Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Many health food stores carry enzyme preparations that are intended to be ingested by mouth to supplements

Many health food stores carry enzyme preparations that are intended to be ingested by mouth to supplements?
existing enzymes in various organs like the liver, heart, and muscle. Explain why these preparations are unlikely to be effective as advertised.
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Hi Ashley. The hypothesis (a hypothesis is an untested idea) is that the supplemented enzymes will be broken down by the acid in the stomach - that is, that they will be digested before they can be absorbed. It is also "assumed" that large molecules like enzymes are too large to be absorbed across the lining of the gut (the mucosa). However, a great deal of recent research into gut function shows that large molecules commonly exist because digestion does not totally break down all ingested molecules to their smallest subunits (in the case of enzymes, the smallest subunits are amino acids). Large protein fragments (enzymes are types of proteins) are often absorbed. In addition, people with unhealthy digestive tracts often have a "leaky gut" that allows a lot of large molecules to be absorbed. So, both the argument for and against enzymes as supplements are hypotheses based on known functions of gut physiology. The "truth" needs some real research to figure it all out. Best wishes and good luck. I hope this wasn't too much info. for you

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