What are supplemental enzymes?
Supplemental enzymes are enzymes that have been extracted in some manner, from either plants or animals, and are given in addition to a normal diet. Pepsin (an enzyme that digests proteins) was the first enzyme used by doctors to help with protein digestion. Pepsin was extracted from the stomach of pigs and requires a very low pH to be used by the body. It is best used in skin products for exfoliation of the skin and for meat tenderizers. Another enzyme supplement was made from the pancreas of slaughterhouse animals, which could not only digest proteins, but carbohydrate and fats as well. However, the pancreatic enzymes work best in an alkaline medium, which is present in the duodenum. Pancreatic enzymes will not work in the acidic stomach and cannot perform predigestion. There is little need to take these supplemental enzymes for digestion purposes. In order for supplemental enzymes to work they must be able to help with predigestion in the upper stomach (fundus). The Japanese have de
