Enzymes may provide treatment for gluten intolerance
Family of enzymes is huge - it consists of over 3000 enzymes of all sorts.
Most of them are proteolytic or protein degrading enzymes. The most helpful supplement of this sort is systemic enzymes.
An enzyme has been recently identified that is able to degrade gluten in a laboratory simulation of the gastrointestinal tract.
If clinical trials bear out the findings, adding the enzyme to gluten-containing meals "might eliminate gluten toxicity, thus offering patients the possibility of abandoning (at least occasionally) their strict gluten-free diet" ...
The enzyme accelerated the digestion of gluten that is found in bread and other grain products, the authors report. Similar results were obtained when a fast food meal was tested instead of white bread alone...
The investigators believe that this enzyme is a good candidate for clinical trials to see if it can remove all gluten toxicity. They add that the enzyme is available on an industrial scale.
SOURCE: Gut, January 2008.
Comments
I would like to thank you for putting up and maintaining this website. Years ago, I had something called an Organix acid test by Meta-Metrics laboratories, and that showed a lack of pancreatic enzymes. Recently I had something called a ZYTO biofeedback test, which also indicated very low levels of pancreatic enzymes. My mother was diabetic, my two oldest brothers who are in great physical shape have been diagnosed diabetic, my youngest sister has been suffering from pancreatitis... I have PP MS and have always had difficulty digesting certain foods like red meats or really fibrous foods. I think you are dead on about the missing enzymes... and the reason I believe this now is because I talked my doctor into an experimental phlebotomy and I had an astounding reaction. Spasticity was reduced by I would say 30%, my hand function improved, and I could sleep without kicking because of that weird spinal tension. A second phlebotomy resulted in far better motility in my arms, slightly better bladder function. I would keep doing them except that my hemoglobin is not bouncing back (probably due to poor absorption of protein). When I had the Organix acid test, I also had two amino acid profiles done, one urine, one blood and I was very low in many of the amino acids, especially glutamic acid and glycine. Glycine can sometimes reverse spasticity... I recently tested low in uric acid, and very low creatinine clearance. Both of these can indicate malabsorption. Since the year 2000 when I had the Organix acid test, I have at various times tried to take digestive enzymes, but it has always resulted in severe abdominal pain. I understand this is probably due to intestinal inflammation. The ZYTO biofeedback also diagnosed lactose intolerance, and the M.D. says that this can cause inflammation of the gut mucosa. So I have now eliminated dairy products, and I am hoping that I will be able to take these enzymes in a few weeks. My doctor suggested I start with some FitSmart shakes, as this product includes digestive enzymes and even her sickest patients like me can tolerate it. So far I am only doing one scoop and it still makes my guts rumble and gurgle. I do tolerate Nattokinase without a problem, but that is of course a metabolic enzyme and not a digestive one. I am also experimenting with pancreatin, made from porcine pancreas, because I seem to be sensitive to Aspergillus... anyway, I do believe that raw food diets are extremely beneficial in MS, but it is difficult to stick to at least for me, so I am hoping that I can take systemic enzymes and achieve the same beneficial digestive results. Again, I thank you for this website, and by the way, I am not the only one that has had positive response to phlebotomy, I know of about seven others. It seems that removing blood provides relief for about 40 days, and personally I believe it is reducing circulating immune complexes factors that are forming from incomplete digestion/leaky gut. A month ago I had a test called an Indican test, and I came back as a three positive, meaning I do indeed have leaky gut... I suspect protein complexes are getting into my bloodstream across the mucosal barrier of the intestine, and it is making my immune system go bonkers, plus incomplete digestion of proteins would mean my system is not repairing/rebuilding.
Okay, I am now certain that this enzyme is having a great effect on my spasticity! How weird is that? So I started to read about lactic acid and I gather bad intestinal bacteria increases your body load of lactic acid, and also if your cells have been poisoned, they produce more lactic acid... I am actually using a generic form of Lactaid, but the pharmacist had said it works as well as the more expensive, so I think it was around $12 for 100 capsules. Yesterday I took five, and was very pleased. I have to experiment with more enzymes, people that are diabetic produce much more lactic acid, so there was that old blood sugar connection again (I have hypoglycemia, my two brothers are diabetic, my mother was diabetic...) I also ordered two bottles of SportLegs to see what that might do because what the heck...
It's me again, just wanting to share that these enzymes really do work!!!. It's been a mere four days now and I'm telling you I can do just about everything that I did before MS came along. I plan on taking this for the rest of my life and if in only four days I'm feeling this good, I can't imagine the long haul. This may sound like it's too good to be true but to anyone who is suffering please try this all natural, inexpensive and life changing supplement and feel what happens one day at a time. And thank you Czes for sharing this valuable information!