Can digestive enzymes lower cholesterol? What the research does and doesn't show

No trial we've found tests a digestive enzyme supplement, including DigeZyme, for an effect on cholesterol. The closest research checked cholesterol as one of several blood markers in a completely different, diagnosed pancreatic disease — and cholesterol didn't come back as one of the markers linked to enzyme deficiency there either.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support digestive enzyme supplements as a way to lower cholesterol, or as having any measured effect on a cholesterol reading at all, in either direction. No controlled trial we've found has tested a digestive-enzyme product's effect on total cholesterol, LDL, HDL or triglycerides.

What the trials found

The only controlled trial of DigeZyme itself gave 40 adults with functional dyspepsia the enzyme blend alone — 150 mg a day for 60 days — against a placebo, and reported improved symptom scores with no product-related adverse events; it did not measure cholesterol at all.

A 2012 study in 114 people with chronic pancreatitis is the nearest thing to relevant cholesterol data we found, and it's a marker study, not a supplement trial. Researchers compared a panel of blood values, cholesterol and triglycerides among them, between the 38 patients who had confirmed pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (a diagnosed condition where the pancreas stops making enough of its own digestive enzymes) and those who didn't. Low magnesium, low hemoglobin, low albumin, low prealbumin, low retinol-binding protein and elevated HbA1c were significantly linked to the insufficiency; cholesterol and triglycerides were measured but not among the markers that came back significant. In other words, in the one population where enzyme deficiency is an actual diagnosed disease, cholesterol wasn't a marker that tracked with it.

Prescription-strength pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy is prescribed for that diagnosed insufficiency — helping the body absorb fat and other nutrients it otherwise can't — not to change a cholesterol number in someone without the condition. It's also a different, higher-dose product than an over-the-counter blend like DigeZyme, so even where enzyme replacement therapy has been studied for other outcomes, those results don't transfer to a consumer supplement.

Questions people ask

Can digestive enzymes lower cholesterol?

No trial we've found has tested this. The nearest available research measured cholesterol as one marker among many in a diagnosed pancreatic disease and found no significant link to enzyme deficiency, which doesn't support an effect on cholesterol in either direction.

Does DigeZyme affect cholesterol?

The one controlled trial of DigeZyme, in adults with functional dyspepsia, didn't measure cholesterol as an outcome, so there's no direct evidence about this specific blend and cholesterol either way.

When to talk to a doctor

High cholesterol is diagnosed and managed by a doctor, usually with diet, lifestyle changes and, where indicated, medication. Digestive enzyme supplements are not a treatment for high cholesterol, and nothing in the research above supports using one for that purpose. If you take medication for cholesterol or a related condition, ask a doctor before adding any supplement.

See what is DigeZyme and digestive enzymes: what the research does and doesn't show for the wider evidence on this ingredient.