specialist in digestive health since 2008

specialist in digestive health since 2008

We have been developing and producing nutritional supplements since 2008. Our products are specially developed with great care and attention by our in-house dieticians. For the composition of our products we use only necessary ingredients, so our products are pure, free of gluten and soy and of high quality. This ensures that our supplements can be used safely and without adverse side effects. Our products are low FODMAP Certified™ by Monash University.

free dietary advice

free dietary advice

Our team of specialized dietitians is always at your service with practical advice and additional information about our products. Contact us via:

Chat: for quick and direct personal advice

Mail: info@intoleran.com

Phone: +31302272172

more than 100,000 satisfied customers

more than 100,000 satisfied customers

Since 2008, our mission is to help everyone enjoy their food. We are proud to support over 100,000 customers already.

Digestive enzymes

Digestive enzymes play a role in digestion. While it is clear that they aid digestion, it can be difficult to understand what the role of a digestive enzyme is in the digestive process. Here is a brief overview of what digestive enzymes are, how they are related to intolerances, and how enzymes in supplement form can help people with food intolerances, for example, to prevent intestinal problems.

What are digestive enzymes?

Digestive enzymes are certain substances that have a task in our body, specifically in our digestion. They are proteins that are produced naturally in the body. These proteins have a specific function: they help to break down your food.

Different enzymes break down different foods and are produced in different places in the digestive tract. This starts with the mouth, where enzymes are released and activated in your saliva. More enzymes take part in the process in areas such as the stomach and intestines. The small intestine is where most of the breakdown and digestion takes place.

An enzyme works according to the key-lock principle, as shown below. The enzym works like a key, that only fits in a certain lock: namely the food substance. Thus the enzyme lactase only fits on lactose, after which lactose is split in glucose and galactose. So an enzym has actually only 1 task and can cause no further damage in the body.

how do enzymes work
the lock-and key mechanism
Enzymes and Intolerances

There are many different enzymes that the body needs to produce. These help break down a wide range of different nutrients, such as lactose, fructose, galactans, starch, sucrose and histamine.

A deficiency of an enzyme can lead to a food intolerance. This is different from a food allergy. The latter is the result of a reaction by your immune system and can be very dangerous. The former is simply an inability to completely break down food in your digestive system. This is usually not dangerous, but can be very uncomfortable.

Intolerance therefore involves a specific problem of breakdown, often due to a shortage of a particular enzyme. Lactose intolerance, for example, involves a shortage of the lactase enzyme, which is the enzyme responsible for breaking down lactose. In this case, lactose is not broken down, or not broken down sufficiently, resulting in unpleasant intestinal complaints.

Enzymes as a supplement

Enzymes in supplement form, such as capsules, drops or tablets, can help people with food intolerance to digest problematic products.

Supplements for food intolerances are designed to support the body’s own enzymes and help them do their job. When a problematic food enters the digestive system, the supplement provides the enzymes that the body may lack to break it down properly. This reduces the symptoms of food intolerance, such as bloating or flatulence.

After taking the supplement, the enzymes work for 30 to 45 minutes by filling your digestive system with an extra dose of an enzyme that it normally lacks.

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