What the enzymes in Digestym are, what each one does, and how the micropellets carry them to the small intestine.
Proteins that break food down into smaller parts during digestion. The pancreas produces most of them and releases them into the small intestine, where most digestion takes place. Digestym contains pancreatin, a mixture of pancreatic enzymes of porcine origin, together with hemicellulase.
Involved in the breakdown of fats during digestion.
Involved in the breakdown of proteins.
Contributes to the breakdown of carbohydrates.
Involved in the breakdown of plant fibres found in fruit, vegetables and grains. It is not a pancreatic enzyme, so it is added separately to the pancreatin.
Pancreatic enzymes are broken down by stomach acid. The enteric coating stays intact at the low pH of the stomach and dissolves at the higher pH of the small intestine, so the enzymes arrive where digestion takes place.
Each capsule holds thousands of coated micropellets, 0.8 to 1.8 mm across. The gelatin capsule dissolves in the stomach and releases them. At that size they mix evenly with food and leave the stomach gradually alongside it, rather than as a single mass.
In European Pharmacopoeia Units (Ph. Eur. U), a standardised measure of enzyme activity rather than weight. Per capsule, Digestym Standard provides lipase 10,000 Ph. Eur. U, amylase 4,100 Ph. Eur. U and protease 400 Ph. Eur. U, with hemicellulase 80 U. Forte provides lipase 25,000 Ph. Eur. U, amylase 10,250 Ph. Eur. U and protease 1,000 Ph. Eur. U, with hemicellulase 250 U.
Digestym Standard and Forte are available direct at shop.digestym.com with free UK delivery, and on Amazon. Questions? Email hello@digestym.com.