Your saliva has digestive enzymes in it. Some of your organs, including your pancreas, gallbladder, and liver, also release them. Cells on the surface of your intestines store them, too.

Different types of enzymes target different nutrients:

• Amylase breaks down carbs and starches
• Protease works on proteins
• Lipase handles fats

Natural Sources of Digestive Enzymes

Fruits, vegetables, and other foods have natural digestive enzymes. Eating them can improve your digestion.

• Honey, especially the raw kind, has amylase and protease.
• Mangoes and bananas have amylase, which also helps the fruit to ripen.
• Papaya has a type of protease called papain.
• Avocados have the digestive enzyme lipase.
• Sauerkraut, or fermented cabbage, picks up digestive enzymes during the fermentation process.

If your body doesn't make enough digestive enzymes, it can't digest food well. That can mean stomachaches, diarrhea, gas, or other painful symptoms.

Some digestive disorders prevent your body from making enough enzymes, such as:

Lactose intolerance. This is when your small intestine doesn't make enough of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the natural sugar in milk called lactose. With a shortage of lactase, lactose in dairy products that you eat travels straight to your colon instead of getting absorbed into your body. It then combines with bacteria and causes uncomfortable stomach symptoms.

There are three kinds of lactose intolerance:

Primary. You are born with a gene that makes you lactose intolerant. The gene is most common in people of African, Asian, or Hispanic background. Your lactase levels drop suddenly as a child. Then you're no longer able to digest dairy as easily. This is the most common type of lactose intolerance.

Secondary. Your small intestine makes less lactase after an illness, injury, or surgery. It can also be a symptom of both celiac disease and Crohn's disease.

Congenital or developmental. From the time you are born, your body doesn't make lactase. This is rare. You have to inherit the gene for this from both your mother and father.

Visit the Herbeday to see 6 herbs for digestion.