You could eat the perfect diet and still be malnourished.

That sounds ridiculous. But it's more common than you think.

Nutrition isn't about what you eat. It's about what you absorb. And absorption depends entirely on digestion. If your body can't break food down properly, the nutrients pass straight through.

Digestive enzymes are the tools your body uses to dismantle food. Protease breaks down protein. Lipase breaks down fat. Amylase breaks down carbohydrates. Without them, food sits in your gut, partially broken down, fermenting.

That's bloating. That heavy, swollen feeling after eating. Gas. Discomfort. It's not the food's fault. It's incomplete digestion.

Enzyme production declines with age. Your pancreas produces fewer enzymes. Your stomach acid weakens. By your forties, many people are operating with significantly reduced digestive capacity and don't know it.

They blame the food. Cut out dairy. Cut out gluten. Sometimes the issue isn't what they're eating — it's that their body has lost the ability to process it.

From my research, supplemental digestive enzymes taken with meals make a measurable difference. Less bloating. Better nutrient absorption. Reduced discomfort.

Look for a broad-spectrum formula — protease, lipase, and amylase at minimum. Good products also include lactase for dairy and cellulase for plant fibres.

Take them at the start of a meal. Not after — before or during. The enzymes need to be present when food arrives.

One capsule per meal. Heavy or protein-rich meal — two won't hurt.

You've built a complete gut health system. Probiotics, prebiotics, gut repair, and digestion handled. But there's one supplement in a class of its own for nutritional density.

Ask me about spirulina next. Almost nothing on earth matches it.