legumes

Understanding Enzymes and Probiotics: What’s the Difference?

Today, let’s talk about two important things for your digestive health: enzymes and probiotics. Understanding enzymes and probiotics is key to keeping your gut happy and healthy. They might sound like complicated words, but don’t worry—we’ll make it easy to understand.

What Are Enzymes?

Enzymes are special proteins that help break down the food you eat into smaller pieces. Think of them as tiny scissors cutting up food so your body can use it for energy, growth, and repair. There are different types of enzymes for different kinds of food. For example, some enzymes help digest proteins, while others work on carbohydrates or fats.

What Are Probiotics?

Probiotics are live bacteria that are good for your gut. They are often called “good bacteria” because they help keep your digestive system healthy. These friendly bacteria live in your intestines and help balance the bad bacteria, improve digestion, and boost your immune system.

The Difference Between Enzymes and Probiotics

Enzymes help break down food.
Probiotics are good bacteria that live in your gut and help keep it healthy.

Think of it this way: enzymes are like the workers that prepare your meal, and probiotics are the guests that keep everything running smoothly during the meal.

Why Don’t Many Practitioners Talk About Enzymes?

Even though enzymes are super important for digestion, they don’t get as much attention as probiotics. This might be because:

Less Awareness: Many people are more familiar with probiotics because they are often added to foods like yogurt and advertised a lot.
Focus on Probiotics: There has been a lot of research on probiotics lately, so they get more spotlight in the health community.
Lack of Knowledge: Some practitioners may not know as much about enzymes or how to use them in balancing the body.

Why Enzymes Are Just as Important

Enzymes are crucial because, without them, your body can’t properly digest food. This can lead to problems like bloating, gas, and nutrient deficiencies. So, it’s important to pay attention to enzymes as much as probiotics for good digestive health. Understanding enzymes and probiotics is key to your health.

Foods, Medications, and Beverages That Destroy Enzymes

Certain things can destroy the enzymes in your body, making it harder for you to digest food properly. Here are some culprits:

Processed Foods: These often lack natural enzymes and can deplete the ones you have. Seed oils, even the kind in organic foods, can wreak havoc in the body.
Sugary Drinks: Too much sugar can harm your digestive enzymes.
Alcohol: Drinking too much alcohol can damage the cells that produce enzymes.
Medications: Some drugs, like antibiotics and antacids, can interfere with enzyme production.
High-Heat Cooking: Cooking food at very high temperatures can destroy natural enzymes found in raw foods.

How to Keep Your Enzymes Healthy

To keep your enzymes working well, try to eat more raw fruits and vegetables, avoid too much processed food and sugar, and limit alcohol intake. Also, talk to a healthcare provider before starting any new medications or supplements.

More Tips for a Healthy Gut

In addition to focusing on enzymes and probiotics, you can take other steps to keep your gut healthy. Drinking plenty of water helps your digestive system work smoothly. Regular exercise can also improve your digestion and reduce stress, which benefits your gut health. Getting enough sleep is important too, as poor sleep can negatively affect your gut.

Including a variety of fiber-rich foods in your diet, such as whole grains, legumes, and nuts, can support both enzyme activity and probiotic growth. Fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi are great sources of natural probiotics and can help maintain a healthy balance of gut bacteria.

Remember, understanding enzymes and probiotics is key in keeping your digestive system healthy and happy. So, take care of your gut, and it will take care of you!

If you are looking for a Digestive Health Specialist to make the process easier and recommend the best products relevant to your needs, comment below or schedule your complimentary call here.

Red lentil sloppy joes are a nutritious and economical dish but most importantly they taste amazing. Red lentils are rich in iron, fiber, selenium, zinc, carbohydrates, protein, and vitamin B1. Plus, they’re an excellent source of phosphorus, manganese, and folic acid. Unlike other legumes, lentils cook in about 30 minutes and don’t require soaking so you can make a healthy meal when you are short on time.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp of coconut oil or vegetable broth

1 red bell pepper finely chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

1 medium onion chopped (approx 2/3 cup)

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 bay leaf

8 ounces tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups of water

1 cup dry red lentils

1 tbsp low sodium Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp yellow mustard

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp coconut sugar

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt (optional)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat and add bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes or until softened, stirring frequently.

Add onion, garlic, and tomato paste and cook for one-minute stirring constantly.

Stir in the remaining ingredients, and heat to a boil over medium-high heat.

Cover with lid and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30-35 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.

Serve lentils wrapped in lettuce leaves or on top of a gluten-free bun.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Recipe courtesy of Rebecca Downing from the Shred 10 recipe book.

We’d love to know, did you enjoy this recipe as much as I did? Did you make any changes? If you’d like to try another nutrient-dense meal, check out this Black Bean Mango Quinoa Salad! Want to learn more about what nutrients and minerals could benefit you? Book a call with us to discuss testing options.