Enzymes are vital for maintaining a healthy weight, playing a key role in the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. They are responsible for breaking down the macronutrients in our food into smaller molecules that can be used for energy or stored for later use. Digestive enzymes, in particular, take the food we eat and break it down into the nutrients our bodies need to survive, thrive, and reach our fitness goals.
The Role of Digestive Enzymes
Digestive enzymes are like tiny pairs of scissors. They are compounds that help break down foods into smaller components that your body can absorb. When you're working hard to eat a healthy diet, balance your macros, and consume lots of healing, healthy food, you don't want to flush all of that good work down the toilet!
The three main types are:
- Amylase: This enzyme breaks down carbs into sugar molecules.
- Lipase: This enzyme works with your liver bile to break down fats into glycerol and fatty acids.
- Protease: This enzyme breaks down proteins into amino acids. It can also help keep bacteria and yeast out of your intestines. A yeast overgrowth can cause many more unpleasant digestive issues.
Digestive Enzymes and Gut Health
Some studies show that digestive enzymes may enhance the health of your gut microbiome - the microorganisms that live in your digestive tract. Administering digestive enzymes can promote the colonization of beneficial gut bacteria. Pairing a probiotic supplement with digestive enzymes could help protect against changes in the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome may play a role in weight control, enhancing the beneficial bacteria in your gut may reduce body mass index, fat mass, and body weight.
Digestive Enzymes and Weight Management
The relationship between food enzymes and weight loss is complex and multifaceted. While the enzymes present in food and the digestive enzymes our bodies produce play essential roles in breaking down food and absorbing nutrients, their direct impact on weight loss is not always straightforward.
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How Enzymes Affect Weight
Enzymes have a direct impact on our ability to break down food, burn calories and fat, and turn them into usable energy. Digestive enzymes help break down the macronutrients in the food we eat into smaller molecules that can be absorbed and used by the body. This process, known as digestion, helps to extract energy from the food and convert it into energy that can be used by the body. Enzymes also help regulate the body’s metabolism by controlling the release of hormones that affect the body’s energy balance. For example, the enzyme lipase helps to break down fat cells into smaller molecules that can be used for energy.
The Role of Lipase
Lipase is a digestive enzyme that boosts the absorption of fat in your body by breaking it down into glycerol and free fatty acids. Some studies show that supplementing with lipase may decrease feelings of fullness.
On the other hand, lipase inhibitors - which decrease lipase levels - have long been used to promote weight control by increasing the excretion of fat. Increasing your lipase levels by taking digestive enzyme supplements could potentially increase fat absorption, thus contributing to weight gain.
Enzyme Inhibitors
While digestive enzymes may not directly boost weight loss, research shows that enzyme inhibitors might. Digestive enzyme inhibitors decrease the absorption of certain macronutrients and are sometimes used in the treatment of obesity to increase weight loss. Supplementing with an amylase inhibitor extracted from white beans may increase both weight loss and fat loss in humans. Blocking the effects of trypsin, a protease enzyme that breaks down proteins, decreased food consumption and weight gain in rats. The lipase inhibitor called orlistat may reduce fat absorption by 30%, decreasing the production of lipase in the stomach and pancreas, resulting in weight loss. Long-term use of orlistat increased levels of certain hormones that suppress hunger and appetite. However, other studies have found that orlistat could decrease these hormones and instead speed up the emptying of the stomach. Aside from potentially affecting hormone levels, other common side effects of lipase inhibitors include diarrhea, stomach pain, and fat in the stools.
TBK1 Enzyme
A new study says that the complex action of one enzyme, TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1), may be at the core of the problem of struggling to lose weight. Researchers identified TBK1 as key when it comes to the body’s process of “deciding” how much fat to burn and how much to keep in store, especially over a period of fasting. TBK1 disactivates another enzyme, AMPK, which is largely responsible for regulating how much fat we convert into raw energy. This means that, instead of being burned, fat is able to accumulate and lead to excess weight.
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Age-Related Enzyme Production and Weight
As we age, our bodies produce fewer and fewer digestive enzymes. After age 20, your body starts producing fewer enzymes which can make digesting certain foods harder. With fewer digestive enzymes as we age, women can experience reduced efficiency in breaking down food and absorbing nutrients. Women over 40 commonly experience digestive discomforts like bloating, gas, and indigestion. Inadequate digestion can contribute to weight gain or difficulty in losing weight.
Factors Affecting Enzyme Production
There are a number of reasons why you may not produce enough digestive enzymes. Certain health conditions are more prevalent as we age, like lactose intolerance or gluten sensitivity. Sometimes a medical professional is required to help us make a diagnosis and come up with a treatment plan to help improve our health issues. A lot of things can lead to digestive upset, not just a lack of digestive enzymes. If you’re feeling poorly and not improving, are having chronic digestive issues like constipation, diarrhea, and vomiting, or are experiencing extremely low energy despite eating a healthy balanced diet, talk to your doctor.
Dietary Strategies to Boost Enzyme Levels
You can increase your digestive enzymes by simply tweaking your diet. Start including foods that have naturally occurring digestive enzymes in them.
- Ginger: Ginger contains the protease enzyme called zingibane.
- Honey: Honey contains several types of enzymes. Diastasis break down starches, amylases break down starch into sugars like glucose and maltose, and invertases break down sucrose into glucose and fructose.
- Kimchi and Sauerkraut: These foods contain a probiotic species called bacillus species. This helps your body produce the enzymes proteases, lipases, and amylases.
The Importance of a Healthy Digestive System
A well-functioning digestive system can transform your body composition and overall health. A healthy, functioning digestive system allows your body to efficiently convert food into energy.
The Broader Context: Obesity and Weight Management
Obesity is a global epidemic associated with significant morbidity and mortality in adults and ill health in children. A positive energy balance resulting from a chronic disparity between the intake of energy and its expenditure leads to weight gain and eventually obesity. In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 1.6 billion adults could be categorized as overweight whilst at least 400 million adults were considered obese. For intervention, the most common and widely advocated approaches remain changes in lifestyle, specifically dieting and exercise. Drug therapy offers a reasonable option to overcome obesity when given as an adjunct to life style interventions such as dietary counseling, behavioral modifications and structured exercise. Modest weight reduction (5% to 10% of total body weight) in patients with obesity-associated medical complications produces beneficial health outcomes.
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Disrupting Nutrient Digestion
A proven successful approach in weight management has been the disruption of nutrient digestion, with orlistat having been used to treat obesity for the last 10 years. Although orlistat-induced weight loss remains modest, it produces meaningful reductions in risk factors for obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Moreover, this lipase inhibitor is free of the serious side effects that have dogged appetite-suppressing drugs. This success had driven investigation into new generation nutraceuticals, supplements and pharmaceutical agents that inhibit the breakdown of complex carbohydrates and fats within the gut.
Inhibiting Intestinal Enzymes
Currently, carbohydrate digestion inhibitors are under development to improve glycemic control and these may also induce some weight loss. The α-glucosidase inhibitor acarbose, and the α-amylase inhibitor phaseolamine, have been used in humans with some promising results relating to weight loss.
Lipid Digestion and Lipases
Lipids are fundamental components of all living organisms, and they are calorically dense thus representing an important constituent of human nutrition (approximately 40% of daily energy intake). The main fat constituents (90%) of a typical Western diet are triacylglycerols or triglycerides (TG). TG consist of a single molecule of glycerol, attached by ester bonds to three fatty acids. TG cannot be absorbed; therefore, intestinal enzymes must hydrolyze the ester bonds on the glycerol backbone in order for the molecule to be absorbed. In vivo TG hydrolysis is catalyzed by several digestive lipases. Lingual lipase is secreted by a serous gland at the back of the tongue and initiates fat digestion. The acinar cells of the pancreas synthesize and secrete several lipolytic enzymes such as colipase-dependent lipase, classical pancreatic lipase or triacylglycerol acyl hydrolase (HPL), pancreatic lipase related-protein 1 and 2 (HPLRP1, HPLRP2), carboxyl ester hydrolase (also known as bile salt stimulated lipase, carboxyl ester lipase, cholesterol esterase, cholesterol ester lipase, human milk lipase, monoglyceride lipase and pancreatic non-specific lipase) and phospholipase A2. The pancreas also secretes colipase, a factor that is necessary to optimize pancreatic lipase activity.
Gastric Lipolysis
The hydrolysis of dietary TG starts in the stomach by the catalytic action of HGL. The secretion of HGL is induced by mechanical stimulation of the stomach, ingestion of food or sympathetic activation. HGL hydrolyzes 5% to 40% of ingested TG, mainly generating FFA, diglycerides, and a few 2-MG molecules. Gastric lipolysis is crucial for the continuation of the digestion process in the duodenum by HPL. Gastric lipolysis ensures: (i) lipid emulsification which creates the lipid-water interface needed for effective lipolysis in the duodenum, (ii) the generation of long-chain FFA which, once in the duodenum, will stimulate the release of cholecystokinin (CCK) and HPL secretion, slowing down gastric emptying, and (iii) the generation of diglycerides, which are hydrolyzed more effectively than TG.
Hydrolysis of TG in the Duodenum
The hydrolysis of TG persists in the duodenum by means of the combined actions of HGL, HPL and bile salts. HPL is the principal pancreatic lipolytic enzyme; it hydrolyzes 40% to 70% of TG yielding 2-MG and long-chain saturated and polyunsaturated FFA as the lipolytic products. For full activity under physiological conditions, HPL requires the presence of another pancreatic exocrine protein: colipase.
Absorption of Lipolytic Products
In order to be absorbed, bile-derived mixed micelles convert FFA and 2-MG into soluble aggregates. These micelles transport these lipolytic products from the intestinal lumen to the intestinal walls. Once in contact with the enterocyte, the molecules are transported across the cell membrane.
Carbohydrate Digestion
In humans, between 40% and 80% of total caloric intake is accounted for by carbohydrates in their various forms, making them the most important energy source. According to their chemical structure carbohydrates can be classified into absorbable (undigested), digestible, fermentable and non-fermentable forms. Absorbable carbohydrates (monosaccharides, comprising a single unit such as glucose, galactose, fructose, xylose and ribose) by definition do not need to be digested in order to be transported into the body. In the human diet, the main digestible carbohydrates comprise disaccharides such as sucrose (sugar) and lactose, and larger polysaccharides such as starch which constitute a main source of calories in most Western diets.
Fermentable Carbohydrates
In contrast, fermentable carbohydrates cannot be digested as enzymes cannot readily break the inter saccharide bonds. However, once in the colon these carbohydrates are readily metabolized by colonic bacteria through the process of fermentation. Similarly, if digestible carbohydrates such as sucrose and lactose are maldigested or malabsorbed, they will also be fermented in the large intestine. The main end products of carbohydrate fermentation are short-chain fatty acids (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) and gases (carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane). They can be absorbed in the large intestine (providing energy), used as a bacterial substrate, released as flatus, or excreted as biomass in the feces. Some carbohydrates (such as components of plant cell walls) are neither digested/absorbed nor fermented.
The Digestion Process
The digestion of carbohydrates begins in the mouth by the action of salivary α-amylase, which hydrolyzes the α-1,4 bonds in starch, the products of this process are maltose, maltriose, and small dextrins. The starch digestion process continues in the small intestine by the action of pancreatic α-amylase. The digestion process is completed by enzymes in the brush border of the small intestine (maltase, sucrase, and lactase, also known as disaccharidases or α-glucosidases) which yields the absorbable monosaccharides glucose, fructose, and galactose.
High-Fat Diets and Weight Gain
Although lipid metabolism is balanced to maintain homeostasis, high-fat diets tend to induce overconsumption and as a consequence, weight gain. This is mainly due to their high energy content and their low potential for inducing satiety. It has been proposed that in the vast majority of cases, overweight and obesity are the consequences of exaggerated consumption of fat rather than carbohydrates. Given the central role of dietary fat in weight gain, a rational strategy would be to reduce the proportion of calories derived from fat in the diet.
The Inhibition of Fat Digestion and Absorption
The inhibition of fat digestion and absorption is not without side effect issues. GI distress and vitamin deficiencies remain a concern with current treatments. However, humans can tolerate a certain degree of inhibition of fat absorption, sufficient to prevent a significant amount of energy entering the body. Given that fat contains 9 kcal/g, the inhibition of the absorption of 30 g/day would produce a daily deficit of nearly 300 kcal.
Cetilistat
Cetilistat (ATL-962, Alizyme®; Takeda Pharmaceutical) was developed with the aim of creating a drug similar to orlistat but without its side effects. A phase I study showed that cetilistat increases fecal fat excretion in a similar way to orlistat but with a better reported tolerability. Phase IIb studies showed that its administration (180 to 720 mg/day) to obese individuals with and without type II diabetes on a hypocaloric moderate fat diet produced significant weight loss when compared to subjects receiving placebo.