Isotonix® Digestive Enzymes

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are digestive enzymes?

  Digestive enzymes are special catalytic proteins that help our bodies break down food to utilize the complete spectrum of nutrients in the food we eat. Isotonix Digestive Enzymes acts to supplement and maximize the activity of the body’s own enzymes in an easy-to-take, pleasant-tasting drink. Isotonix Digestive Enzymes provides additional digestive enzymes for the body in order to maximize the absorption of nutrients from the food we eat.

• How do enzymes function in the body?

  Enzymes are the workhorses of our cells. They are proteins that catalyze many thousands of biochemical reactions in the body. While most enzymes work inside our cells, digestive enzymes operate outside the cells in the gastrointestinal tract. The start of digestion begins with digestive enzymes secreted by salivary gland cells into our mouths. Cells lining the gastrointestinal tract also contribute enzymes, such as pepsin in the stomach. In addition, digestive enzymes are produced in the pancreas and are emptied into the upper part of the small intestine. These enzymes help to break apart proteins, allowing the body to optimize its effort to digest proteins from plant and animal sources as well as break down starch, lactose, fats and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). The result is a more complete digestive process, resulting in better nutritional absorption. Isotonix Digestive Enzymes supplies enzymes that are not inactivated by stomach acid. What this means is that the supplemental enzymes mix with and work in concert with the ingested food and begin to work with the body’s own digestive enzymes to release as many of the nutrients as possible.

• How do we digest food?

  Even before we eat, our body‘s digestive action begins to take place. Simply smelling food activates our salivary glands ("mouth watering"). As the food enters the stomach, the stomach acid and pepsin work together to begin breaking the food down into material the small intestine (where most nutrients are absorbed) can use. Enzymes specific to each of the three nutrient groups are released at this stage, further breaking down the food, and contributing to the digestive and absorption processes. These processes continue into the large intestine until the food’s nutritional content is extracted by the body.

• What are the three basic enzymes and the four specialty food enzymes?

  There are three basic food enzymes that help us digest our food. Each has a specific function and purpose, and each is necessary for the releasing of nutrients into our bodies. They are protease (which digests proteins), amylase (which digests starch) and lipase (which digests fats). In addition to these basic enzymes, there are also some specialty enzymes including: lactase (for the sugar lactose in dairy products), maltase (for the sugar maltose in foods), sucrase (for table sugar and fruit), and cellulase (which helps us digest cellulose fibres). Each of these enzymes play a significant part in the body’s overall health by promoting better digestion of food and absorption of nutrients.