It's the time of year when our caloric intake usually exceeds our daily normal and our diet experiences some seasonal distress:
- Halloween – Parties and too much candy.
- Thanksgiving – Turkey and dressing and pumpkin pie, oh my!
- December Holidays– Multiple gatherings filled with rich foods.
- New Year’s Celebrations – Need we say more?
In fact, how many times have you left a holiday party feeling like this?
So, how do we make this marathon manageable?
It’s All About Our Gut
The uneasy feeling we get when we overeat has lots to do with messing up our gut, which is also known as our gastrointestinal tract, a big part of our digestive system. Our gut breaks down food into things our bodies can use. For example, the foods and liquids we consume are mostly fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. These need to be digested and broken down into smaller molecules that can be transported through the wall of the small intestines and absorbed into the blood stream.
We routinely alter our gut’s ability to digest food during the normal course of a meal by:
- Drinking liquids just before, during, and after a meal dilutes our digestive juices
- Eating foods that are tough to digest (fats & proteins) slows things down
Where do Digestive Enzymes Come From?
With a balanced diet, we can obtain some important enzymes from the foods we eat. Here are some examples:
- Papayas – produce papain, a protease, which turns proteins into amino acids (you’ve probably heard of those) and peptides.
- Mangos – contain amylase, an enzyme that digests starch carbohydrates.
- Avocados – have lipase, which turns fat into multiple fatty acids (like omega-3) and glycerol.
The Role of Digestive Enzymes
That’s good to know, but it may be difficult to manage my diet to get the right amount of digestive enzymes. Another issue is that I cook my food at high heat, which can destroy the enzymes. So, what to do?
Try Enzalase®, which contains twelve digestive plant enzymes formulated with patented EnzaStim™ to help you break down and digest food better. This helps you derive more nutrition and energy from the food you eat as well as providing relief from occasional gas and bloating.
Sounds like an excellent way to get the right amount and balance of enzymes for added digestive support this holiday season!