The Best Digestive Enzymes for SIBO and Bloating

Pro-Digestion Intensive contains the best digestive enzymes for SIBO, bloating, and IBS. Poor digestion of sugars, starches, proteins, and fats can lead to digestive issues and excessive bloating. Significant improvements in IBS and SIBO symptoms are common after taking digestive enzymes, as pancreatic insufficiency is an underlying root cause of SIBO.

Low stomach acid, insufficient digestive enzymes, low bile flow, and damage to the villi lining the small intestine are all root causes of SIBO that must be addressed to heal SIBO and prevent SIBO from recurring after following the low fodmap diet and taking antimicrobial for SIBO.

Do digestive enzymes help with SIBO?

Carbohydrate malabsorption is the primary cause of bloating, one of the most common symptoms of SIBO and irritable bowel syndrome. A digestive enzyme supplement for bloating must contain digestive enzymes targeted to support the breakdown of various carbohydrates and starches to prevent excess bloating associated with SIBO due to excess fermentation and carbohydrate malabsorption.

Pancreatic insufficiency is one of the underlying root causes and SIBO. Studies reveal that small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is more common among people with chronic pancreatitis, inhibiting the body’s ability to produce sufficient enzymes to break down fats, protein, and carbohydrates.

Pro-Digestion Intensive Capsules by Seeking Health provides a broad spectrum of digestive enzymes derived from vegetarian sources to support optimal digestion of protein, fatty acids, and carbohydrates for optimal nutrient absorption. This enzyme supplement contains a targeted blend of disaccharidase enzymes to help break down problematic sugars for people with IBS and SIBO.

Healthy digestion requires digestive enzymes to break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. A digestive enzyme deficiency is a root cause of SIBO that will trigger digestive symptoms when foods are eaten without sufficient enzyme activity to break down those foods.

As a result of not enough enzymes, fermentable carbohydrates and high fodmap foods feed excess bacteria in the small intestine, thus causing uncomfortable symptoms of SIBO such as bloating, acid reflux, abdominal pain, and various gut issues.

What is the best digestive enzyme for bloating?

Pro-digestion intensive contains sugar-specific digestive enzymes for SIBO such as:

lactose (milk sugar)
maltose (from cereal grains)
Sucrose (table sugar)
amylopectin (starch molecules)

Insufficient disaccharidase production by the small intestine can cause carbohydrate malabsorption, bloating, and discomfort. Incompletely digested sugars or starch provide fuel for pathogenic organisms and may contribute to candida overgrowth, SIBO, and dysbiosis.

Seeking healths digestive enzymes helps to break down the sugars and starches to prevent bloating and overgrowth of opportunistic organisms in the gut, such as candida. Ensuring the optimal breakdown and absorption of sugars can help keep bacteria balanced and prevent small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

Undigested sugar and starches are fuel for bacteria that have overgrown in the small intestine. SIBO symptoms worsen when bacteria are abundant and undigested food is in the small intestine.

Protein molecules require multiple enzymes for complete digestion. Proteases degrade proteins into peptides of 10 to 20 amino acids in length. Peptidases then complete the process by splitting peptides into single free-form amino acids that are used by the body.

Incompletely digested peptides from gluten may cause adverse effects in some individuals. Pro-Digestion Intensive contains dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) to help with the breakdown of gluten.

Inflammation of gastrointestinal tissues can result from various causes such as:

undigested or partially digested food
ingested or endogenous toxins
intestinal pathogens
exposure to allergenic substances

Seeking health’s digestive enzyme supplement provides optimal digestion of foods that could be potentially irritating to the gut lining, as undigested food can be a source of irritation and inflammation to the intestinal lining.

Pro-Digestion Intensive supplies Serratia peptidase, a unique enzyme that helps protect sensitive gastrointestinal tissue from irritation and inflammation.

Lactose intolerance and SIBO

Lactose intolerance is mainly caused by a lactase enzyme deficiency which breaks down the lactose fodmap that many people with SIBO react to. Dairy products are a common food sensitivity, and people with IBS and SIBO are often intolerant to milk products due to the lactose found in milk.

Lactase is an enzyme produced by the villi in the small intestine. Damage to the intestinal lining and brush border enzymes, including the lactase enzyme, causes lactose intolerance and digestive symptoms such as bloating due to lactose malabsorption and excess fermentation.

A digestive enzyme supplement that includes the enzyme lactase benefits people with SIBO and an intolerance to the lactose fodmap.

What are the benefits of digestive enzyme supplements for IBS and SIBO?

The primary benefit of digestive enzymes for IBS is to help with the breakdown and absorption of food for optimal nutrient absorption. Undigested sugars and starches such as FODMAPS can worsen IBS symptoms such as bloating, gas, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, especially if bacteria have overgrown in the small intestine.

Taking a digestive enzyme with foods that are problematic for you, such as high fodmaps, will help with optimal digestion and absorption so that the rapidly fermentable starches and sugars are not fermented by bacteria in the small intestine.

What digestive enzymes should I take for SIBO?

You may wonder what enzymes benefit you with so many different types of enzymes and supplements on the market. The three most well-known digestive enzymes for digestive health are:

Protease enzymes help to breakdown protein
Lipase enzymes which help breakdown fat
Amylase enzymes which help breakdown starches

Seeking health’s Pro-Digestion Intensive contains these three primary enzymes and additional enzymes to help break down plant fibers, legumes, and starches.

People who suffer from bloating often cannot tolerate plant fibers, legumes, starches, and sugars. Taking a digestive enzyme supplement that contains additional enzymes to help break down the sugars, starches, fibers, and oligosaccharides are beneficial for people with IBS.

Someone who has poor fat digestion will want to support with a lipase enzyme to digest fat into fatty acids.

If high protein animal foods are problematic, then a protease enzyme to help with protein digestion is beneficial.

When to take digestive enzyme supplements?

Digestive enzyme supplements should be taken with food to help with the breakdown of food. The best time to take a digestive enzyme supplement is at the beginning of your main meals, especially with the foods in which you have difficulty digesting.

If you are looking for a high quality comprehensive digestive enzyme supplement seeking health’s pro-digestion intensive is a comprehensive digestive enzyme with the following enzymes to help support digestion and optimal absorption of food.

Carbohydrate Specific Digestive Enzymes for SIBO

Amylase
Alpha-Amylase
Glucoamylase
Sugar Specific Enzymes
Lactase
Sucrase
Maltase
Pullulanase

Vegetable/Plant Fiber Specific digestive enzymes for bloating

Cellulase
Hemicellulase/Pectinase Complex
Phytase
Beta-Glucanase
Alpha-Galactosidase
Galactomannase

Protein and Peptide Specific Enzymes for protein digestion

Acid Protease
Alkaline Protease
Protease/Peptidase Complex with DPP-IV endo-peptidase/exo-peptidase

Fat Specific Enzymes for digestion of fats

Lipase

Other Enzymes

Lysozyme
Serratia peptidase

Using a broad digestive enzyme supplement such as Seeking Health’s Pro-digestion Intensive is one of the best digestive enzyme supplements for bloating and IBS as it contains additional enzymes specific for sugar, starch, fiber, and carbohydrate digestion.

Supplemental enzymes with proteolytic enzymes to break down protein, lipase to break down fat, and various enzymes to break down carbohydrates are essential for optimizing the upper digestive terrain to prevent SIBO and reduce SIBO symptoms!

Since low stomach acid levels, poor bile flow, and pancreatic enzyme deficiency are all root causes of SIBO, the best digestive enzyme for SIBO should contain all the necessary enzymes to break down carbohydrates, fats, and protein.

Sufficient stomach acid, bile acids, and enzymes protect against SIBO. When the body’s natural protective barriers fail, SIBO occurs.

Gastric acids and bile destroy pathogens and prevent bacteria from passing through the intestines. Chronic pancreatic insufficiency is associated with SIBO as proteolytic enzymes digest bacteria in the digestive tract.