Do we need enzymes to support our digestion?

Ciao!! I am back to the United States after a wonderful trip through Europe. I so enjoyed the different cultures, languages, people, scenery and FOOD! 

Fist stop was France. Their food was so decadent. I was so satisfied after each meal, that I was certain I couldn’t eat the next meal, and lo and behold, I was hungry and ready for the next surprise. 

I personally have the tendency to eat fast while I am multi-tasking. (something I continue to work on:). But in Europe, I ate so slow, we had extra time for meals, with heaps of laughter and absolutely no stress. Consuming more bread and cheese in a month then I have in 3 years, was also a shift. However, the quality of these were extremely better. 

Why? The bread in Europe takes 3 days from start to finish to make and only has a 1-2 day shelf life because it only has 3 ingredients wheat, salt and water. Our bread has added preservatives which helps it last longer but leaves us feeling bloated along with other digestive issues. 

As for the beloved cheese, Europeans eat more raw cheeses with the basic ingredients while the US standards are allowing less or no raw cheese with extra fillers to be sold. The basic ingredients in most cheeses are water, bacteria (which digests the milk sugar and converts it to lactic acid), milk fat, milk protein (primarily casein), and salt.​ Also, there is research that the cows, goats and sheep are healthier from less antibiotics and genetics, thus the casein in the cheese isn’t as inflammatory. 

Along with the activity of walking and biking everywhere, I felt so great. One reason was I brought two different kinds of enzymes to help my body assimilate all of this goodness. 

Do we need enzymes? Not everyone does, especially if you don’t have a history of digestive issues, prolonged antibiotic use, stress, liver congestion or other inflammatory conditions. However, most of us experience this list. 

Besides raw fruits, veggies, cultured and fermented foods that contain amazing enzymes, I packed two different versions. 

Regular digestive enzymes help breakdown proteins, carbs and fats and contain enzymes for each such as amylase, protease and lipase. Some brands also contain bromelain (pineapple extract) and papain (papaya extract) for added support. Try to take these ANY time whether with food or between meals. The research and bottle may say differently, but I have noticed that any time is better and connecting with your body more consistently than trying to do it “perfectly”. 

The next bottle I brought was HCl, Betain & Pepsin. I wasn’t eating a lot of meat prior to the trip and new I was going to try new things and this supplement supports the stomach to break down proteins well. To digest food well, your stomach must have adequate acid levels. Without sufficient acid levels, the food you eat will not be entirely broken down, which means that you will be unable to absorb all the nutrients provided by your food.

The acid that carries the biggest workload in the digestive process is hydrochloric acid or HCl.  Betaine hydrochloride is naturally found in beets and assists in the absorption of B12, calcium, iron and proteins. It is also thought to prevent fungi and bacteria from overproducing by ensuring that you have adequate levels of acid to kill them. Pepsin is the chief digestive enzyme in the stomach, which breaks down proteins into polypeptides.​This supplement can be great for you to try under supervision because the symptoms of low stomach acid often mirror those of high stomach acid, so it’s important to be tested in order to determine if betaine HCl supplementation could be helpful for you. Betaine HCl supplementation should be avoided by people who have peptic ulcers. Hydrochloric acid could also be detrimental to a person with severe atrophic gastritis or inflammation along the stomach wall.​

If you have any questions, please email me and we can give your digestive system some love! 

P.S. Some amazing colleagues of mine have but together a Healing Extravaganza Gift experience! There will be guided meditations, amazing PDF reports, remote healing sessions, training videos, mini-courses, a sound healing session, astrology readings, master classes and free coaching sessions. These gifts have immense value and my friends at the Pure Stream Alliance (Craig Stucko, Deborah Edwards and Michael Clark) are giving it away for FREE, because they want to help healers like me spread affordable mind-body-spirit healing throughout the globe. I was so excited by their mission that I jumped at the chance to join them​

Click here to Sign up! Then CHECK YOUR INBOX and be ready for the free gifts to come in beginning July 19th!