News about Digestive Enzymes
Hello, this is Dr. Ellen. Happy holidays! In this month’s ‘Real Common Sense’ newsletter, I am very excited about sharing some news with all my readers concerning my work with digestive enzymes. As you know, digestive enzyme supplements can help people find their way back toward optimal health and wellness. Because I want to bring greater visibility to this subject, I decided to update one of my books that focuses on the use of digestive enzymes. Also, I have created new formulations of two of the most important supplements, which will be available directly to the general public.
By the way, if you haven’t had the opportunity to see my previous newsletters, you can find them on my new website, www.drellencutler.com under ‘Media’.
What are digestive enzymes?[1]
Digestive enzymes produced by the body help optimize the breakdown, absorption, and therefore the utilization of the nutrients in our foods. As we get older, the body gradually produces less of these. In working with patients, I have found that no matter what the diet (or age) of a particular patient, most have found that their overall health and sense of wellness was improved by simply taking a full spectrum digestive enzyme supplement at the beginning of each meal or snack. Initially, many forget to take their enzyme supplements, but as time goes by, it becomes easier to remember taking them because of the benefits they experience from using them.
There are three main categories of digestive enzymes:
- Carbohydrate digesting enzymes such as amylase (breaks down starches), lactase (breaks down lactose in dairy products), and invertase (breaks down table sugar)
- Protein digesting enzymes such as protease (breaks down proteins) and peptidase (breaks down shorter parts of proteins)
- Fat digesting enzymes called lipases
Full spectrum digestive enzyme supplements can contain additional enzymes that catalyze the breakdown of other food components. For example, the human body does not create enzymes that break down the cell walls of plants, which are made of cellulose. Depending on the formulation, cellulase and similar enzymes can be added to help break this down.
In addition to improving nutrient absorption, a supplement containing a well-balanced blend of digestive enzymes helps with the removal of waste products, enhances detoxifying mechanisms of the body, increases fat burning, supports a healthy microbiome, and decreases inflammation. Another important benefit of digestive enzyme supplementation is decreasing the likelihood of developing food sensitivities which, in turn, can adversely affect your gut microbiome and immune system.
The most basic and important digestive enzyme supplement is one that is full spectrum; that is, it contains the enzymes necessary to break down all the major macronutrients. The enzymes should be non-animal derived, being of plant or microbial origin. Additionally, the blend of enzymes should be able to help the breakdown of nutrients in a variety of foods and meals, whether vegetarian or omnivorous, cooked or raw. I designed Digest Supreme with all these points in mind. The feedback has been even better than I had hoped. Of course, using Digest Supreme does not mean you can go ahead and eat anything presented to you as food, such as highly processed ‘former’ foods or those prepared with refined carbohydrates. But Digest Supreme will help you better digest your foods and absorb the available nutrients.
One of the most common complaints I have heard from people is problems with gastrointestinal upset. This can originate from one or several different sections or organs along the gut. Oftentimes, this can be improved with positive changes in the diet and the use of Digest Supreme at the beginning of meals. However, this is not always the case. In fact, there are those who do not get relief from a full spectrum digestive enzyme blend. And for some, the proteases in the supplement may not be well tolerated.
Because of this, I formulated G.I. Calm. I removed the proteases but left peptidase to help with protein digestion without gastrointestinal irritation. I also added two herbal extracts along with quercetin to help soothe the gut. G.I. Calm is designed to be taken at the beginning of meals as well as in between meals as needed. Like Digest Supreme, this supplement has been very well received and has been helpful to those with a history of gastrointestinal problems.
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The second edition of my book, MicroMiracles
I wrote the book, MicroMiracles, more than 15 years ago. I wanted to tell the world about the amazing benefits of digestive enzymes. The book was intended to be a complete, authoritative resource on enzyme therapy. MicroMiracles explained the use of digestive enzymes taken with meals to make the contained nutrients available for absorption into the body. It also described the use of digestive enzymes within the body, having systemic effects throughout. Examples of this are the proteases, which can help down-regulate pro-inflammatory mediators throughout the body and enhance immune function. Proteases also help break down biofilms, which can prevent potentially harmful microorganisms in the gut from being detected by the immune system.[2,3]
As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to take its toll on our physical and mental wellbeing, I became motivated to update MicroMiracles. The second edition continues to share valuable information about the use of digestive enzymes to help those with many different chronic health concerns, including reducing the risk of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and chronic inflammation, weight loss and its maintenance, and supporting and improving the skin and hair, overall energy and vitality, and the immune system. I expanded the chapter on the role of digestive enzymes in anti-aging. Also, because of its relevance today, I added a chapter on digestive enzyme support in the post-pandemic world.
Digestive Enzymes for Everyone?
One of the major cornerstones of the Ellen Cutler Method (ECM) is the use of digestive enzymes. Another is that interventions are based on findings uncovered through its energetic testing. However, the use of digestive enzymes to help make available the nutrients in the foods we eat, and the optimization of the function of the gut, are of value to nearly everyone. That is why my first digestive enzyme formulations for the general public were Digest Supreme and G.I. Calm. It is also very important that the public at large be better informed about the potential benefits of these and other simple and yet profound properly formulated digestive enzyme-based supplements. That is why I updated my book, MicroMiracles, which will soon be out in its second edition.
Be well, be healthy, and remember…
“You are NOT what you eat, you are what you DIGEST and ABSORB.”
― Ashley Koff, R.D.
Dr. Ellen
References:
- “Miracles of Enzymes” at https://drellencutler.com/miracles-of-enzyme/
- “Targeting microbial biofilms using Ficin, a nonspecific plant protease” at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC5384253/#:~:text=Proteases%20are%20believed%20to%20be,intercellular%20communication%20of%20gram%2Dpositive
- “Effects of Bacillus Serine Proteases on the Bacterial Biofilms” at https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2017/8525912/