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

No trial we've found tests an over-the-counter digestive enzyme blend, including DigeZyme, for diabetes or blood sugar. The nearest research gave prescription-strength enzyme therapy to people who had both diabetes and a diagnosed pancreatic enzyme deficiency; their digestive symptoms improved, but their blood sugar readings did not change.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support digestive enzyme supplements as a way to manage diabetes or affect blood sugar. No trial we've found tests an over-the-counter blend's effect on glucose, HbA1c or insulin in people with diabetes, and the one study that comes closest — using a different, prescription-strength product — found no change in blood sugar either.

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 blood sugar or any diabetes-related outcome.

A 2024 real-life case-control study is the closest research on enzymes and diabetes that exists, and it's testing a different question and a different product. Researchers compared 48 people with diabetes and a diagnosed pancreatic enzyme deficiency who were prescribed pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy against 48 similar people who weren't. Digestive symptoms improved in 80% of the treated group versus 20% of the untreated group — a real difference, but a digestive one. Body mass index did not differ meaningfully between the two groups, and neither did HbA1c, which reflects average blood sugar over the prior few months. In that same study, hypoglycemia frequency and severity stayed about the same either way, though the study noted a trend toward fewer hypoglycemic episodes in the subgroup with chronic pancreatitis specifically. Mild, non-severe hyperglycemia appeared in 19% of the group given enzyme replacement, and no one in either group had ketoacidosis or another severe adverse event.

That study used prescription-strength enzyme therapy in people who already had a diagnosed enzyme deficiency alongside diabetes — a different population, dose and product from an over-the-counter blend like DigeZyme taken by someone without either diagnosis. Improved digestion alongside unchanged blood sugar readings doesn't translate into a claim about a consumer supplement and diabetes.

Questions people ask

Do digestive enzymes help with diabetes?

No trial we've found tests an over-the-counter digestive enzyme in diabetes. In the nearest research, people who had both diabetes and a diagnosed pancreatic condition were given prescription-strength enzyme therapy; their digestion improved, and their HbA1c stayed about the same.

Can digestive enzymes cause low or high blood sugar?

In the one study that tracked this, in people already diagnosed with a pancreatic enzyme deficiency, hypoglycemia frequency stayed about the same with prescription-strength enzyme therapy. Mild, non-severe hyperglycemia appeared in 19% of the group given that therapy, with no severe adverse events. That's a different, higher-dose product than an over-the-counter blend, so it doesn't tell us what a consumer supplement would do.

When to talk to a doctor

Diabetes is diagnosed and managed by a doctor, typically with diet, monitoring and medication. Digestive enzyme supplements are not a treatment for diabetes, and nothing in the research above supports using one to affect blood sugar. If you take medication for diabetes, ask a doctor before adding any supplement, including a digestive enzyme.

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