Digestive Enzymes?

[quote]Arms Afire wrote:
Looks like you are good to go. The reason for using enzymes is simple: it isn’t what you eat, it’s what you digest.

As you age your body does not produce as much of the enzymes and hydrocloric acid as it used to, which is why as you age you seem to have pockets of gas trying to expel itself all the time. The problem is compounded when you are trying to eat 200-300 gms of protein and lots of carbs and fat. The unprocessed carbs tend to cause gas, bloating, heartburn, and for lack of a better term vomit burps. The unprocessed protein just gets pushed into the intestines where it becomes expensive poop. [/quote]

Dammit, I just vomit burped into my coffee.

Just wanted to update everyone. It has been 3 days since I started taking the enzyme supplement, both with breakfast and dinner, and the effects have been very noticeable. The bloating/gas/digestion problems I was having from switching to a low-carb diet, with high amounts of protein and vegetables, have been dramatically reduced if not eliminated. Also, I previously had a pretty well defined core, which seemed to disappear with the bloating, but after using the enzymes it has returned.

Also, everything in the little boys room has gone back to normal, good regularity and such.

I would recommend adding digestive enzymes for anybody that is having problems with bloating/gas/digestion, and even those who aren’t, as they can help tremendously with your bodies ability to actually absorb the foods that you are ingesting. To me it seems logical to help your body absorb everything your eating, since we make a point to fuel our bodies as efficiently and as healthy as possible.

I rip bad ass when I eat a lot of veggies.

[quote]Chi-Towns-Finest wrote:
I rip bad ass when I eat a lot of veggies.[/quote]

You should give enzymes a shot for sure then. Ripping nostral blowing farts is a result of undigested meat and veggies sitting around and being broken down by bacteria. The by product of this bacterial interaction is gas. By ingesting enzymes, you will not only help your body break down those foods, but you will also be able to absorb the nutrients from them, rather than having them sit around and produce nasty gas.

I know I sound like an extreme advocate for enzymes, but once you go from the terrible bloating/gas/indigestion I had from massive amounts of protein and veggies, to no digestive problems at all, you will see why I think people should try 'em.

***Here’s my logic. Members of this community like to build above average levels of muscle. In order to build above average amounts of muscle, we must eat above average amounts of protein and veggies. By adding above avergae amounts of enzymes, we allow our bodies to digest these above average amounts of food, to assist in building above average amounts of muscle. Simple. If your adding more construction material (food) why not add more construction workers (enzymes) to assist in the construction?

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
Chi-Towns-Finest wrote:
I rip bad ass when I eat a lot of veggies.

You should give enzymes a shot for sure then. Ripping nostral blowing farts is a result of undigested meat and veggies sitting around and being broken down by bacteria. The by product of this bacterial interaction is gas. By ingesting enzymes, you will not only help your body break down those foods, but you will also be able to absorb the nutrients from them, rather than having them sit around and produce nasty gas.

I know I sound like an extreme advocate for enzymes, but once you go from the terrible bloating/gas/indigestion I had from massive amounts of protein and veggies, to no digestive problems at all, you will see why I think people should try 'em.

***Here’s my logic. Members of this community like to build above average levels of muscle. In order to build above average amounts of muscle, we must eat above average amounts of protein and veggies. By adding above avergae amounts of enzymes, we allow our bodies to digest these above average amounts of food, to assist in building above average amounts of muscle. Simple. If your adding more construction material (food) why not add more construction workers (enzymes) to assist in the construction?[/quote]

Our bodies should be able to handle above maintenance levels of calories. Digestion and muscle protein synthesis are SEPARATE processes. Regardless of whether you are simply gaining fat or adding muscle, your body should be digesting the food. If you have a compromised digestive system, then something else is going on, other than just a little stress put on your system from having to process excess cals. That additional stress is negligible compared to the additional stress from other sources (inadequately functioning organs, and/or/due to environmental toxins and chemicals).

Digestive enzymes can/may help, but it’s a bandaid not a solution.

**edit, but by all means, use the digestive enzymes if they help :slight_smile:

[quote]BulletproofTiger wrote:
WestCoast7 wrote:
Chi-Towns-Finest wrote:
I rip bad ass when I eat a lot of veggies.

You should give enzymes a shot for sure then. Ripping nostral blowing farts is a result of undigested meat and veggies sitting around and being broken down by bacteria. The by product of this bacterial interaction is gas. By ingesting enzymes, you will not only help your body break down those foods, but you will also be able to absorb the nutrients from them, rather than having them sit around and produce nasty gas.

I know I sound like an extreme advocate for enzymes, but once you go from the terrible bloating/gas/indigestion I had from massive amounts of protein and veggies, to no digestive problems at all, you will see why I think people should try 'em.

***Here’s my logic. Members of this community like to build above average levels of muscle. In order to build above average amounts of muscle, we must eat above average amounts of protein and veggies. By adding above avergae amounts of enzymes, we allow our bodies to digest these above average amounts of food, to assist in building above average amounts of muscle. Simple. If your adding more construction material (food) why not add more construction workers (enzymes) to assist in the construction?

Our bodies should be able to handle above maintenance levels of calories. Digestion and muscle protein synthesis are SEPARATE processes. Regardless of whether you are simply gaining fat or adding muscle, your body should be digesting the food. If you have a compromised digestive system, then something else is going on, other than just a little stress put on your system from having to process excess cals. That additional stress is negligible compared to the additional stress from other sources (inadequately functioning organs, and/or/due to environmental toxins and chemicals).

Digestive enzymes can/may help, but it’s a bandaid not a solution.

**edit, but by all means, use the digestive enzymes if they help :)[/quote]

I get what your saying (and I didn’t say that protein synthesis and digestion are the same), but think about most of the supplements we already take and their actions. We don’t just consume extra protein, we also add extra amino acids among other things to help process it, why not do the same with food?

I’m not saying that digestive enzymes are an absolute must, but I would bet that most people who consume 1.5-2 grams of protein per lb of body weight have either gas/bloating/indigestion problems, so why not assist with the process of digestion rather than wasting the nutrients we are ingesting (because gas and bloating is a sign of that happening).

I know that I do not have a compromised digestive system (straight from the DRs mouth), and I am sure that most of the people in this community who get gas/bloating from consuming above average amounts of protein or veggies don’t either, so I’m not buying your line about organs (agree to disagree). We consume extra protein to help our muscles build, we consume extra supplements to help with that synthesis, we consume extra food to use to build, why not consume extra enzymes to help digest it?

I just picked up that NOW brand you posted about. I’m going to see how it works, I’ve never really taken anything in the past for digestion, but the last few days I’ve had a good amount of bloat and some foul smelling ones. I also think it could be the small amount of cashews I’ve added in. I think I may have developed an allergy to them. Either way it couldn’t hurt, I’m going to take one in the AM and one in the PM. I also take a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and cinnamon with every meal.

[quote]Braunbeck wrote:
I just picked up that NOW brand you posted about. I’m going to see how it works, I’ve never really taken anything in the past for digestion, but the last few days I’ve had a good amount of bloat and some foul smelling ones. I also think it could be the small amount of cashews I’ve added in. I think I may have developed an allergy to them. Either way it couldn’t hurt, I’m going to take one in the AM and one in the PM. I also take a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and cinnamon with every meal. [/quote]

Yea, I went along the same lines. It says to take one with every meal, but I just took one with breakfast and one with dinner and things have been 100X better. I really don’t see any downside to 'em at all, I mean your digesting your food better, so your body can use it better, and your also getting rid of the bloat and gas. Win/Win.

I’ll make sure to post up after a week or so to update on the situation. The win/win also applies to price, that NOW brand is pretty cheap compared to the other products I price at a local health food store today.

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
BulletproofTiger wrote:
WestCoast7 wrote:
Chi-Towns-Finest wrote:
I rip bad ass when I eat a lot of veggies.

You should give enzymes a shot for sure then. Ripping nostral blowing farts is a result of undigested meat and veggies sitting around and being broken down by bacteria. The by product of this bacterial interaction is gas. By ingesting enzymes, you will not only help your body break down those foods, but you will also be able to absorb the nutrients from them, rather than having them sit around and produce nasty gas.

I know I sound like an extreme advocate for enzymes, but once you go from the terrible bloating/gas/indigestion I had from massive amounts of protein and veggies, to no digestive problems at all, you will see why I think people should try 'em.

***Here’s my logic. Members of this community like to build above average levels of muscle. In order to build above average amounts of muscle, we must eat above average amounts of protein and veggies. By adding above avergae amounts of enzymes, we allow our bodies to digest these above average amounts of food, to assist in building above average amounts of muscle. Simple. If your adding more construction material (food) why not add more construction workers (enzymes) to assist in the construction?

Our bodies should be able to handle above maintenance levels of calories. Digestion and muscle protein synthesis are SEPARATE processes. Regardless of whether you are simply gaining fat or adding muscle, your body should be digesting the food. If you have a compromised digestive system, then something else is going on, other than just a little stress put on your system from having to process excess cals. That additional stress is negligible compared to the additional stress from other sources (inadequately functioning organs, and/or/due to environmental toxins and chemicals).

Digestive enzymes can/may help, but it’s a bandaid not a solution.

**edit, but by all means, use the digestive enzymes if they help :slight_smile:

I get what your saying (and I didn’t say that protein synthesis and digestion are the same), but think about most of the supplements we already take and their actions. We don’t just consume extra protein, we also add extra amino acids among other things to help process it, why not do the same with food?

I’m not saying that digestive enzymes are an absolute must, but I would bet that most people who consume 1.5-2 grams of protein per lb of body weight have either gas/bloating/indigestion problems, so why not assist with the process of digestion rather than wasting the nutrients we are ingesting (because gas and bloating is a sign of that happening).

I know that I do not have a compromised digestive system (straight from the DRs mouth), and I am sure that most of the people in this community who get gas/bloating from consuming above average amounts of protein or veggies don’t either, so I’m not buying your line about organs (agree to disagree). We consume extra protein to help our muscles build, we consume extra supplements to help with that synthesis, we consume extra food to use to build, why not consume extra enzymes to help digest it?[/quote]

As long as we agree on the main point :slight_smile: , which is that if you can identify a need for digestive enzymes, then go ahead and take them because they will most likely help, perhaps considerably. I do feel though, that if all you ate was meat and veggies (hopefully grass fed and or organic respectively) as the majority of your diet, then you would not likely have any digestion problems.

Best,
BT

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
Since switching over to a much healthier diet, meaning very low carbs, tons of fruits/veggies and protein, I have been having problems with digestion and bloating. I have been increasing my fiber intake (25g daily), but that hasn’t helped.

I was wondering if anybody here uses digestive enzymes as a daily supplement? I currently take Papaya complex to help with protein absorption, but I have been looking at some essential enzyme supplements and was wondering that the word on the street is about them. Can they help? is it ok to take them daily?

Any help from the nation would be much appreciated.

WC7[/quote]

What blood type are you?

Blood type A’s can have a very poor reaction to high protein diets and don’t handle red meat very well in general

O and B usually never have issues unless they have massive problems…

I’m type A+

Since increasing your protein intake, have you also increased your intake of protein powders (whey, soy, casein, etc.)?

Also, how many total cals per day do you get from carb sources vs protein? You may need to determine your metabolic type to understand what this ratio should be… there are plenty of good sources to determine this, but I’d recommend “How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!” by Paul Chek, or for starters you can try this survey which will give you a rough estimate for free: https://www.chekconnect.com (click the link “Calculate your CHI for Free”).

Just wanted to post a quote straight out of Chris Shugart’s “30 Things Waterbury Said”. I think this supports what I was saying pretty well, and is from a very respectable source.

â?¢ Gastrointestinal support really is all its cracked up to be â?? if you’re older than 30. When I was 21 I thought it was all hogwash. The older you are, the more it’ll benefit you. Every client I’ve ever put on digestive support has benefited in some way. I’ve used NOW Super Enzymes for years. Cheap and effective. One to three capsules with your three main meals can work wonders.