 Wondering if digestive enzymes can help you with your gut issues. Listen to this Our next caller is Alexandra from New York. Alexandra. How can we help you? Hey guys So I'm calling in because I was listening to a recent episode where you guys were advertising mass enzymes And I have to admit I don't know much about these digestive enzymes But the way it was described in the episode really spoke to me in that it sounded like you know if you have Problems digesting protein or things like that. It can really help And so so candidly that's an issue that I've kind of always had And I don't think it's like a particularly big deal for me personally But there are times when I would like to eat more protein to put on more muscle mass But I struggle because I can easily get you know constipated So I just try not to eat too much protein. Anyways when I heard about mass enzymes I thought that maybe this is something I should try But you know, I have a couple of concerns because from what I've heard from other people not about mass I'm specifically but just about digestive enzymes in general Which is one when you take them they can kind of make you go to the bathroom a lot more You know like shit more And so one is is that before do you think that's true? And then and then a follow-up to that is if you do start taking them Do you think you would kind of start relying on them to go to the bathroom more I wouldn't want to get like hooked on them Yeah, yeah, that's my two-bar question. Yeah, good question. Okay, so Digestive enzymes can definitely help with digestive issues If the issue is you need more digestive enzymes for your diet So if the issue is that you have I don't know small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or You're eating a food that you're intolerant to or you're lacking fiber or here's a big one You're not drinking enough water then it might not help that much So if it is indeed it that you need more digestive enzymes I would say they're inexpensive try it out and see if it helps But if it's not that it could be something else it could be what you're eating It could be lack of fiber. It could be lack of water It could be stress it could be a lot of different issues that can be causing digestive issues now as far as becoming reliant on them No, you're not going to become reliant. There's no negative feedback loop that I'm Aware of with digestive enzymes where if you consume them your body, you know produces less of them So probably what happened with your friend my guess is that she she used them They helped and she continued to eat foods that would normally cause her problems So then when she stopped taking the enzymes then she gets those problems back So the answer for her might have been to change the foods that she was eating in the first place I hope that makes them well I didn't I didn't mess with this at all until you actually because you're you're notorious for carrying around all your little Your little vitamin purse that you have and every time we would eat something off. That's it's a mess Yeah, you would eat these digestive enzymes and I thought you know what we were I think one night We were at the Tahoe place. We're getting ready to eat either pizza or Something that had a lot of gluten and I asked you guys because Justin does too. I see him use it I'm like, you know it doesn't like when I eat pizza It doesn't destroy me, but it definitely if I have more than like four slices It could it could ruin my night for sure right a lot of our nights when you do that, so I I asked to try it and I noticed a significant difference in how I responded to the pizza So I've so now I try and if I ever I'm gonna eat like ice cream or gluten two things that I know that I have intolerance to By doing that it doesn't I know it doesn't fix the problem. I know it doesn't but it does mitigate I feel the the effects that I would I would feel from that is that is that correct and should that should that be happening that way Is that right? Yeah, no it isn't and it's like I don't know. This is not really a good example, but it's like taking anti-inflammatory right after you something That's inflammatory So it can help But the ultimate issue is that you eat you know gluten and ice cream right that bother you The way that I use digestive enzymes Is I use them when I eat very high protein meals, especially if I'm not eating a lot of vegetables with that It can make a difference for me. I also use uh, I'll substitute fiber So I'll take psyllium husk that can help now That's what works well for me for some people that might not Necessarily help the good thing about digestive enzymes are they're inexpensive and you can try them out And see if they help but ultimately just like any supplement It's not the ultimate cure right the ultimate cure is let's figure out at the root Of what's going on and then use those In order to mitigate issues when maybe you go off or you eat in a way that might normally bow Well, that's what would you classify like the hcl pills like inside? I usually do that to kind of cut back at some of the overgrowth. So that's hydro Let's see hcl is a hydrochloric acid. It might send their acid Yeah, so it's stokes basically you know acid production your stomach It is it is the acid that you produce But that's not a digestive enzyme, but see that's another one, right? So if you have low hcl It can create an environment where bacteria actually builds up in your small intestines and then you start to develop issues And believe it or not heartburn is a common side effect of not producing enough You know acid which a lot of people think it's the opposite. They think they're making too much acid Oftentimes, it's you're not making enough acid. So digestive issues tend to be complicated But digestive enzymes are a very safe easy Inexpensive thing that you can experiment with and the reason why we work with bio optimizers mass zimes Is because they design them specifically for athletes So the the enzymes that are good for Breaking down the types of foods that we tend to eat a lot of especially protein You tend to see more of them in there and I've messed with a lot of digestive enzymes And there's a lot of them that are good out there, but they're one of the better ones And that's why we chose working with them But no, you won't become you won't become dependent But if you don't solve the root issue Then you may need to use them always whenever you eat foods that tend to cause problems. Does that make sense? Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. I mean it sounds to me a little bit like there's some trial and error here I mean you mentioned a few of the different root causes You know, I think for example water That's one that I I feel like I do drink a lot of water But you know, it could be the the bacterial growth that you're talking about and You know, so maybe it's trying the enzymes if that doesn't help then maybe exploring other things or you know Maybe it's cutting out foods. Maybe there are certain foods that I Don't digest well that I just don't know about So it's probably a little bit of a process to get there But it sounds like it doesn't hurt to at least try the enzymes totally and Alexandra the a gut health specialist Is worth their weight and goals? Okay, because let's say you do have SIBO, right? You can fix it. You can actually cure it. You might be have you might have lived with it for, you know, five years It's something that's curable, right? Digestive experts or gut health experts are so valuable because once you and I'm speaking from personal experience Once you solve some of these issues The impacts are far ranging on your whole body and your mental well-being I mean, I I feel better mentally when my digestion is good results in the gym, too Oh my god, there's a six six seven pound weight difference in me when my gut health is good versus when it's not so I I suggest finding a good gut health specialist In it's it's there's a lot of testing involved. You'll probably have to do a stool test You'll probably have to do some blood test and you might even have to do and you know endoscopy or whatever Depending on the situation, but totally worth it. So that's that's where I would send you first But the digestive enzymes doesn't hurt you can you can throw that in very safe supplement And again very inexpensive and it won't hurt to try Awesome. Yeah, I'll definitely do that. Thanks guys. Thanks Andrew. Appreciate it You know, it's funny is that um It wasn't that long ago. Maybe like I know when we started the podcast Nobody in fitness talked about uh digestive issues. Nobody. In fact, it was just something you worked through Yeah, and it was actually accepted. Like, oh, yeah, you get a lot of protein. That's why you know, whatever Or you know, it wasn't accepted. It wasn't um, uh any issue that anybody talked about then people start to become aware And some people started to fix their issues and they found how profound It was I'm glad that people now ask these questions and are paying attention because I think for a long time people just took antacids or took You know, um stool softeners or you know, uh things for diarrhea and they just took them regularly thinking This is just the way I am. Um, and no, there's a root cause for all that stuff Well, what I find amazing too is I think a lot of people don't realize how much it can play a factor in your results too. I mean, it could it could be slowing down your results as far as fat loss. It could be slowing down Uh, you can affect your metabolism. Yes. Oh, yeah, your performance and your strength like If uh, if your body is having to work overtime to fix issues that are going on in your gut It doesn't have the energy and resources to go and help you build muscle or help your metabolism speed up Right. So same difference. So if if you don't address that and then you're just kind of piling Oh, what's the latest fat burner? Oh, what's the best, you know, muscle building supplement? You just try and all these other things versus why don't we why don't we get to the bottom of what's going on first? Yeah, get healthy first and then you know, like we say chase health and the aesthetics will fall I mean nutrient deficiencies are common with people with gut health issues and they'll take supplements and everything And find out why am I lacking vitamin b or d or whatever your gut is not absorbing it. It's a big deal Hey, if you enjoyed that clip, you can find the full episode here or you can find other clips over here And be sure to subscribe