Up to 70 million Americans suffer from digestive issues like heartburn, nausea, bloating, and cramping. That's because many of these people share a common problem: their bodies don't produce enough digestive enzymes.

Digestive enzymes allow our stomachs to break down food into small, digestible pieces. Without them, food can linger in the stomach, causing discomfort in the gut, stomach, and esophagus. 

Thankfully, digestive enzyme supplements can help supply your stomach with the enzymes it needs for quick, comfortable digestion of nearly any food.

So it's no wonder why the market for digestive enzyme supplements has exploded. With so many options, millions are left wondering: how do I find a quality, effective enzyme supplement?

To help you regain your digestive comfort, Smarter Reviews has compiled years of research on digestive enzymes. In this quick guide, we'll break down what to look for and what to avoid, and even reveal the Top 5 digestive enzyme supplements on the market today.

How Do Digestive Enzyme Supplements Work?

Every food we eat is made up of unique components, like starch, protein, and fat. Many of these components can't be digested by stomach acid alone.

That's why our stomachs naturally produce enzymes. Each of these specialized particles help break down a different type of food, converting them into key nutrients like amino acids, glucose, and fatty acids. 

When we have too few enzymes, these foods don't get digested properly, causing digestive distress. Digestive enzyme supplements replenish missing enzymes, which helps ease digestive distress and increase digestive efficiency.

Benefits Of A Quality Enzyme Supplement

Unlike probiotics, the number one benefit of a quality enzyme supplement is speed. By immediately introducing powerful enzymes to your digestive system, these supplements promote rapid relief to a wide range of digestive issues. In as little as 20 minutes, they help:

Ease Bloating

When large, indigestible pieces of food linger in the stomach, it can cause minor swelling of the stomach lining, which leads to bloating. By helping break these food pieces down, enzymes help put a quick end to bloating.

Reduce Diarrhea

Diarrhea often happens when improper digestion distresses the intestines. Enzymes support a rapid return to digestive balance, which helps replace uncomfortable diarrhea with regular, manageable bowel movements.

Combat Gas

Poorly digested food can send the lower intestine into a state of confusion, causing it to produce uncomfortable, embarrassing gas. Enzyme supplements support quick, efficient digestion, which helps eliminate gas.

Fight Acid Reflux

Digestive distress can force the esophagus open during digestion, allowing caustic stomach acid to rise up into the throat. By promoting proper digestion, enzyme supplements help the esophagus stay closed.

Promote Energy & Mood

Proper digestion means more than relief from discomfort. Enzymes promote digestive efficiency, which helps your body get more nutrients from food you eat. This gives your body the fuel it needs for high, sustained energy, focus, and mood.

Age May Accelerate Digestive Issues

Experts have discovered that the majority of enzyme issues stem from age. Many begin to experience digestive distress as early as 30 years old. Because aging decreases enzyme production, these issues may grow more significant over time. That's why we recommend finding a quality enzyme supplement as soon as digestive issues emerge.

Since there are so many types of food, a quality digestive supplement must supply a wide variety of enzymes.

Enzymes To Look For In A Quality Digestive Aid: 

Protease

Proteases break down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids for nutritional absorption and optimal digestion.

Amylase

Amylase breaks down the starch, sugar and fiber found in grains, fruits and vegetables down into smaller molecules.

Lipase

Lipase breaks down fats like butter, cheese, olive and fish oils into fatty acids and glycerol. Look for at least 2,000 FIPs.

Cellulase

Cellulase helps us digest fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, humans can't produce it naturally, so we need supplements or fermented foods.

Bromelain

Sourced from pineapples, this proteolytic enzyme helps you digest proteins found in meats, nuts, cheese and grains.

Papain

Another crucial proteolytic enzyme for protein digestion, papain is sourced from papaya. Look for at least 800,000 PUs of papain per serving.

You May Be Buying the Wrong Digestive Enzyme if:

The labels lists dangerous fillers. 

Examples include: magnesium stearate, maltodextrin, silicon dioxide and artificial colors and flavors. 

Your supplement lacks potency or key ingredients.  

Many cheaper digestive enzyme supplements don't contain the potency necessary for real results. Consumers end up spending more money by buying multiple supplements in order to get all the ingredients they need.

You rely on Amazon reviews. 

Up to 60% of these reviews are written by individuals paid to leave positive feedback. Be careful using this source exclusively to choose supplements.

The Right Digestive Enzyme Supplement Has:

Plant-based enzymes

Unlike their animal-based counterparts, these enzymes target guts with both low and moderate acidity. They also help relieve stress on your small intestine, making them generally more effective than animal-based enzymes.

Probiotics

More specifically, Saccharomyces boulardii, a yeast that's crucial for dairy digestion. In the long term, it can help balance your gut.

Doctor-Formulation

It takes expertise to form an digestive enzyme. Look for real doctors specializing in gut health backing the supplement.

Money-Back Guarantee

Invest in a digestive enzyme that offers a 100% money-back guarantee that shows the company's faith in its product.

2021's Top 5 Digestive Enzyme Supplements 

We tested 37 different digestive enzyme supplements, and based on our 5 pillars of excellence — ingredient safety, projected effectiveness, value, return policy, and customer satisfaction — we narrowed the pool down to our top 5.