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Modern doctors today often and willingly use the word “enzymes”, but not everyone knows the meaning of this mysterious term. Enzymes help to digest food and ensure normal human activity, and their role in the digestion process is extremely important and irreplaceable, so these substances need to be known in person.
Enzymes are substances that accelerate chemical reactions in our body. Without them, the digestion of food would be delayed for such a long time that people simply would not survive. However, not all so simple. Scientifically speaking, enzyme molecules bring the entire digestible product into the desired form (more convenient for digestion), preparing it for the further digestion process.
Enzymes are present throughout the digestive tract, working with certain substances in certain parts of it
There are four groups of enzymes. The smallest, but extremely important, is the group of enzymes contained in saliva. The largest group is pancreatic enzymes. This is followed by the enzymes of the stomach and intestines. Saliva contains amylases, which break down carbohydrates, and are also found in pancreatic juice and small intestine. Lipases in gastric and pancreatic juices are responsible for the digestion of fats. Proteases digest proteins and are found in gastric juice, pancreatic secretions and intestines. These three substances are the main groups of enzymes or enzymes in the human body.
Enzyme groups and their role in digestion
The food that enters the body begins to be processed by enzymes from the very first seconds. In the mouth, it is actively moistened with saliva, which softens food enough and helps it move along the esophagus. The enzymes in saliva (amylase and maltase) begin to work with nutrients right in the mouth, thus starting the first stage of the digestion process.
Stomach enzymes (pepsin, gelatinase, amylase and lipase) are found in gastric juice, which contains aggressive acids, components from the mouth, and a huge set of salts dissolved in water. These enzymes trigger the complete digestion of food and work with its essential nutrients.
Thanks to gastric enzymes, food is ground into pieces, becoming digestible and mixing with the necessary components of gastric juice
The pancreas is forced to produce the largest amount of enzymes. Trixin, lipase, chymotrypsin, steapsin, nucleases, amylase and carboxypeptidase allow for all interactions between organs, as well as regulate blood sugar levels.
The small intestine contains enzymes such as maltase, lactase, sucrase, lipase, erepsin, and alanine aminopeptidase, which help break down and absorb food. The large intestine practically does not participate in the digestion process, therefore there are very few enzymes that dissolve food in it.
Lack of digestive enzymes
If the enzymes of the gastrointestinal tract begin to work poorly for some reason, it should be understood that the treatment of this problem is vital. Usually, the mechanisms of their production are embedded in the human genetic code, therefore, violations in their activity are most often congenital.
Even if the enzyme is present in the body, its structure may be incorrect or poor, which, therefore, prevents it from performing its function.
Lack of enzymes provokes a weak and imperfect digestive cycle, as a result of which the body feels a lack of any substances. The most common medical condition associated with this problem is phenylketonuria. This disease disrupts the synthesis of most amino acids, allowing poisons to affect the central nervous system and causing symptoms of mental retardation.
Enzyme deficiency treatment
Digestive enzymes and their role
Sufficient synthesis of enzymes usually decreases in the body under the influence of age-related changes, as well as due to the adverse effects of the environment and various infections. In addition, low intake of protein, microelements, macronutrients and vitamins negatively affects their production.
To compensate for the lack of digestive enzymes, it is necessary to introduce biologically active additives – for example, the drug “Bioferment Complex”. This supplement contains an optimal combination of highly active enzymes of animal and plant origin. So, pancreatin helps to improve the breakdown and absorption of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, bromelain enhances the activity of acting enzymes, accelerating the breakdown of fats and proteins, and papain, being a proteolytic enzyme, breaks down proteins.
This drug is used in the treatment of fermentopathies of various origins, as well as for prophylactic purposes.
Dietary supplements make up for the lack of enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract, while improving its work and normalizing the acid-base balance of the body. As a result, nutrients are better broken down and absorbed, and inflammatory processes in the digestive tract gradually decrease and disappear.
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