The Poop Chronicles Vol. V - Enzymes | CupOFdog

Author: Hilary

The Poop Chronicles Vol. V - Enzymes

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 @ 7:11 pm

I have spoken a lot about the necessity of enzymes in a dog’s diet, but haven’t gotten around to explaining what enzymes are, how they work and why they are important. Let me lead off by saying - enzymes can regulate your pup’s poop! Anything that does that is okay in my book!

What Is an Enzyme?

An enzyme is a protein, made up of amino acids, that act as catalysts to speed chemical reactions and processes inside the body. Digestive enzymes, the type I am referring to when writing about canine nutrition, are specifically geared to break down food so that it can be absorbed by the organism that ingested it. Without enzymes, the chemical processes necessary to absorb nutrients would happen very slowly, or not at all. These enzymes are secreted in glands in your dog’s stomach, your dog’s salivary glands, glands in the small intestines and in the pancreas.

How do Enzymes do Their Duty?

There are different types of enzymes and each has a special function and works in its own unique way. Enzymes are crucial to every aspect of an organisms function, as they activate all bodily functions and break down substances and eliminate unwanted chemicals, among other things.

Food is basically a bunch of chemicals that must broken down by the enzymes, which are required to unbind the nutrients, move them throughout the organism so it can make use of them. So, the reaction facilitated by the enzymes is the release of nutrients, unlocking the benefits of all of the vitamins, proteins, hormones and minerals. Enzymes are the instigator for these chemical processes, but on their own, enzymes aren’t going to do anything.

Unlock the full potential of your dog’s diet by looking for ways to incorporate enzymes into your dog’s diet and look forward to The Poop Chronicles Vol. VI, which will discuss supplementing your dogs diet and the potential of enzyme support for BARFers out there.

Louis and I wish everyone happy digestion!