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Digestive Enzymes for Gas and Indigestion: Do They Work?

Kristie Leong M.D.

Kristie Leong M.D., Yahoo! Contributor Network

Aug 26, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

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Enzymes

Digestive Enzymes

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It's frequently claimed that digestive enzymes help to treat indigestion and gas by breaking down hard-to-digest carbohydrates and proteins that can ferment in the intestinal tract and cause uncomfortable gas to form. Supplement manufacturers and health food store owners are hoping you'll buy into this promise but does it really work? Are digestive enzymes good for digestion?

Digestive Enzymes for Gas: Do They Work?

The idea behind treating gas with digestive enzymes is that some people could be low in the enzymes needed to break down certain foods. When foods are incompletely digested, bacteria feed on the undigested components and produce fermentation products that lead to abdominal bloating and gas. While it's true that some people have difficulty breaking down the carbohydrates found in certain foods such as beans, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, supplementing with digestive enzymes doesn't necessarily help with the problem. Most humans lack the enzymes needed to break down raffinose, the hard-to-digest carbohydrate found in beans. There's a product on the market known as Bean-O that supplies the missing enzyme. Does it work? One small, double-blind study showed that using Bean-O reduced the incidence of flatulence, but other studies have been inconclusive. It also doesn't appear to be beneficial for reducing flatulence caused by foods that don't contain raffinose.

Digestive Enzymes for Gas and Indigestion: Why Don't They Work Better?

The problem with giving a digestive enzyme supplement is that it will most likely be broken down by the stomach acid into its constituent amino acids before it has the opportunity to exert any effects on digestion. Plus, the body has the capacity to make more of...