How many of you take digestive enzymes?
I have been suffering from gas and bloat my whole life and was thinking of trying digestive enzymes.
There are so many kinds out there - pancreatin, amylase, lactase, the stuff they put in MRPs which I cant even pronounce, even ginger root. Any recommendations and what brands?
I have used solgar digestive enzymes for many years one tablet after every meal. they do the job for me.If you still have problems you may be lacking in hydrochloric acid try hcl tablets but never take them on an empty stomach
always after a meal. A slice of fresh pineapple with natural yogurt is agreat dessert after a protien mealand really helps the digestion dont use tinned pineapple.
bestof luck
Brian
The best brand appears to be Wobenzym. Do a search throught the forums for the subject ‘wobenzym’. I just bought some the other day and I’m going to buy one of the big 800 tablet bottles. It works well.
I thought I remembered reading somewhere that digestive enzymes are useless for digesting food, but even if they are they still hold some value as joint support supplements.
Hi, Azzure. Just my quick thoughts. . . (grin)
You can self diagnose and expermiment on yourself with different supplements, or if you’re covered by insurance, I’d recommend that you ask your doctor for what’s called a Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis. Nutrition and digestion are undeniably important to good health. Unfortunately, as it relates to digestion and assimilation, there are many places where things can break down. Your thoughts were to try some digestive enzymes. Someone else recommended supplementing with hydrochloric acid. I was also tempted to recommend a good pro-biotic.
But what looks like it will do you the most good, after perusing some of my technical resources is probably REDUCING fiber supplements and reducing carbohydrates. There’s a condition called fermentation excess, which is a condition of carbohydrate intolerance induced by an excess of normal bacterial fermentation, usually resulting from small bowel or fecal bacterial overgrowth. People with this condition suffer from bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation and feelings of malaise. Actually, from what I read, pancreatic enzymes might help (as might repopulating the GOOD flora/bacteria with a probiotic). But if the enzymes and probiotic doesn’t work, get the to a good nutritionally savy, progressive doc or DC. I know it’s probably not that big a deal, but this is not something you have to live with.
Good luck to you!!!
Everyone has good bacteria called probiotics. They are the beneficial flora that keep our GI system in balance. Without them, harmful bacteria can take over and keep us from absorbing the nutrients we need. When your system?s in balance, these beneficial flora keep populating on their own. When it?s not, your body needs help regenerating them. To help give your system the flora it needs, you can eat yogurt or drink buttermilk. (Look for the brands that contain live cultures, such as L. acidophilus.)
I simply take some Pro-Digest one every now and then to maintain optimal GI flora (contains: Bifidobacterium longum 500,000,000 cfu (colony forming units), Lactobacillus acidophilus 500,000,000 cfu).
Have you looked into the possibility that you may be lactose intolerant? Doesn’t this cause the same symptoms?
Thanks for the advice so far.
I’m also not lactose intolerant and I don’t think fiber is my problem either. I have only recently (several months) bumped up my fiber intake with Metamucil and it actually seems to help a bit. I poop more regularly (2-3 times a day) which helps reduce the bloat and I also fart more frequently which also reduces the bloat. 
I am just concerned that I'm not completely digesting my food and getting the getting most out of my nutrition.
digestive enzymes can definetly help you with your problem as well as just helping your body assimilate all the protein you should be taking in. There is a clinic called the wolfe clinic(i think its in canada) you can look it up online and order very good enzymes. Also sounds like you’ve had this going on for a while and more than likely you’ve got some serious blockage going on in your colon/small intestine. I know you don’t wanna hear this but a few colonics would vastly improve your condition.