Digestive enzymes are a vital part of your pet’s digestive system. Without them, dogs and cats would simply be unable to break down complex foods or absorb the rich nutrients they contain that are key to supporting a pet’s wellbeing.
What are Digestive Enzymes?
Digestive enzymes help a pet’s body break down carbohydrates, fats and proteins. This is a necessary step for allowing for the absorption of nutrients and to maintain optimal health. Without these enzymes, the nutrients in your pet’s food goes to waste and the long-term wellbeing of your pet’s health could be in jeopardy. When a pet suffers from an insufficient production of digestive enzymes it can lead to poor digestion and malnutrition as well as a condition called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI).
How do Digestive Enzymes Work?
Digestive enzymes are naturally produced by a pet’s pancreas before being secreted into the intestinal tract as the food leaves the stomach. As your pet’s food then moves through the small intestines, the digestive enzymes work to break down the complex proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into smaller molecules so that they can be absorbed by your dog’s body.
Because one size does not fit all when it comes to nutrients, digestive enzymes are tailored to break down a specific nutrient and, as such, there are three main types of digestive enzymes:
- Amylase: Breaks down carbohydrates, or starches, into sugar molecules.
- Lipase: Breaks down fats into fatty acids.
- Protease: Breaks down proteins into amino acids.
Once nutrients are broken into small enough molecules, they are absorbed through the wall of the small intestine into the blood and then delivered throughout the body.
Wellness Nutrition Supplemented with Digestive Enzymes
Wellness CORE Digestive Health is a new product range from Wellness focused on fueling a pet’s wellbeing from within. Boosted with additional digestive enzymes including amylase, lipase and protease, Wellness CORE Digestive Health delivers highly digestible nutrition that ensures every pet can live a lifetime of wellbeing.
Not sure which recipe to choose? Take the Gut Check quiz to see which digestive health recipe is right for your furry friend.
