Why enzymes are essential to a healthy immune system

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, June, 2006 by Ellen Cutler

Enzymes therapy can be very effective in helping the body deal with an overload of CICs. Enzyme preparations can prevent the autoimmune attack by reducing inflammation, breaking down immune complexes, and aiding the macrophages in disposing of them. (2) For example, protease can help break down viruses and other infectants in the body. (3)

Individuals with autoimmune disorders should always be screened for poor digestive function, since good digestion and a healthy digestive system are key to keeping the immune system functioning. Using preparations containing enzymes can help repair the damage done by CICs in the body and can strengthen the gut's ability to digest the foods we eat.

A Healthy Gut Supports a Healthy Immune System

By now it should be clear that the integrity of the intestinal wall and the coating of mucus that protects it are major factors in determining whether food particles get into the bloodstream in the first place. This mucus coating actually serves as an important communication center for the immune system. When harmful substances, such as bacteria, parasites, allergens, and toxins, find their way into the gut, the mucus alerts the immune system to send in forces to defend the rest of the body against damage.

If this coating sustains damage, however, then the intestinal wall becomes too permeable to prevent food particles from passing through it. As we have seen, this sets in motion the chain of events that activates the immune system, prompting production of circulating immune complexes. With this in mind, you can see that one of the most important strategies for maintaining a healthy gut is enzyme therapy to support proper digestion. As long as the food one eats is thoroughly broken down, fewer food particles travel to the intestinal wall (a.k.a., gut-associated lymphoid tissue or GALT) and, from there, leak out into the bloodstream, triggering an immune response.

Taking Probiotics Protects the Gut

There are two main reasons for taking probiotics such as lactobacillus acidophilus to promote gut health. The first is that they increase the production of a substance known as secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA). This antibody binds with food particles in the gut, keeping them from adhering to and passing through the mucous coating. If IgA runs low--which can happen when the intestinal wall is damaged--food particles are more likely to lodge in the GALT. You can increase production of IgA via supplementation with probiotics. (4) In treating my own patients, I have found that taking probiotics, along with supplemental enzyme formulas with deglycyrrhizinated licorice, seems to greatly increase IgA production.

Another reason to take probiotics is to help to maintain a balanced system of microflora in the gut. Several hundred species of bacteria--some two-and-a-half to three pounds of living microorganisms--reside principally in the large intestine, colon, and, to a lesser extent, in the small intestine. These micro-organisms can have a tremendous impact on our health, for better or for worse.