When athletes think of supplements that can boost athletic performance, there are a lot of options that come to mind, but chances are, digestive enzymes aren’t one of them. 

But maybe they should. In fact, we’d argue a quality digestive enzyme supplement is even more important than some of the supplements you’re probably taking without thinking twice, like pre-workout or BCAAs.

Optimal digestion is the foundation for everything an athlete needs. From energy and recovery to nutrient absorption and overall gut health, it all starts with digestion. When your digestion is off, so is everything else.

That’s why we consider digestive enzymes one of the most overlooked but essential additions to almost every athlete’s daily supplement stack. Digestive enzymes don’t just support digestion. They support everything you're training for.

What Are Digestive Enzymes?

Digestive enzymes are specialized proteins that your body relies on to break down food into smaller, usable parts. Without them, even the healthiest meal would pass through your system without delivering the nutrients your body needs to function.

There are three primary types of digestive enzymes, and each one plays a specific role:

• Amylase breaks down carbohydrates like bread, rice, and potatoes
  

• Protease helps digest protein sources like meat, fish, and beans

• Lipase breaks fats and oils into smaller fatty acids

These enzymes work together to break down food into absorbable molecules your body can actually use for energy production, cellular repair, and metabolic function.

Your body is designed to make all of these enzymes naturally, but that doesn't always happen efficiently. Some people produce fewer enzymes due to age, diet, stress, or underlying health issues. Others may not make enough for no apparent reason at all. Also, some foods just stay in the stomach longer and/or are more difficult to digest. 

Whatever the cause, when enzyme production is low or enzyme activity is impaired, the result is often poor digestion, which usually leads to uncomfortable symptoms such as bloating, gas, stomach pain, constipation, or loose stools.

Because these GI discomforts are common and can stem from various causes, it's not uncommon for people to be unaware that their symptoms may be due to inadequate enzyme activity.

Over time, and left unaddressed, low digestive enzyme levels may also affect nutrient absorption, which can impact energy levels and recovery and contribute to nutrient deficiencies that can affect both your short-term and long-term health.

How the Body Makes and Uses Digestive Enzymes

Digestive enzymes go to work as soon as you take your first bite of food. They're produced at several stages throughout the digestive tract, with different organs releasing specific enzymes based on the macronutrients in your meal.

Here's how the process unfolds:

• Salivary glands begin breaking down carbohydrates by releasing amylase into your saliva.
  

• The stomach secretes enzymes like pepsin to help start digesting proteins.
  

• The pancreas does most of the heavy lifting, sending a concentrated mix of amylase, lipase, and protease into the small intestine.
  

• The small intestine finishes the job with additional enzymes that support nutrient breakdown and absorption.

If any part of the process is disrupted, it can interfere with how food is broken down and absorbed. That's when GI symptoms like discomfort after meals, gas, or nutrient malabsorption often start to show up.

What Interferes with Digestive Enzyme Production?

Your body is naturally equipped to produce digestive enzymes, but various factors can disrupt this process. Some are internal, like stress, inflammation, or genetics, while others are related to general aging or driven by lifestyle.

The most common causes of low digestive enzyme levels or enzyme deficiency include:

Poor Gut Health

When the gut microbiome is imbalanced (a condition known as gut dysbiosis), it can trigger inflammation and impair digestive function. A disrupted gut environment may interfere with enzyme signaling or reduce the effectiveness of enzymes already present.

Chronic Inflammation

Whether from processed food, chronic stress, overtraining, or an underlying disease, persistent inflammation in the body (particularly inflammation in the gut) can damage the digestive lining and compromise enzyme production.

Age-Related Decline

As we get older, our bodies naturally slow down enzyme production. This can make it harder to digest heavier meals or certain macronutrients, contributing to common age-related complaints like bloating, fullness after eating, and food sensitivities.

Genetic Enzyme Disorders

Certain inherited conditions can prevent the body from making or releasing enzymes correctly.

The most common being:

• Congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency affects sugar digestion

• Cystic fibrosis can block pancreatic enzyme release due to thick mucus buildup

While rare, these conditions can lead to lifelong challenges with nutrient absorption and may require targeted enzyme therapy.

Pancreatic Conditions

The pancreas is the primary organ responsible for producing digestive enzymes. Damage to this organ can significantly reduce enzyme output.

Common causes include:

• Chronic pancreatitis

• Pancreatic cancer

• Surgical removal of part of the pancreas

When the pancreas is impaired, enzyme production often drops dramatically, making supplemental support essential for proper digestion.

Autoimmune Conditions

Autoimmune diseases, such as celiac disease, Crohn's disease, and autoimmune pancreatitis, can directly interfere with enzyme production in several ways.

Chronic gut inflammation can damage the cells in the small intestine that help signal enzyme release, while autoimmune attacks on the pancreas may reduce its ability to produce digestive enzymes altogether.

Over time, this disruption can lead to incomplete digestion and poor nutrient absorption, even if the rest of the digestive process is intact.

Food Intolerances

Some enzyme deficiencies are specific to certain food intolerances. Lactose intolerance, for example, is caused by low levels of lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down dairy sugar. Without it, dairy can cause bloating, gas, or cramping.

A lot of people also have difficulty digesting specific foods like red meat, which is known to take more time to break down and digest. The solution to being able to eat these foods without GI discomfort could be as simple as incorporating a digestive enzymes supplement. 

Poor Diet or Nutrient Deficiencies

Nutrient-depleted diets (common with ultra-processed foods) can impair overall digestive efficiency. More specifically, a diet low in raw fruits and vegetables (which contain natural food enzymes) may reduce your body's enzyme support.

Additionally, amino acid deficiencies can interfere with enzyme production, as enzymes are composed of proteins, and insufficient amino acid intake may limit the body's ability to produce them efficiently.

High Stress (Mental and Physical)

The gut and brain are deeply connected through the gut-brain axis. Chronic mental stress can reduce enzyme secretion, slow down motility, and impair digestion. But stress isn't just psychological; it can also be physiological.

There are different kinds of stress. No matter where it comes from, be it  physical stress from overtraining, illness, injury, or even lack of quality sleep, the body perceives it as a threat.

In response, it may shift resources away from non-essential functions like digestion, which can downregulate enzyme production and impair nutrient absorption.

Athletes are among those who place the most physical stress on their bodies, often resulting in low digestive enzyme levels and poor breakdown of proteins, fats, and carbs (especially around high-calorie or high-protein meals.)

Why Athletes Might Need Digestive Enzyme Support

Digestive issues are common among the general population. Millions of adults suffer from GI discomfort. But research and anecdotal reports suggest that they may be even more common in athletes.

The most common digestive complaints reported by athletes include:

• Bloating

• Cramping

• Gas

• Constipation

• Reflux

• Loose stools

• Undigested food in stool

• Heavy or full feeling after meals

These symptoms could be due to a temporary disruption in digestion, but they may also be signs that the digestive system is struggling to break down and absorb food efficiently, which appears to be more common in athletes for several reasons.

Even without an underlying digestive disorder, athletes (and high-performing individuals in general) place a unique kind of strain on their digestive systems. That increased demand can sometimes outpace what the body can produce, especially if gut health issues are already present or gut health is already compromised.

While not every athlete needs digestive enzyme supplementation, several factors might increase enzyme demand or stress the digestive system, even if an athlete is otherwise healthy.

Frequent Training

Intense or frequent training puts the body in a sympathetic (fight-or-flight) state, which naturally downregulates digestion. When you're training hard and often, your body may prioritize blood flow and energy delivery to muscles over digestive function. This can lead to reduced enzyme secretion and impaired nutrient absorption over time.

High Protein Intake

Protein is essential for muscle repair and recovery, but it's also one of the most enzyme-intensive macronutrients to break down. A high-protein diet increases the workload for protease enzymes, especially if the meals are large or consumed quickly. Inadequate breakdown of protein can contribute to bloating, discomfort, and poor nutrient utilization.

Large Meals

Athletes often need to consume high-calorie meals (typically with a lot of carbs) to meet energy demands. Large meals, especially those eaten quickly or close to workouts, require more digestive enzymes to process effectively. If enzyme production can't keep up, symptoms like heaviness, gas, or incomplete digestion may occur.

Digestive Stress from Supplements

Pre-workouts, protein powders, intra-workout drinks, and other performance supplements can sometimes be difficult for some people to digest, especially when taken in large quantities or on an already sensitive stomach.

While high-quality supplements are designed to be well-tolerated, the reality is that certain ingredients, fillers, or sweeteners can contribute to digestive stress. Over time, this may increase enzyme demand or create occasional discomfort, especially around training meals.

Age-Related Decline (In Older Athletes)

Enzyme production naturally slows down with age, which can make digestion more challenging for older athletes, even with a clean, high-protein diet. For those in their 40s and beyond, targeted digestive support may help improve meal tolerance and overall digestive efficiency.

How Digestive Enzymes May Improve Athletic Performance

Beyond helping with occasional bloating or digestive discomfort, digestive enzymes may offer performance-related benefits for athletes and active individuals.

When your body can efficiently break down and absorb nutrients, you're more likely to feel energized, recover faster, and get more out of every meal or supplement you take, all things that support better performance outcomes for athletes. 

Here's how digestive enzymes may support athletic performance:

Enhanced Nutrient Absorption

Athletes have higher demands for both macronutrients and micronutrients to fuel training, support muscle repair, and aid recovery. Digestive enzymes, such as protease, lipase, and amylase, assist in breaking down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into absorbable units.

Efficient digestion ensures that your body can extract and utilize nutrients from food and supplements, which is especially important for athletes who consume frequent meals or large volumes of food.

Reduced Digestive Discomfort

Intense exercise redirects blood flow away from the digestive system, which can slow digestion and trigger symptoms like gas, bloating, or stomach cramping, especially when eating close to a workout or competition.

Digestive enzymes can help reduce the workload on your gut by supporting more complete food breakdown, potentially easing post-meal discomfort and improving digestive efficiency around training windows.

Support for Specific Dietary Demands

Many athletes follow eating patterns that place extra strain on digestion. 

For example:

• Athletes need to eat a lot of protein. High-protein diets can be tough on the digestive system. Protease enzymes help break protein into amino acids, supporting muscle recovery while minimizing gastrointestinal stress.
  

• Athletes also need more carbs than the average person to support energy. When carbs aren’t broken down effectively, they can end up undigested in the stomach or colon.
  

• Amylase enzymes help convert complex carbs into simple sugars that the body can absorb and use for energy. A glucose disposal agent (GDA) is also a great supplement for athletes on a high-carb diet.
  

• Plant-based diets are often rich in fiber and compounds like phytic acid, which can bind minerals. Enzymes like phytase can help unlock nutrients from these foods.

• Food intolerances, such as lactose intolerance, may also benefit from targeted enzyme support, like lactase, which helps athletes tolerate a variety of foods without discomfort.

Potential Role in Recovery

While further research is still needed, some studies suggest that digestive enzymes may support post-exercise recovery by enhancing protein breakdown and reducing markers of inflammation. 

Faster digestion may also help with glycogen replenishment and nutrient delivery in the critical recovery window after training.

Helpful in Disrupted Routines

Ever notice you're not as regular or your digestion is off when you travel or on competition days? That’s because the gut tends to love routine. Travel, high-stress training cycles, and competition days can all throw off your digestive rhythm. 

Digestive enzymes may help support smoother, more regular digestion on days when your routine is disrupted or during periods of higher stress when food choices and timing aren't ideal.

Key Digestive Enzymes for Athletes

There isn't a single digestive enzyme that athletes need more than another. All digestive enzymes serve a specific purpose and work together to help the body break down food into usable nutrients.

That said, here's a breakdown of each key digestive enzyme, what it does, and how its function might specifically support athletes and active individuals:

Now that you understand their importance, you are probably wondering how to determine which enzymes your body might need and whether a diet alone can provide them.

While a well-balanced diet does support digestion to some extent, it's not always enough to meet the demands of a high-performance lifestyle.

That's where a high-quality digestive enzyme supplement may offer additional support.

What Is the Best Digestive Enzyme Supplement?

With the rise in gut health awareness, digestive enzyme supplements have become increasingly popular. They're often used to support healthy digestion, especially in individuals with food intolerances, age-related enzyme decline, or occasional digestive discomfort tied to enzyme insufficiency.

With that demand has come an overwhelming number of digestive enzymes and other gut health supplements to choose from. Some are designed to target very specific issues, like lactose intolerance. Others are more complete blends meant to support the breakdown of all three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fats.

There are also comprehensive gut health formulas that are formulated with additional well-known gut health-promoting ingredients, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and other compounds that soothe the gut. These can be helpful if you want broader digestive support, especially when someone is experiencing ongoing digestive discomfort or looking to support overall gut health.

Ideally, the best digestive enzyme supplement would be tailored to your body's exact needs, based on which enzymes you may be deficient in and how your diet and digestive system are functioning. However, without extensive testing (which is impractical for most people), achieving that level of personalization is challenging.

That's why most people, especially athletes who eat frequent, high-volume meals, benefit most from a broad-spectrum digestive enzyme formula that covers the full range of enzyme support, such as Revive MD’s Digest Aid.

Why Revive Digest Aid Stands Out

Revive MD’s Digest Aid is formulated to support the digestive system at every stage, helping the body break down food, absorb nutrients, and maintain digestive comfort after meals.

Like all Revive supplements, Digest Aid is made with pure, high-quality, third-party, lab-tested, and certified ingredients that do not contain filler ingredients or artificial colors. It is also manufactured in the USA in a GMP facility and is backed and trusted by many doctors, including those at Revive Health centers nationwide.

Unlike many digestive enzyme formulas that only contain a basic blend of amylase, protease, or lipase, Revive Digest Aid includes 17 digestive enzymes that help break down proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, lactose, and plant compounds, making nutrients more available for absorption.

Key enzymes include:

• Amylase, Protease, and Lipase to assist in the digestion of carbs, proteins, and fats

• Lactase to support the digestion of dairy-derived lactose

• Phytase and cellulase help with the breakdown of fiber and hard-to-digest plant compounds.

• Bromelain and papain, natural enzymes from pineapple and papaya that assist with protein digestion

But Digest Aid goes beyond enzymes alone. Our physician-formulated digestive enzyme formula also includes:

• Artichoke Leaf Extract – traditionally used to support digestion, bile flow, and antioxidant activity
  

• Gentian Root Extract – an herbal bitter known to promote digestive secretions and support overall GI function
  

Together, these ingredients are designed to:

• Support the breakdown of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates
  

• Promote nutrient availability from food

• Help maintain digestive comfort after meals

• Support a healthy gut environment and microbiome balance

Whether you're an athlete eating high-volume meals, following a high-protein or plant-rich diet, or simply looking to optimize digestion, Digest Aid provides a comprehensive, daily solution for complete digestive enzyme support.

When is The Best Time to Take Digestive Enzymes?

It's always best to follow the suggested use on the product label. For Digest Aid, that means taking it orally with water just before a meal (roughly 5–10 minutes), especially meals that are larger, higher in protein or fat, or tend to cause occasional digestive discomfort.

For most people, taking digestive enzymes shortly before eating is ideal. That way, they're present in the digestive tract as food enters the stomach. If you forget, taking them with your first few bites can still support digestion, but taking them after a meal may reduce their effectiveness.

Other Tips for Optimal Digestion and Athletic Performance 

Digestive enzymes can be incredibly helpful, but they work best as part of a bigger strategy that supports gut health from multiple angles.

Here are a few foundational habits and supplement strategies that may help improve digestion and, in turn, support better energy, recovery, and performance.

Prioritize Gut-Friendly Foods

A balanced, whole-foods-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods supports both digestive function and microbial diversity. This creates a better foundation for enzyme activity and nutrient absorption.

If you struggle to eat a variety of these foods, a daily greens supplement is not only beneficial for digestion but also a great way to fill nutritional gaps.

Also, many green supplements contain more than just a greens and fruit blend. For example, Revive Daily Greens Powder is not only packed with a variety of fruits and vegetables but also contains a superfood blend with ingredients that you don't naturally get in your diet, as well as digestive enzymes and probiotics.

Fiber is also important as it supports motility, feeds beneficial gut bacteria, and promotes regularity. If you struggle to hit your daily fiber needs through food, a high-quality fiber supplement can help bridge the gap.

You could also prioritize eating foods that are easier to digest and limit those that are known to be harder to digest. For a list, read “East to Digest Foods and Foods to Avoid.”

Slow Down and Chew Your Food Thoroughly

Athletes are often on the go or rushing to eat. It's understandable, but slowing down can make a big difference in your digestion and performance. 

Digestion starts in the mouth. When you eat too quickly and don't chew thoroughly, larger food particles reach the stomach, making digestion more difficult and increasing the workload on your digestive system.

Taking the time to chew properly helps mechanically break down food and stimulates the release of digestive enzymes, setting the rest of the process up for success.

Eat Smaller Meals

Large meals, especially when eaten quickly, can overwhelm your digestive system. Eating smaller, more frequent meals may help reduce the load on your gut and support more efficient digestion. 

Manage Stress

Chronic physical or mental stress can suppress digestive function and reduce enzyme secretion. Building in enough recovery days, getting adequate sleep, and practicing stress-reducing habits (like breathwork, walking, or quiet time outdoors) may improve both digestion and performance.

For more stress reduction tips, read:

Supporting Mental Health with Supplements

“Finding Peace Amidst Chaos: 5 Effective Ways to Lower Stress”
“6 Proven Ways to Lower Your Cortisol Levels”
“Understanding Mental Clarity: What it Means for Your Mind”

Support the Gut Lining and Microbiome

Athletes with higher training volumes often experience increased gut permeability, inflammation, or digestive sensitivity. Supplements like glutamine and zinc carnosine may help support gut barrier integrity and overall digestive function.

For more comprehensive support, a formula like Revive Gut Health+ includes a targeted blend of herbs and unique compounds, such as Caprylic Acid, Thyme, Milk Thistle, Lemon Balm, and Oregano Extract, to support microbial balance and digestive comfort and promote better overall gut health.

If you want to learn more optimal digestion strategies, read “10 Tips to Help Ease Digestion.”

Conclusion

While the body naturally produces digestive enzymes, many factors can interfere with production or limit their effectiveness. 

Athletes may have increased needs for digestive enzymes due to the physical demands of training, the need to eat more protein and carbs, the size and frequency of their meals, inflammation, or underlying digestive stress.

A high-quality digestive enzyme supplement like Revive MD's Digest Aid supports efficient digestion, improved nutrient absorption, and enhanced recovery, all of which can help athletes achieve optimal performance.

When paired with a solid nutrition plan and gut-friendly habits, DigestAid is a smart addition to any athlete's supplement regimen. 

For even more comprehensive digestive support, Revive MD also offers a complete line of gut health and digestion supplements that work alongside Digest Aid to promote a healthy gut environment and long-term digestive resilience.

Some of our top-selling gut-health supplements include:

• Gut Health+

• Daily Greens Powder

• Fiber

• Glutamine

• Zinc Carnosine (PepZinGI)

Other supplements that athletes might want to consider for optimal performance include:

• Vitamin C for tissue repair and immune function

• Omega-3s  help reduce inflammation and improve hormone and cardiovascular health.

• CollaPure for joint support, stronger bones, and better mobility.

• Mushroom Complex for better cognitive performance, immunity, and overall well-being.

• Magnesium, Iron, Vitamin D,  B vitamins, and calcium. Due to increased demands from training, athletes frequently experience deficiencies in these key nutrients.