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Enzymes Aid Digestion So Kiddos Can Get Their Nutrients

One of the things most gratifying to any mother is feeding her child fresh, healthful foods, knowing that these foods will nourish a developing body, making it flourish in muscle and mind. But for parents of kiddos with special needs, metabolic situations, and tummy troubles, that may not be the case. Differences in the way that a child is handling things metabolically, immunologically, and gastrointestinally may affect how many nutrients is received from food intake and are available for various bodily processes.

Many doctors experienced in treating just these types of kiddos agree that the first line in restoring balance to the body is to make sure that the tummy is working well and that the brain is able to get the nutrients it needs, while not having undigested items (which may turn into allergens) travel in some form up to the brain.

And that’s where supplemental digestive enzymes can help.

But first, what is an enzyme? Enzymes are biologically active, energy containing catalysts that are composed of amino acids. Catalysts are agents that facilitate reactions.

Digestive enzymes are in charge of the digestion of food, the assimilation of food’s nutritional components, and getting rid of anything that isn’t needed from the food. This increases the benefit of food and makes the digestive system run more efficiently. When the digestive system runs more efficiently, more enzymes and energy are more available for other systems of the body, and so digestive enzymes help the whole body run better.

Think of this, after a big meal, you often feel like you need a nap. Why? It is because the digestive system uses the majority of energy of the body, thereby depriving the rest of the body’s systems of that energy to carry out their functions. Digestive enzymes, by increasing efficiency of the digestive system, increase function and efficiency of the entire body and, thereby, overall health.

Enzymes are classified by the type of chemical reaction they facilitate. The four major digestive enzyme categories are proteases, lipases, carbohydrases, and cellulases. Proteases handle the breakdown of proteins. Lipases handle the breakdown of lipids, also known as fats. Carbohydrases handle the breakdown of carbohydrates. And cellulases are a type of carbohydrase that handles the breakdown of cellulose.

Some special needs and sensitive kiddos have been shown to have immune problems. So since there is research speaking to a decrease in effectiveness in the immune system when the digestive system is under a greater amount of stress, it follows logically that helping the digestive system with digestive enzymes could possibly help the immune system.

In closing, using a digestive enzyme to unlock nutrients in the good food you provide, making them available to your child’s body, plus conserving energy for other bodily systems by increasing digestive efficiency, will help provide nutrition to your child’s brain and growth, while freeing up energy to maintain the overall health of his body.