch of different bottles and pills. Luckily, there are a few reliable, affordable blends that offer complete blends from protein digestion to carbs and sugar such as CompleteGest from Enzymatic Therapy.

The important thing to remember is that Digestive Enzymes are naturally occurring in the body, so Enzyme supplements only add to the benefit our body already receives from them.