Your body naturally produces many types of digestive enzymes. They break down food into nutrients so these can be absorbed in your gut.
If your body isn’t able to produce the enzymes required, you might need to take digestive enzymes in the forms of prescription medications or supplements.
But most people produce all the digestive enzymes they need.
Below, we’ll explain in detail what digestive enzymes do. We’ll also introduce some of the most important types, talk about insufficiencies, and ask whether digestive enzyme supplements really can support digestive health.
What do digestive enzymes do?
Foods provide the nutrients your body needs to work. But before your body can use these nutrients, they need to be broken down into simpler compounds.
This process allows the compounds to pass through your gut wall and into your bloodstream, where they can travel to where they’re needed.
So, where do digestive enzymes come in?
As soon as you put food in your mouth, enzymes in your saliva kick off the digestive process. When you swallow, and your food makes its way to your stomach, other digestive enzymes begin their work.
After a few hours in your stomach, the food moves further down your digestive tract and into your small intestine, where another group of enzymes gets to work breaking down nutrients.
Next, we’ll outline some of the most important digestive enzymes your body produces.
Common examples of digestive enzymes
Each macronutrient — protein, fat, and carbohydrates — needs different types of digestive enzymes to break them down.
Below, we list the macronutrients, some digestive enzymes that break them down, and where these enzymes are produced:
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Fat is broken down by lipase enzymes, which are produced by your pancreas and released into your small intestine.
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Protein is broken down by protease enzymes, which are also made by your pancreas.
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Carbohydrates are broken down by amylase enzymes, which are produced in your mouth and pancreas.
Other enzymes are produced in your small intestine, and these break down specific types of carbohydrates. For instance:
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Lactase breaks down lactose, the sugar in milk.
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Maltase breaks down maltose, a sugar in malt.
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Sucrase breaks down sucrose, table sugar.
What do enzymes break macronutrients into?
Depending on the macronutrient, enzymes produce different products:
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Fats are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol.
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Proteins are broken down into amino acids.
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Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose.
These compounds are small enough to be absorbed across the lining of your gut and into your bloodstream.
Probiotics vs digestive enzymes
People sometimes confuse digestive enzyme supplements and probiotics. It might be because some supplements contain both. However, they’re very different:
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Probiotics are live microbes that benefit our health when consumed in the right amounts.
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Digestive enzymes aren’t living microbes, but they may help if people are struggling to digest their food.
Live microbes and digestive enzymes are both important for supporting gut health, but they play different roles.
While the gut can break down most nutrients, it can't break down them all. This is where your gut bacteria come in.
Gut bacteria contain their own enzymes, and these can break down nutrients that your gut can't, including fibre and plant chemicals.
Who needs to take digestive enzymes?
Certain health conditions are associated with enzyme insufficiency. This means that your body can’t produce adequate levels of digestive enzymes.
These health conditions include:
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cystic fibrosis
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type 1 and type 2 diabetes
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HIV
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congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency
Because the pancreas is an important producer of enzymes, conditions that affect this organ may also lead to enzyme insufficiency. These conditions include:
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pancreatic cancer
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cysts on the pancreas
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inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
If you have any of these health conditions, your doctor may prescribe an enzyme medication.
What are the symptoms of enzyme insufficiency?
If your body doesn’t produce enough digestive enzymes, symptoms may include:
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bloating, cramps and excessive gas
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diarrhoea
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greasy, oily or smelly poo
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unexplained weight loss
A doctor may prescribe drugs that contain specific amounts of digestive enzymes. These drugs come in different forms, such as capsules or powder.
The most common medication is called pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, or PERT. It contains protease, amylase, and lipase to help you digest proteins, carbs and fats.
Digestive enzyme supplements
Over-the-counter (OTC) digestive enzyme supplements aren’t the same as the prescribed medications. However, they often contain a combination of enzymes, such as amylase, lipase, protease and lactase.
Some people take these supplements to relieve symptoms like a stomach-ache, excess wind and diarrhoea.
Lactase enzyme supplements allow people with lactose intolerance to eat foods containing lactose without experiencing symptoms.
Other supplements may contain alpha-galactosidase, an enzyme that our bodies don’t produce. This enzyme can break down oligosaccharides, a type of FODMAP in wheat, onions and beans.
While alpha-galactosidase supplements might be helpful in certain scenarios, the research is limited so far.
Overall, most people don’t need enzyme supplements, as their bodies can produce all the enzymes necessary to break down food.
Remember, if you're struggling with food intolerances, a dietitian can provide support.
It’s also important to note that OTC digestive enzyme supplements aren’t as carefully regulated as prescribed medicines.
So, you can’t guarantee which enzymes you’ll get or how much each dose will contain. Also, the claims on these supplements’ labels aren’t backed by scientific evidence.
Which foods contain enzymes?
Certain foods naturally contain digestive enzymes. Some people believe that eating these foods can help improve digestion and reduce gut symptoms.
However, there’s no good evidence that people with or without digestive enzyme insufficiency will experience any benefits.
Here are some examples of foods that contain digestive enzymes:
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pineapples
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mangoes
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avocados
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bananas
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fermented foods
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ginger
Side effects and considerations
If you’re consuming digestive enzymes in foods, you’re unlikely to experience any side effects.
But because supplements aren’t tightly regulated, it’s not clear what side effects they might cause.
Experts know more about prescribed digestive enzyme medications, and their side effects can include:
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nausea
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diarrhoea
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excess wind
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indigestion
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abdominal cramps
Still, digestive enzyme medications are generally well-tolerated – any side effects usually settle down with time. Other options include changing the brand of medication or dosage of enzymes.
Summary
Digestive enzymes help us break down foods to access the nutrients we need. Our bodies naturally produce a wide range of enzymes to help break down different macronutrients.
Some people have enzyme insufficiency, meaning that their bodies don’t produce enough digestive enzymes. For these people, doctors may prescribe medications that contain enzymes.
OTC digestive enzyme supplements are also available – but for people without enzyme insufficiency, there’s no good evidence that these supplements can benefit digestive health.
So, although these supplements are generally considered safe, they may not be effective, and it’s not clear what side effects they might cause.
Several foods naturally contain digestive enzymes, including pineapples, fermented foods and bananas.
To learn more about other gut health topics, visit Symprove’s Gut Hub.
References
Digestive enzymes. (n.d.). Link.
Digestive enzyme supplementation in gastrointestinal diseases. Current Drug Metabolism. (2016). Link.
Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy in pancreatic exocrine insufficiency — real-world’s dosing and effectiveness: A systematic review. Digestive Diseases and Sciences. (2025). Link.
Physiology, digestion. (2020). Link.
Symptoms and causes for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. (2023). Link.
