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Problem with digestive enzymes?


gatork

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So, for the last month or so, I took the Jarrow Forumula's Jarro-Zymes, and didn't seem to have any problems. (Those plus Whole 30 = less digestion problems, it seemed.)

I bought NOW's Super Enzymes a week or so ago, and started taking them this week. I end up having a kind of burning in my throat all day long, plus a weird taste in my mouth, after taking one in the morning with breakfast. (At first, I thought maybe it was my actual breakfast, but honestly, my breakfast foods have been the same for the last 3-4 weeks.) Yesterday, I took one while dinner was cooking, and within maybe 5 minutes, felt the burning again, before I had even finished cooking dinner.

After reading the blog post on digestive enzymes, I think that Jarro-Zymes were plant-based, whereas NOW's Super Enzymes are animal-based.

Has anyone else had weird problems when trying animal-sourced digestive enzymes? I think I plan to switch back to plant-based, but now I have this huge bottle that will go to waste :\

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gatork, how many pills are you taking? just one at breakfast? and is this before or after you eat?

First, you need to take these AFTER you eat, not on an empty stomach. You said that you took one while dinner was cooking? If your stomach is empty, there's no fuel for the enzymes to be breaking down. It's not surprising that your body doesn't react well to that.

My other thought is that you may not NEED any digestive support. The recommendation for the superenzymes is to start with one pill, then work up until you get a "warm feeling in your belly," then back down one. Either the timing of your supplementation is the culprit, OR you're taking too much. It sounds like you're getting that warm feeling with just one pill. Maybe take a half a pill? (do you have tablets or capsules?) Maybe you don't need any at all!

Digestive enzymes are usually recommended to people that are initially struggling with their digestion, or that have had their gall bladder removed. It's not intended for long term supplementation unless you're REALLY broken, which is sounds like you arent?

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Thanks for the quick reply! I've just been taking one pill before breakfast and one pill before dinner. It was my understanding to take them around meal time (not necessarily after), so I've usually taken them literally right before/with meals. (It probably wasn't 30 minutes before last night because dinner definitely did not take that long.) I wouldn't really say I get a warm feeling in the "belly" though, it's more in my throat..not sure if that's the same indicator. (I also kind of suspect I have laryngopharyngeal reflux, so maybe that's contributing to the burning in the throat rather than warm belly feeling. But, digestive enzymes apparently help some patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux, so that was an additional reason I wanted to try them.)

I have had digestive problems before (and still do) so this was sort of a test for a few months to see if digestive enzymes in general would help. (So, I wasn't planning on long term supplementation, and have really only been taking them for about a month.)

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Dr. Gerstmar replied to my question on the blog post - http://whole9life.co...ve-enzymes-101/

Sounds like irritation from HCl... ("HCL irritation is usually a burning, uncomfortable sensation in the chest or throat. Can include heartburn or sour tastes in the mouth but is less common.")

Great article. Thank for asking the question. It was exactly what I needed.

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