Hello, I'm Monica Reinagle, and you're listening to The Nutrition Diva Podcast, a show where

I take a closer look at nutrition trends and headlines, explain what the latest research

means for you, and answer your nutrition questions.

Welcome.

I have gotten a whole slew of interesting questions from listeners, and many of them have been

in response to recent episodes.

So today I'm dedicating the show to clearing out my inbox.

In my show with registered dietitian Beth Rosen, talking about strategies for treating

IBS, Beth mentions that digestive enzymes can sometimes help make problematic foods,

those that trigger uncomfortable digestive symptoms more tolerable.

And that caused Margaret to wonder, do products like bino or lactate impair your body's

ability to derive nutrition from those foods.

On the contrary, enzymes that help break down food components that your body finds difficult

to digest, such as the lactose in milk or the oligosaccharides in legumes, make it

easier for your body to digest and absorb the nutrients in those foods.

For example, if you have troubled digesting lactose, consuming dairy products may give

you diarrhea.

And when foods are moving very quickly through the digestive tract, the body has less opportunity

to absorb the nutrients in that and also other foods that you've eaten.

So taking digestive enzymes would not impair your body's ability to derive nutrition from

those foods.

If anything, it would improve it.

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