What are digestive enzymes and how can they support runners’ health and performance?
In recent years, the discussion of nutrition for runners has started to extend beyond discussions about getting enough protein, calcium, iron, and other typical nutrients to also include nutrients that support gut health. For example, a common diet tip for runners is to eat foods with probiotics, which are
“healthy”
bacteria found in fermented foods like Greek yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir. More advanced running nutrition articles may even suggest runners consume prebiotics — which feeds the beneficial bacteria you already have in your gut to help support the health of these microbes.
If you are among the many runners who tend to suffer from digestive issues while running, ranging from the dreaded runners’ trots (diarrhea) to nausea or bloating, or just find that your digestive system seems to be in hyperdrive or irritated because of you’re running, a sports nutritionist may recommend you consider adding digestive enzymes to your training diet.
But are digestive enzymes the same as probiotics or prebiotics? What foods contain digestive enzymes and what are the benefits for runners?
What Are Digestive Enzymes?
Digestive enzymes are involved in catalyzing the digestion of macronutrients—carbohydrates, fats, and other proteins—we consume, helping break down these large molecules into their small building blocks so they can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Much like a lock-and-key mechanism, each enzyme has an
“active site”
that attracts and binds to specific molecules in the body, helping connect the necessary elements to make the chemical reaction proceed. In this way, digestive enzymes increase the bioavailability of nutrients in food.
There are three general categories of digestive enzymes based on the type of nutrients they interact with:
Amylases: Help break down carbohydrates into simple sugars
Proteases: Help break down ingested proteins into amino acids.
Lipases: Help break down dietary fats and oils into fatty acids and glycerol.
Do Runners Need to Take Digestive Enzymes?
Much like probiotics, there are certain foods that contain natural digestive enzymes. However, the body also produces the same enzymes as long as you are healthy. Most are exocrine secretions from the pancreas, which means they are produced in the pancreas and released with pancreatic juices through ducts in the organ when triggered by hormonal signals during eating. The digestive enzymes enter the duodenum (small intestines), where they can begin interacting with the proteins and carbohydrates in the chyme as it exits the stomach. In addition to pancreatic enzymes, salivary analysis in the mouth initiates the digestion of starches, and proteases in the stomach start breaking down proteins.
Several factors affect the synthesis and functional activity of digestive enzymes, including energy availability and the environment in the area of the digestive tract in which the specific digestive enzymes function. Therefore, the pH of your gut, medications such as PPIs for heartburn (GERD), the health of your gut microbiome, your diet overall, stress, and other factors can affect the production and activity of your digestive enzymes. One of the biggest offenders
Runners who have digestive issues and lack sufficient digestive enzymes may experience bloating, gas, belching, delayed gastric emptying, abdominal pain, increased stool transit time, diarrhea, constipation, fatty stools, food intolerances, and fatigue. If you find that you seem to have a lot of “food intolerances,“ or a very sensitive stomach in terms of what you eat before you run, you might look into eating more foods that have natural digestive enzymes.
Foods That Contain Digestive Enzymes
In addition to endogenous production, digestive enzymes can be obtained by consuming certain foods that naturally contain these gut-supportive factors. Enzymes that aid digestion can be found in different fruits, edible plants, and natural foods and probiotics can be found in fermented foods. Some of the best food sources of digestive enzymes include the following:
Pineapples: Pineapples contain bromelain, an enzyme that helps break down proteins. In fact, it is because of this protein-degrading enzyme that pineapple is a good meat tenderizer.
Bananas: Bananas not only contain a lot of potassium, but they are also a good source of the digestive enzymes amylase and maltase, which help break down starch and malt sugars, respectively. These enzymes become active as the fruit ripens, which is why a ripe, yellow banana tastes sweeter than a starchy, green banana.
Papayas: Papaya contains a protease called papain. The concentration of this protein-degrading enzyme decreases as the fruit ripens. Like pineapple, papaya is sometimes used as a meat tenderizer.
Kiwifruit: Kiwi contains a compound called actinidin, which aids in the digestion of proteins like gluten and gelatin.
Apricots: Apricots contain several enzymes that assist in the breakdown of food. For example, invertase breaks down the disaccharide sucrose into the monosaccharides glucose and fructose.
Avocados: Avocados not only contain healthy monounsaturated fats, but also the fat-digesting enzyme, lipase.
Ginger: Ginger is an antioxidant superfood and also a digestive aid, due to the natural zingibain, a protease. Additionally, studies have found that ginger increases the body’s natural production of digestive enzymes like amylases and lipases.
Honey: Raw honey is an excellent source of several types of digestive enzymes, including amylases, proteases, diastases (which break down starches into maltose sugar), and invertases. Once the honey is heated, the enzymes are no longer viable, so it must be consumed raw and unprocessed to reap these digestive benefits.
Source: Women's Running
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