Digestive Enzymes: How to Make the Most of Every Bite You Eat

Imagine someone hands you a beautiful, brightly wrapped birthday gift. If you’re over the age of 16, you might take a minute to admire the packaging and bow. No matter how old you are, you know the real goal is to get what’s inside. The best part comes after you open that box!

Your food is the same way. How it looks and tastes matters. But the prize comes from breaking down that food into the nourishment your body needs. You’re aiming for the vitamins, lean protein, healthy fats, and slow-low carbs packaged inside your tasty dinner of wild salmon, kale, and quinoa.

Time to Open the Package

Back to that awesome birthday present. What if you started to unwrap your gift, but then got distracted? You might set it aside on a shelf, where it stays just as attractive – and essentially useless. No matter how thoughtful and creative the gift is inside, you’re never going to enjoy it if you don’t finish opening the package.

To appreciate the gift of healthy, nutritious food you’re giving your body at mealtime, your digestive system has several jobs to do. After you eat, the very first job is to “open the package” by using digestive enzymes to break down your food into smaller, digestible pieces – especially the proteins.

Once digestive enzymes do their work, then your gastrointestinal system can absorb what you need, send it out to other systems in your body, and then dispose of the rest. (Can we just take a moment to appreciate the genius of our guts?)

What to Do When Eating Hurts

So here’s the problem: after age 35 or during any time of stress, your body makes fewer digestive enzymes.^1-4 It’s part of an intricate set of stress responses designed to conserve your resources until the threat has passed. Only, in the modern world, the “threat” comes in the shape of work deadlines, shuttling the kids to and from practice, cleaning the house, and trying to juggle meals, sleep, and exercise in between. We’re seldom able to completely resolve (or even ignore) our stress.

That means your body is also rarely making your full quota of digestive enzymes. And without them, that first crucial step in digestion – breaking down your food into usable particles – goes unfinished.⁵ Not only can that lack of enzymes result in painful heartburn, cramping, and uncomfortable bloating, you’re also never really receiving all the nutrition your food contains, no matter how carefully you grocery shop or cook. What a waste!

The good news is that it’s not hard to give your gut a boost. JJ Virgin Click to tweet

You can start by addressing your stress and sleep habits. That means making it a priority to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night and taking time for activities that help lower your stress levels – cuddle time with your pet, taking your family to the park, or a long coffee date with your bestie.

Smart Supplements Are Key

The other easy advantage you can offer your gut is a quality digestive enzymes supplement. Taken before meals, digestive enzymes can give your body extra firepower to tackle the process of breaking down your food, allowing for faster, easier digestion. That can equal less gas, bloating, and heartburn and more accessible nutrition.⁶

I’m a proud mamma, so forgive me for bragging a bit right now: we’ve worked hard to source non-GMO, superior quality digestive enzymes in Metabolic Digestive Balance. I’m a firm believer in multitasking, so our product not only helps you break down protein, it’s also a Phase 2 Carb Controller. That means it can slow down or even prevent the absorption of carbohydrates from your food, a helpful tool for weight loss.*

If you’re over 35, experience regular stress, or find mealtime often results in unpleasant symptoms, it’s worth trying digestive enzymes! Ditto if you’re trying to lose weight or give your gut the best possible chance of not only digesting your food, but also maintaining your immunity and brain health.^7-9

It doesn’t take long-term supplementation for your body to get the hint. Just one month of supplementing with Metabolic Digestive Balance can help put your body back on track with its own production of enzymes. Try this safe and natural supplement for 30 days, and let me know how it goes on Facebook! (You don’t have anything to lose but unwanted carbs, gas, bloating, and acid reflux…)*

_{* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.}