By Frederick Cheng (R.Ph), and Christine Cheng (R.Ph)
Eating healthy foods is wasted if you cannot digest the nutrients fully. To make the most of your diet, your body needs to systematically break down whole foods into usable nutrients. For this purpose, your body makes numerous digestive chemicals called “enzymes” that turn the food into molecules that the body can take in and utilize for biochemical reactions (eg. energy, immunity) and structural formations (eg. muscles, organs, bones). These enzymes are responsible for breaking down dietary sugars, proteins, and fats.
If you lack specific digestive enzymes, your body may respond by giving you stomach and gut upset when you eat certain foods, or give you a headache or allergies. Other common symptoms include gassiness, bloating, cramping, diarrhea, constipation, and imbalance of gut bacterial flora. An easy way to ensure you have the whole spectrum of digestive chemicals is to supplement with affordable, safe, and effective products like Bio-Gest® by Thorne Research, Digestzyme-V™ by Ortho Molecular, or try the unique line of Spectrazymes® by Metagenics. Give these a try with every meal if you want the most from your whole foods: optimal digestion, maximum absorption. Come talk to the knowledgeable team at Cloverdale Pharmasave and Pharmasave Steveston Village to see if you should try a particular set of digestive enzymes in case you bite off more than you can digest.
***All information posted and shared by Cloverdale Pharmasave is offered to provide information and choices regarding nutritional support for various health concerns, none of which is intended to be a treatment protocol for any disease state. The information does not replace seeking professional advice from your physician. Consult your health care practitioner before taking dietary supplements.
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