Digestive Enzymes in Action
Your digestion system uses three main enzyme superstars to break down your food into molecules small enough to actually use. Amylase attacks carbohydrates like bread and pasta, breaking starch down into smaller sugars - you can find it working in your mouth (saliva) and small intestine.
Protease is the protein destroyer, chopping up meat and beans into amino acids in your stomach and small intestine. Meanwhile, lipase tackles fats and oils, splitting them into glycerol and fatty acids in your small intestine.
Bile is like the ultimate wingman for digestion, even though it's not technically an enzyme. Made in your liver and stored in your gall bladder, bile does two brilliant jobs: it makes your small intestine more alkaline (so enzymes work better) and breaks fat into tiny droplets, giving lipase a much bigger surface area to work on.
Top tip: These broken-down products (sugars, amino acids, glycerol, and fatty acids) can be rebuilt into new carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids that your body actually needs!