Enzymes, like those found in bodybuilding supplements are simple or conjugated proteins synthesized by all kinds of living organisms, animals as well as plants. They act like biochemical catalysts that facilitate and accelerate biochemical reactions taking place inside our body. Enzymes that aid the process of digestion and the consequent absorption of nutrients from food are called digestive enzymes. You may be including the most nutritive foods in your diet, but unless your body is able to actually absorb all the nutrients present in the food, you are not going to benefit fully from your diet. That’s where the role of digestive enzymes arises, especially if you are engaged in the sport of bodybuilding and are using natural bodybuilding supplements, then consider including digestive enzymes too in your bodybuilding supplements kit.
Digestive enzymes are enzymes that help break down proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the food into a form that can be readily absorbed by the body for growth and carrying out various functions. They are secreted by various glands present in the gastrointestinal tract (alimentary canal) and by accessory digestive system organs e.g., salivary glands in the mouth, glands in the stomach and small intestine, pancreas, liver, duodenum, etc.
Digestive enzymes secreted by different glands perform different functions but broadly speaking fall into one of the following three categories: amylases, proteases and lipases, which are enzymes that help the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, respectively. For example, ptyalin secreted by the salivary glands initiates the breakdown of starches into simple sugars like maltose and dextrin; pepsin, the main gastric enzyme, helps break down proteins into smaller peptides; trypsin produced in the pancreas breaks down peptides into smaller fragments, which are further split into individual amino acids by the enzyme carboxypeptidase, and so on and so forth. A number of enzymes (e.g., sucrase, lactase, maltase, intestinal lipase) are produced in the small intestine too that break down disaccharides into monosaccharides (simplest forms of sugar like glucose and fructose) for absorption.
related: Nandrolone