Digestive Enzymes | Alixir Life

Digestive Enzymes

Support for healthy digestion

  • Aids digestion
  • Helps protects the liver
  • May help alleviate some types of stomach pain


Our bodies have Digestive Enzymes to help us break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates so we can use it for energy. They also play an important role in preventing stomach discomfort, treating diarrhea and maintaining general gut health and can be found in some foods like papaya and pineapple.

Our Digestive Enzymes contains Betaine, Ox Bile Extract (of which a minimum of 45% are Total Cholic Acids), Papaya Fruit Powder, Amylase, Protease, Lipase, Bromelain (from Pineapple), Acid Stable Protease, Papain (from Papaya), and Cellulase. These enzymes provide a variety of benefits from aiding digestion and treating the effects of celiac disease, to alleviating stomach pain by encouraging healthy gut bacteria to grow and reducing liver damage and liver fat.

Product Type: 1 Capsule
Dosage: Varies


Cellulose, gelatin (capsule), cellulose, magnesium stearate (vegetable source) and silica.

does not contain

milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, artificial colours and preservatives

summary of research

  • Aids digestion

    Amylase is made in your pancreas and used in your saliva to begin the digesting carbohydrates and converting them to sugar as soon as you start chewing.[1]


    Protease is essential for breaking down proteins into amino acids that we can be carried to different parts of our body in our blood. It is located in the juices of the stomach, intestines, and pancreas.[2]


    Lipase is important for breaking down fats into fatty acids that can be absorbed by our bodies. It is made by the pancreas but is found in the saliva and stomach.[3]


    Bromelain comes from pineapple, helps break down proteins and is a decongestant for the nose.[4]


    Cellulase breaks down cellulose. Since we cannot produce cellulase ourselves, when we eat vegetables, we harvest it from the cellulose of the plant for our own use. [5] Those who do not have a diet high in vegetables should supplement it.


    Ox Bile (also known as Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid) emulsifies fats in the intestine, making them easier to absorb.[6]


    Research Score: Very Strong

  • May alleviate pancreatic problems and celiac disease

    One 2016 meta-analysis suggests enzyme supplementation could potentially treat exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (a life-threatening malabsorption disorder related to pancreatic and extra-pancreatic diseases) in chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis and even celiac disease.[7]


    One study found that Papain helped a celiac patient (a person who cannot break down gluten, a protein found in many grains) tolerate and normally absorb gluten.[8] [9]


    Four studies noted that Prolyl endopeptidases (PEPs), a type of serine proteases, also potentially have a role in breaking down gluten in people suffering from celiac disease, although further studies are needed to confirm this.[10] [11] [12] [13]


    Research Score: Promising

  • May help alleviate some types of stomach pain

    Digestive Enzymes are essential for breaking down large molecules of food we eat into smaller components that can be absorbed in our blood and carried to the different tissues in our body.


    In a 2014 study on the effects of Digestive Enzymes on heartburn, bloating and nausea, 62 patients supplemented four of the Digestive Enzymes we include in our blend for five days (Amylase, Protease, Lipase, Cellulase), and concluded that Digestive Enzymes are actually more effective at reducing abdominal pain than a commonly used gastrointestinal drug called Domperidone.[14]


    Having an optimal level of normal gut bacteria is essential for stomach health. A 2018 study on mice found Amylase, Protease and Lipase (also known as Pancrelipase) can encourage beneficial gut bacteria to grow faster than the control group, which can subsequently relieve the intestine of inflammation and pain. [15] So it is likely this also applies to humans.


    Research Score: Strong

  • Reduces biomarkers of heart problems

    Betaine increases bodily levels of S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAMe) and active folate molecules, which support a reduction in homocysteine. Homocysteine is known to be elevated in persons with cardiovascular health issues and is a biomarker of cardiovascular complications. Nine studies show Betaine (in doses of 3g and above) can significantly reduce homocysteine levels, by a magnitude of approximately 10% in persons with normal homocysteine levels, and between 20-40% in people with high homocysteine.[16]


    Research Score: Promising

  • Protects the liver

    There is strong evidence that Ox Bile protects liver cells from damage from cholestasis (when the liver is damaged by too much bile acid) and there are promising studies that suggest Betaine may decrease liver fibrosis (damage to the liver that if left untreated can lead to liver cancer), inflammation and liver fat.


    Five studies indicate Ox Bile indirectly protects from death the cells of a liver that are damaged by too much bile acid, and it does this to a level that is comparable to or even exceeds the reference drug for cholestasis (ursodeoxycholic acid).[17]


    Three studies demonstrate that people who take high doses of Betaine (20g) showed a large decrease in the inflamed area and part of the liver with fibrosis. However, the best evidence still did not conclusively establish Betaine was a significant cause of this improvement. So more studies are needed to examine the evident interaction.[18] These studies also showed that Betaine decreased liver fat in people who had abnormally fatty livers, but not in a very powerful way.[19]


    Research Score: Strong

  • References



















    7. Ianiro G, Pecere S, Giorgio V, Gasbarrini A, Cammarota G. Digestive Enzyme Supplementation in Gastrointestinal Diseases. Current Drug Metabolism. 2016;17(2):187-193., doi:10.2174/



    8. Messer M, Baume PE. Oral papain in gluten intolerance., Lancet 1976;2:1022.





    10. Shan L., Molberg Ø., Parrot I., Hausch F., Filiz F., Gray G.M., Sollid L.M., Khosla C. Structural basis for gluten intolerance in celiac sprue. Science. 2002;297(5590):2275–2279.


    11. Hausch F., Shan L., Santiago N.A., Gray G.M., Khosla C. Intestinal digestive resistance of immunodominant gliadin peptides. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 2002;283(4):G996–G1003.


    12. Pyle G.G., Paaso B., Anderson B.E., Allen D.D., Marti T., Li Q., Siegel M., Khosla C., Gray G.M. Effect of pretreatment of food gluten with prolyl endopeptidase on gluten-induced malabsorption in celiac sprue. Clin. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 2005;3:687–694.


    13. Mitea C., Havenaar R., Drijfhout J.W., Edens L., Dekking L., Koning F. Efficient degradation of gluten by a prolyl endoprotease in a gastrointestinal model: implication for coeliac disease. Gut. 2008;57:25–32.


    14. Quinten T, Philippart J-M, De Beer T, Vervarcke S, Van Den Driessche M. Can the supplementation of a digestive enzyme complex offer a solution for common digestive problems? Archives of Public Health. 2014;72(Suppl 1):P7. doi:10.1186/2049-3258-72-S1-P7.


    15. Nishiyama H, Nagai T, Kudo M, et al. Supplementation of pancreatic digestive enzymes alters the composition of intestinal microbiota in mice. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2018;495(1):273-279.