Synbiotics: does it makes sense to combine probiotics with enzymes?

When I asked my husband the other day whether I could fetch something for him at the supermarket, he asked "Can you get me a box of potato starch?"This seemingly simple request proved to be more difficult than we anticipated, as we concluded after visiting 3 stores and consulting the merchant's own website, it had been quietly discontinued.

Why so much effort for a simple and cheap ingredient? Well, potato starch has been a health hack for cheapskates for a while, providing resistant starch cheaply. We spoke about resistant starch in "Why can resistant starch improve your blood sugar balance? "

My husband used to combine resistant (potato) starch with protein powder into high-protein pancakes or both of us would add it to oatmeal porridge. Not anymore, so we are back at using inulin as a neutral tasting prebiotic to be added to food.

For sure we aren't the only ones experimenting to improve gut health. A lot of new and exciting research is being done on gut health, resulting in an entire new family of postbiotics among which EpiCor® is the most popular representative.

Sadly, some products come too soon, e.g. Jarro-Dophilus Mood (a probiotic with GABA) was retracted from the market, since consumers weren't aware enough how GABA, which influences our mood is produced by gut bacteria along with serotonin. Therefore it makes sense to combine both in one product.

Another recent change has been the introduction of a combination of digestive enzymes with probiotics.

However, just like with Jarro-Dophilus Mood those combination products aren't as popular as straightforward enzymes or probiotics and need time to gain popularity.
First thought: people who experience difficulties digesting food, and decide to buy enzyme supplements should supplement with probiotics as well.

But maybe there are more good reasons why it make sense to combine enzymes and probiotics into one synbiotic product.

Before delving into the combination products, let's start with digestive enzymes.

Benefits of digestive enzymes

Your digestive tract produces several types of digestive enzymes. Your mouth, stomach, and small intestine make some of them. Mainly, though, your pancreas is responsible for their production.

The three main types of digestive enzymes are:

1. lipases: break down triglycerides and fats into essential fatty acids, which are necessary for a wide variety of body and cell functions
2. amylases: break down starches and carbohydrates into sugar, which are used to give your body energy
3. proteases (and peptidases): break down proteins into amino acids, which are necessary for making hormones, neurotransmitters, and other crucial molecules

With many different factors, such as age, stress, and lack of healthy meals, your body may tend to slow down in terms of enzyme production. Hence, the need for better food sources, and recently, digestive enzyme supplements.

What are the benefits of taking digestive enzymes?

Better absorption of nutrients

One of the most apparent and most important benefits of taking digestive enzymes is that it can help the body to have better absorption of all the necessary nutrients.

The equation is simple. When you have enough digestive enzymes in your body, the direct result is that you’re able to break down the nutrients from your food even better. That way, you’re able to make the most out of the food that you have.

Your body needs proper absorption of nutrients for the following reasons:

Keeps your body healthy, driving diseases away
Keeps your body maintain a healthier weight
Supports the strength of your immune system
Delays the unhealthy effects of aging
Gives you all the energy that you’ll need in a day

Prevents a leaky gut

Your intestine plays a significant role in your body. The lining of the intestine, more commonly referred to as your gut, is responsible for the absorption of nutrients in your body.

Apart from just eating well, you need to assure yourself that your body isn’t rejecting the food nutrients that you’re eating. Else, your body is going to go through this effect: improper digestion of food turns the nutrients into large, undigested molecules. Rather than being absorbed by your body, your immune system is going to think of these as “invaders” and kick it off your system.

When this kind of reaction happens in your body, you’re losing all the important nutrients that you would’ve had by eating nutritious food. Additionally, this can also cause inflammation in the lining of your intestine.

Prevents digestive health problems

The body needs digestive enzymes for it to properly digest the food and its corresponding nutrients. Found mostly in the pancreas, the digestive enzymes are responsible for breaking down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.

When there’s insufficient enzyme production, this can result in a wide array of digestive health problems, like the following:

• ulcerative colitis
• celiac disease
• Crohn’s disease
• indigestion
• chronic constipation

To achieve the best result of digestive enzymes in warding off health diseases, you must take supplements in between meals on an empty stomach.

Reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome

As repeatedly mentioned, when your body lacks the right enzymes, the food isn’t broken down as it should. Another negative effect of this is that the bacteria in your intestine starts to feed on the food. So, rather than your body getting the nutrients, it’s the bacteria that you’re breeding and feeding.

When the bacteria in your intestine grow and are being overfed, it can result in Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This means bloating, gas, diarrhea, and cramps.

Taking in digestive supplements can help reduce the symptoms of those sensitivities and irritation.

Helps people suffering from cancer

Digestive enzymes don’t cure cancer. But, they can help patients who are trying to navigate through their cancer treatment. All thanks to technology, cancer patients now have access to treatment methods that are significantly better and more successful than the other treatment forms many years back. But, it’s still undeniable that many side effects are still present.

Undeniably, in between treatment sessions, cancer patients go through a lot of discomforts that may only weaken them. One of the most apparent side effects has to do with losing appetite.

Generally, the purpose of the digestive enzymes, in this case, is simply to make the quality of life better. Because your body can better absorb the nutrients, it may also make the patients stay healthier and stronger while undergoing their treatment.

Digestive enzymes are needed by the body to regulate the chemical reactions that can help break down bigger particles and food into smaller parts. This is necessary so that nutrients can enter the bloodstream and can be distributed all over the body.

Generally, your body should be able to have enough supply of digestive enzymes. But, when you’re deficient in this area, your best solution is to take digestive enzyme supplements. Advancements in medical technology have resulted in the better availability of these supplements. In so doing, you get to experience all the benefits enumerated above, and so many more others.

Digestive enzymes and probiotics together: best combo for your gut?

The complementary effects of these two gut health supplements may help you finally ease your digestive issues.

Poor digestion is one of the most common health complaints today. Digestive enzymes and probiotics are two of the most widely used remedies. Can using digestive enzymes and probiotics together offer you extra benefits or is it just a waste of your time and money?

Before we go into how to take digestive enzymes and probiotics together (if you should at all), let's summarize the benefits of both digestive enzymes and probiotics.

Digestive enzymes
- naturally produced by the body to break down food
- classified into three main categories corresponding to food groups
- can be taken as supplements or found in foods

Probiotics
- living microorganisms
- are not produced by your body
- can be taken as a supplement or found in foods

Is taking digestive enzymes and probiotics together a good idea?

Yes indeed! Taking digestive enzymes and probiotics together is a good idea.
Despite being two different supplements, they both aid in the digestive process and taking them together is common. In some cases, they are actually prescribed together to truly help digestion.

This is because there is synergy (or “positive cooperation”) between these two supplements in your body.
They both actively help nutrient absorption and boost your immune system. But they do so by different mechanisms. This means they can both do their jobs at the exact same time (they don’t get in each other’s way) and you get double the benefits.

When should you take digestive enzymes and probiotics together?
While combining these two supplements can always be useful for your digestive health, there are three specific situations you should definitely try taking digestive enzymes and probiotics together!

Lactose intolerance

As stated above, lactose intolerance is caused by a lack of the lactase enzyme in your digestive tract. Naturally, this means that taking a digestive enzymes supplement that contains lactase is super helpful for treating symptoms!

Interestingly, there is one particular class of bacteria, called Lactobacilli, that help break down lactose all on their own.
Lactose intolerant or lactose sensitive people should consider taking both supplements. They will cooperate and help alleviate symptoms like bloating and inflammation.

Unhealthy cholesterol levels

Studies show that taking probiotics and digestive enzymes together can be really effective at balancing unhealthy cholesterol levels. They lower LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and raise HDL (“good cholesterol”).

Pancreatic insufficiency

If you have pancreatic insufficiency, probiotics can complement your prescribed enzyme replacement therapy.
Probiotics can reduce inflammation in your gut while the digestive enzymes are working on breaking down your food.

Other conditions

If you are unsure if your digestive issue should be targeted with digestive enzymes, probiotics, or both, take one moment to think what the root cause and symptoms of your condition.
Are you having trouble digesting specific types of food? Then digestive enzymes are the way to go!
Are you experiencing gut inflammation related to an infection? Then probiotics are the better choice.

Take some time to figure out what is causing your troubles and what needs to be targeted to fix them. And keep in mind that, in some cases (like lactose intolerance), the supplements will happily cooperate to get you feeling better, faster.

Many products already combine digestive enzymes and probiotics. Some supplements already have both enzymes and probiotics in the same capsule. While this might seem like a great solution if you’re interested in taking digestive enzyme and probiotics together, it may be better to buy them separately.
This is because these supplements need to be taken at different times during the day.

You should take digestive enzymes with a meal or directly after a meal (no more than 10 minutes before eating).

Probiotics, on the other hand, should be taken before a meal because they work better on an empty stomach. The bacteria in your probiotic supplement are sensitive to your stomach’s acidity. So, it is best to take them 30 minutes before a meal. Taking them after a meal (when digestive enzymes are really useful) seems to make probiotics less effective.

When shouldn’t you take digestive enzymes and probiotics yogether?
The only time you really shouldn’t combine digestive enzymes and probiotics is if it is unsafe for you to take one of the supplements on their own.

What are the best digestive enzymes and probiotics for digestive health?

Three popular classes of probiotics are:

• Lactobacillus
• Bifidobacterium
• Saccharomyces

Many supplements in the market contain strains from one, two, or all three of these classes of probiotics.
Well-studied strains that are worth looking for in your probiotic supplements include:

• B. animalis (known to be useful for constipation)
• L. rhamnosus (known to be useful for constipation, diarrhea)
• L. reuteri (known to be useful for constipation)
• L. acidophilus (known to be useful for constipation, diarrhea, IBS)
• L. plantarum (known to be useful for constipation)
• B. longum (known to be useful for constipation)
• S. cerevisiae (known to be useful for constipation)
• B. lactis (known to be useful for constipation)
• L. bulgaricus (known to be useful for diarrhea)
• B. coagulans (known to be useful for diarrhea, IBS)
• S. boulardii (known to be useful diarrhea, IBS)

Best digestive enzymes

The best digestive enzyme for you to take will depend on the food you’re having trouble digesting.
Some types of digestive enzymes that are commonly helpful include:

• amylase
• alpha-galactosidase
• cellulase
• glucoamylase
• invertase
• lactase
• lipase
• peptidase
• phytase
• protease

Conclusion

Digestive issues can be relieved by the use of both digestive enzymes and probiotics. In fact, combining these two supplements is a good idea in some cases. Digestive enzymes are produced by your bodies but, in certain cases, can be added as supplements. Probiotics, on the other hand, are living organisms that can’t be produced by your body. Overall, they both are very beneficial for digestion and they can help one another do their jobs better if combined.