Does digestive enzymes help with detox and cleanse? What the research does and doesn't show

The evidence doesn't support digestive enzyme supplements, including DigeZyme, as a "detox," a cleanse, or a way to kill intestinal parasites. No trial has tested DigeZyme, or a comparable blend, for any of those uses, and a 2015 review found very little clinical evidence for commercial detox products of any kind.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support DigeZyme, or any digestive-enzyme supplement, as something that "detoxes" the body, cleanses the gut, or kills intestinal parasites. The liver and kidneys handle the body's own detoxification, and intestinal parasites are diagnosed with a stool test and treated with prescription antiparasitic medication — not an over-the-counter enzyme blend. We haven't found a trial testing digestive enzymes for any of these uses.

What the trials found

A 2015 critical review of detox diets and products found very little clinical evidence to support the broader "detox" category: a handful of small, methodologically flawed human studies on some commercial detox programs, some animal or lab evidence for specific individual foods, and no randomized controlled trials of commercial detox products in humans at all. That review didn't examine DigeZyme or any digestive-enzyme supplement specifically — digestive enzymes weren't among the products it looked at — but it reflects the state of "detox" research generally, which is thin across the category.

We haven't found any research, in humans or otherwise, testing whether DigeZyme's enzymes, or a comparable over-the-counter blend, affect intestinal parasites. Parasitic infections are identified with laboratory stool testing and treated with specific antiparasitic drugs matched to the organism found; a digestive-enzyme supplement isn't formulated, dosed, or tested for that.

Questions people ask

Do digestive enzymes detox the gut?

We haven't found a trial testing this, and the "detox" category as a whole has very little clinical evidence behind it, per a 2015 review of detox diets and products.

Can digestive enzymes kill parasites?

We haven't found any research testing this. Intestinal parasites are diagnosed with a stool test and treated with prescription antiparasitic medication, not an over-the-counter enzyme supplement.

Do digestive enzymes help with a gut cleanse?

No trial we've found has tested digestive enzyme supplementation as part of a gut cleanse. See digestive enzymes and GI disease for what the digestive-disease research does show.

Do digestive enzymes support liver detox?

The 2015 review found that a handful of small studies on some commercial detox programs reported enhanced liver detoxification markers or elimination of pollutants, but called those studies methodologically flawed and limited by small sample sizes. It didn't examine digestive enzymes specifically, and no trial we've found has.

When to talk to a doctor

Symptoms that suggest a parasitic infection — persistent diarrhea, unexplained weight loss, or abdominal pain after travel to a higher-risk area — are worth a stool test and a doctor's evaluation, not a digestive-enzyme supplement. See digestive enzymes: what the research does and doesn't show for the wider research picture.