Digestive Enzymes to the Rescue

Managing your diet is easier at home, but travel can add a layer of unpredictability. When you’re dining out, grabbing food on the go, or navigating unfamiliar menus, digestive enzymes offer extra support by helping your body break down hard-to-digest ingredients. Whether you’re managing a sensitive gut or sticking to a special diet, they might just be your new travel essential.

About digestive enzymes
Over-the-counter digestive enzymes supplements help break down, or digest, food components, so they can be absorbed by the human body. Most people don’t need them, for two reasons. Firstly, our digestive tracts usually make all the enzymes we need for proper digestion. Secondly, some food components, like fibers, are not meant to be digested or absorbed in the small intestine. They are supposed to continue on to the large intestine, where they provide nourishment for the good bacteria there. In other words, they serve as prebiotics and promote a healthy gut microbiome. If you have IBS, you may know that things don’t always work as they are meant to, and that’s where digestive enzyme supplements come in. For some people, digestive enzyme supplements reduce excess gas, bloating, diarrhea and constipation related to poorly digested and absorbed carbohydrates (FODMAPs).

What enzyme supplements are available?

• Lactase—Lactaid is the best-known brand of lactase supplement, but other brands are available. Lactase is produced naturally in the intestines of young children, but some older children and adults produce much less lactase. While the inability to produce lactase doesn’t always lead to symptoms of intolerance, lactose intolerance is a common problem in IBS.
• Alpha-galactosidase—Beano is the best-known brand of lactase supplement, but other brands are available. This enzyme specifically breaks down the FODMAP, Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS). Worth noting, it’s normal to be unable to digest GOS. Humans don’t make this enzyme, which is produced industrially by microbial fermentation.
• Fructan hydrolase, or fructase—as with GOS, it is normal for humans to be unable to digest fructans, and people with more resilient guts tolerate it just fine. However, When consuming fructans causes IBS symptoms, fructan hydrolase can help. It’s not available separately but can be found along with lactase and alpha-galactosidase in combination products such as FODZYME.
• Over-the-counter digestive enzymes which target a broad spectrum of food components including carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

How to use digestive enzymes
Take the digestive enzyme supplement with the first bite of your meal or snack. Some products are designed to sprinkle directly on food before you eat it, to enhance direct contact between the enzyme and the food. Some people benefit from taking another serving of the supplement half-way through the meal. Digestive enzyme supplements won’t work unless they come into direct contact with the food you are eating, so don’t expect them to work if you take them before or after the meal.

How much can digestive enzymes help?
The effectiveness of digestive enzymes depends on the person, the size of the meal, whether the enzymes are a match for the FODMAPs or other food components that bother you, and what is in the meal. For example, lactase enzyme works best for people who are actually lactose intolerant, when they are eating foods that contain lactose (certain dairy milk products). A lactase pill won’t do a thing for you if you are eating beans or garlic. It won’t help a bit if the fat content of cream or cheese bothers you more than lactose.

Practice at home with the food you expect to be served on vacation to see what digestive enzymes can do for you. And don’t expect digestive enzymes to let you go wild. They will probably help more with covering small amounts of FODMAPs hidden in your food, rather than large amounts that you choose deliberately. For example, they likely will help more with minor amounts of onions or garlic used in seasoning than with a big bowl of French onion soup.

During and after a FODMAP elimination diet
We don’t usually recommend using digestive enzymes while actively doing a FODMAP elimination diet. If you use them during the low FODMAP phase or during the FODMAP reintroduction process, they might make it harder to learn what your FODMAP symptom triggers are. But vacations are special situations when you might decide to take a little break from the process and use digestive enzymes temporarily. Digestive enzymes are especially useful AFTER the reintroduction process, when you know which FODMAPs or other food components to target with the enzymes. Talk with your dietitian about whether and how to use digestive enzymes. 

Which best describes your approach to health during summer?