Why are digestive enzymes so important for life? Digestive enzymes break down the macromolecules in the food we eat into smaller molecules that our body can absorb. Each of the three major food groups—carbohydrates, proteins, and fats—must be broken down into smaller food units by specific enzymes. It’s only these tiny food particles (nutrients) that can cross the intestinal wall and enter the blood stream to be utilized by the body and become life-sustaining energy. Without digestive enzymes we wouldn’t be able to absorb any of the nutrients in our food.
Doesn’t our Body Make its Own Digestive Enzymes?
Of course, it does. The salivary glands, stomach, pancreas, and small intestine all produce digestive enzymes. Unfortunately, a number of factors affect the ability of the body to produce these enzymes. Other factors simply make it harder for digestion to progress optimally. Here are some:
- Aging: Studies [1, 2, 3] have shown that the levels of digestive enzymes decline steadily after the age of 20. It is estimated that by the age of 50, your enzyme production is half of that when you were a child.
- Chronic stress: Stress activates our “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous system response. When we’re in “fight or flight” mode, our digestive system receives much less attention because the body rouses for emergency action. As a result, the production of digestive enzymes is suppressed. One in five Americans experience extreme stress (and one in five Americans are affected by digestive diseases). Women report higher levels of stress.
- Alcohol: It reduces the amount of digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas.
- Sleep deficiency: Several studies have found an association between abnormal sleep and gastrointestinal diseases. Disruption of circadian physiology, due to sleep disturbance or shift work, may disrupt production of digestive enzymes, and may result in various gastrointestinal diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or peptic ulcer disease (sources: 1, 2).
- Diet rich in processed foods: Raw foods contain enzymes that assist our digestion. Unfortunately, the cooking and processing of food destroys all these enzymes.
-
Certain medications (i.e , NSAID, acid-blockers): Long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and ibuprofen, causes peptic ulcer disease and leaky gut. The multi-billion dollar antacid industry wants you to believe that stomach acid is bad for you. But gastric acid is necessary not only to digest proteins but also to kill pathogenic bacteria and yeast in the food. Antacids and acid-blockers impair your digestion and assimilation of nutrients leading to osteoporosis and intestinal infections. - Fluoridated water: Research suggests that fluoride in water inhibits the activity of the pancreatic enzymes lipase and protease, and damages pancreatic ultrastructure. The pancreas is an important organ, located behind the stomach, which produces the necessary enzymes for digestion, that convert the food we eat into absorbable nutrients.
- Eating on the run
- Inadequate chewing
The above conditions lead to poor digestion, which results into gas, bloating, partially digested food, nutritional deficiencies, and even inflammatory conditions.
Fortunately, advanced enzyme formulations, like Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes, make it possible to enhance digestive health, prevent gastric distress and malnutrition, while protecting against systemic inflammation.
How Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes can Help You
Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzyme supplement is a carefully designed blend of 19 plant-based enzymes. Thousands of people have tried this 19-enzyme formulation. The benefits they have reported are amazing. You can find them all here.
Here are the main ways Dr. Matthew Digestive Enzymes will help you*:
- BENEFIT #1: You have Less Gas and Bloating. With Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes you have a more complete digestion. In other words, you digest more of the food that you would otherwise digest. Why is it important that you leave no food undigested? Because, as the food moves from your small intestine to the large intestine, any food component that is left undigested begins to ferment by gut bacteria causing gas, cramping and abdominal pain. When you take Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes the nutrients in your food are broken down and are now easily absorbed, leaving less food for the gas-producing bacteria, and giving you a comfortable feeling after a meal.
- BENEFIT #2: You Have More Energy. You have more energy for two reasons. First, as acupuncturist and doctor of oriental and pastoral medicine Dr. Marcus Sircus confirms, the digestion of enzyme-deficient food is an extremely energy-consuming task. The cooked and processed food we eat is totally depleted of natural enzymes. Enzyme supplementation reduces the energy your body expends for digestion. Second, when you take Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes, your digestion is more complete. That means you get more nutrient value from your food. Incomplete digestion results in malnutrition, fatigue and bad mood, because you cannot break down and absorb enough of the necessary nutrients that are in your food. Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes help you extract and assimilate more nutrients from the food you eat leading to a well-nourished body that continuously renews itself. As a result you have more energy and vitality.
- BENEFIT #3: You Digest Faster: Dr. Matthew’s digestive supplement restores your normal digestive enzymes and as a result it helps you digest your food faster. That feeling of having “a brick in your stomach” disappears soon after you start taking these digestive enzymes. These enzymes alleviate the after-meal distress that we often experience.
-
BENEFIT #4: You Have Less Food Allergies and Less Food Intolerance. When food is not sufficiently digested, the risk for food allergies increases. Specifically, when proteins are not sufficiently broken down, they enter the blood stream causing allergic and autoimmune problems. Therefore, a more complete digestion results in diminished food allergies. Food intolerances are very common, too. If you cannot digest well certain food components (i.e gluten, lactose, dairy, beans), taking Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes will help you better digest these foods. Two of the enzymes contained in our 19-enzyme formula are Apsergillopepsin and Dipeptidyl-peptidase-4, which digest gluten and casein.
Each of the 19 enzymes that this formulation contains, helps with the digestion of a specific food group:
| ENZYME TYPE | FUNCTION |
|---|---|
| Aspergillopepsin | Helps digest gluten. |
| Dipeptidyl-Peptidase 4 | Breaks down gluten and casein. |
| Alpha Galactosidase | Helps digest beans, legumes and vegetables. |
| Amylase | Helps digest carbohydrates. |
| Beta Glucanase | Helps digest fiber and grains. |
| Bromelain | Helps digest proteins. |
| Cellulase | Helps digest plant wall and fiber. |
| Glucoamylase | Helps digest carbohydrates. |
| Hemicellulase | Helps digest carbohydrates in plant foods. |
| Invertase | Helps digest sucrose. |
| Lactase | Used by the body to digest milk sugar in dairy products. |
| Lipase | Helps digest fats. |
| Acid Maltase | Helps digest carbohydrates from grains. |
| Neutral Bacterial Protease | Helps digest proteins. |
| Pectinase | Helps digest fruit and vegetables. |
| Phytase | Helps digest phytic acid in nuts and grains. |
| Protease 1 and 2 | Break down proteins into peptides. |
| Xylanase | Helps digest plant wall fiber. |
- BENEFIT #5: You have healthier bowel movements. Studies by Mark Pimentel of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have shown that gas produced in the small intestine by bacteria might cause either constipation or diarrhea. Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes reduce gas production in your bowels creating an environment for normal bowel movements.
-
BENEFIT #6: Relief from Heartburn and Acid Reflux caused by Indigestion. Hydrochloric acid is secreted in our stomach only after predigestion takes place. Predigestion occurs the first 30-60 minutes after we eat. During this phase the stomach doesn’t secret any acid. Instead, our food starts to slowly break down (pre-digest) through the action of amylase in our saliva, enzymes naturally found in food, as well as enzymes that we may take from supplements. It is after this phase that the stomach starts secreting hydrochloric (gastric) acid. This acid is necessary for proteins to unfold and be digested. Unfortunately, this acid also causes heartburn in people who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux (GERD, the backward flow of stomach content into the esophagus). Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes help you digest so much of your food the first 30-60 minutes (pre-digestion phase), that your body can do with less acid in the subsequent digestion phase. As a result, those who suffer from acid reflux experience less heartburn and less gastric discomfort. The more digestion that is accomplished by Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes in the stomach, the fewer enzymes the pancreas and intestines need to secrete, according to the Law of Adaptive Secretion of Digestive Enzymes. This law, which has been confirmed by many university laboratories throughout the world, states that our body “values its enzymes highly and will make no more than what is needed for the job”. Therefore, when you supplement with digestive enzymes regularly, you take stress off the pancreas and intestine by providing the enzymes required for digestion. Your body now can direct its enzyme potential toward the thousands of metabolic enzymes that run the entire body, “where it rightfully belongs”, according to Dr. Edward Howell, a pioneer researcher in food enzymes and human nutrition.
Other Benefits of Taking a Broad Spectrum Digestive Enzyme Supplement like Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzymes
Studies suggest that proteolytic enzymes, like those contained in Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive enzyme formulation, reduce post-traumatic and post-surgery recovery time by decreasing swelling (inflammation) and accelerating healing. Phlogenzyme, an enzymatic preparation whose main component is the proteolytic enzyme bromelain, has been shown in clinical studies to accelerate healing processes and tissue regeneration, and relieve pain connected with inflammation (i.e painful osteoarthritis). Bromelain is one of the 19 carefully selected enzymes in Dr. Matthew #1 Digestive Enzyme formulation, at the hefty amount of 500,000 PU. According to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, bromelain has numerous health benefits including prevention of blot clots, wound healing, and even anticancer activities.
Clinical studies of the use of proteolytic enzymes in oncology show that proteolytic enzymes reduce the adverse effects caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
More Benefits
See more benefits that customers have experienced using this 19-enzyme formula.
Disclaimer: * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The content in this website is based on the opinions of Dr. Matthew, unless otherwise noted. The information on this website should by no means replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional. It is certainly not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research of Dr. Matthew and his partners. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using products based on this content.