Doctor Michael Murray is one of the world’s leading authorities on natural medicine. For the past 35 years he has been compiling a massive database of scientific studies and has personally collected over 65,000 articles from the scientific literature. Doctor Murray believes there is strong evidence on the effectiveness of diet, vitamins, minerals, herbs and other natural measures when maintaining health.
What enzymes can help me if I have trouble digesting gluten?
According to one U.S. survey, 1 in every 3 adults is reducing or avoiding gluten consumption. Australia is not far behind, with the CSIRO documenting 1 in 10 Australian adults, or approximately 1.8 million people, were currently avoiding or limiting their consumption of wheat-based products. Women were more likely to be avoiding wheat than men.
Gluten is the main protein complex primarily found in grains including wheat, barley, spelt and rye. Many people have an intolerance to gluten along with casein, a protein found in milk. When ingested in intolerant individuals these proteins can produce gastrointestinal discomfort, especially gas and bloating.
Although the popular solution for gluten and casein intolerance is following a gluten-free, casein free diet, and eliminating the offending proteins will reduce discomfort, there are often hidden sources of gluten or casein in foods that can still lead to discomfort.
Many gluten free products are available in natural foods stores and even in mainstream supermarkets. Beneficial grains for replacement of gluten sources include amaranth, quinoa, and a variety of rice, such as brown, red, black and wild rice. Casein is found in milk and dairy products. Obviously, when avoiding gluten and casein reading food labels carefully is required.
Supplemental digestive enzyme preparations can help people tolerate lower levels of gluten or casein intake especially during the initial phase of gluten and/or casein avoidance. Combining the Protease Thera-blend™ enzymes (G1) along with dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) may help. This enzyme targets both gliadin and casein and is resistant to breakdown by other digestive enzymes. DPP-IV is thought to be one of the key enzymes responsible for the digestion of these proteins and is known to be found in lower amounts in the intestinal lining of individuals with gluten sensitivity and intolerance. In fact, there is an inverse relationship between the level of DPP-IV and intestinal damage in people with gluten sensitivity. In other words, the lower the DPP-IV the more significant the damage to the intestinal lining.
Preparations containing DPP-IV and Thera-blend™ enzymes are often recommended to safeguard against any hidden sources of gluten. Thera-blend™ technology is an exclusive process that combines multiple strains of enzymes that work in various pH levels. Thera-blend™ enzymes have been shown to be three times stronger and work more than six times faster than other leading digestive supplements.
If you are looking for a little help with digesting gluten, try an enzyme that is specifically made to do so.
To your health,
Dr Michael Murray
By Dr Michael Murray, ND
Dr. Michael Murray ND is a world-renowned natural doctor, and is the Chief Science Officer at Enzymedica. He is a leading authority on natural medicine, with over 30 published books featuring approaches to natural health. He is a graduate, former faculty member, and serves on the Board of Regents of Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington.
His life goal is to educate the public, physicians, patients and consumers on the benefits of a natural approach to health. He has written The Textbook of Natural Health and The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. In 2016, he was called “The Voice of Natural Medicine,” by Nutrition Business Journal.
