Even with a healthy diet, if your digestive enzyme levels are low you may not get the nutrients you need to properly support your immune system. Watch integrative gastroenterologist Robynne Chutkan, MD, discuss the impact of digestion on immunity.
So the digestive enzymes break the food down into the particles, into the different nutrients, and then those nutrients get absorbed through the lining of the gut and get transported to the different south. Those nutrients are essential for healthy immune system. So you could be eating all the kale in the world if you're missing digestive enzymes and they aren't being broken down properly, your cells actually aren't seeing those nutrients so you need to eat the right food by all means but you need to make sure that you've sufficient levels of digestive enzymes so that the nutrients can actually get to the cells.
70% of your immune system is actually located directly in your gastrointestinal tract. So there's a very, very close connection between the enzyme activity, the nutrients and what's happening in your immune system.
Robynne Chutkan, MD, is a board certified gastroenterologist and the founder and medical director of the Digestive Center for Women, an integrative practice that includes nutritional optimization, exercise and stress reduction.
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