Does digestive enzymes cause diarrhea, bloating or constipation?

The one controlled trial of DigeZyme found no significant digestive complaints — diarrhea, constipation or otherwise — compared with placebo over 60 days. That doesn't mean these effects never happen to anyone; it means the largest available trial, in a diagnosed population, didn't detect a pattern of causing them. For gas specifically, DigeZyme's blend doesn't contain the enzyme most linked to reducing it, so it isn't built to help there either.

What the one safety trial actually measured

The 60-day, placebo-controlled trial of DigeZyme gave 40 adults with functional dyspepsia 150 mg a day and tracked adverse events alongside labs, vital signs and weight. It reported no product-related adverse events and no significant differences from placebo on any of those measures. That's reassuring for the population and dose tested, but 40 people isn't a large enough sample to rule out a less common reaction like diarrhea or constipation showing up in some individuals, and the trial didn't report stool frequency or consistency as its own measure — it used symptom questionnaires focused on dyspepsia, not a bowel-habit diary.

Does taking digestive enzymes make you poop more?

No trial we've found measured this directly for DigeZyme. The closest data point comes from a different context: a trial testing a different lactase enzyme (added directly to milk, not swallowed as a capsule) in people with diagnosed lactose intolerance found that adding the enzyme significantly reduced a symptom score that included diarrhea, compared with untreated milk. That's evidence an enzyme can reduce diarrhea caused by an unbroken-down sugar in a specific, diagnosed situation — not evidence that a general digestive-enzyme capsule changes how often a healthy person has a bowel movement.

Do digestive enzymes cause gas or bloating?

We haven't found a trial reporting gas or bloating as a side effect of DigeZyme specifically. It's also worth knowing DigeZyme's five enzymes — amylase, protease, lipase, cellulase and lactase — don't include alpha-galactosidase, the enzyme most associated in the literature with breaking down the gas-producing sugars in beans and cruciferous vegetables. So on both counts: no trial shows this blend causes gas, and by composition, it isn't built to prevent the specific kind of gas most people searching for enzyme-and-gas relief are usually asking about.

Can digestive enzymes upset your stomach?

Mild digestive discomfort — nausea, stomach upset, cramping — is commonly reported anecdotally for enzyme supplements as a category, but no controlled trial of DigeZyme reports a specific rate for it. See digestive enzyme side effects for what the trial did and didn't find on adverse effects generally.

Questions people ask

Do digestive enzymes cause acid reflux or heartburn?

We haven't found a trial testing this. Functional dyspepsia, the condition studied in the one DigeZyme trial, overlaps with but isn't the same diagnosis as acid reflux, and that trial didn't report reflux or heartburn as a separate outcome.

Do digestive enzymes cause nausea?

No controlled trial reports nausea as a measured adverse effect of DigeZyme. It's part of the general, unquantified digestive-upset pattern reported anecdotally for enzyme supplements, not something the trial data confirms or rules out at a specific rate.

Can digestive enzymes cause pancreatitis?

That question usually concerns prescription pancreatic enzyme products used for a diagnosed pancreatic condition, which are a different, medically supervised category from an over-the-counter blend like DigeZyme. We haven't found research connecting an over-the-counter digestive-enzyme supplement to pancreatitis, and anyone with a diagnosed pancreatic condition should be working with a doctor on enzyme therapy specifically, not choosing an OTC product on their own. See who should not take digestive enzymes.

Do digestive enzymes help you poop if you're constipated?

We haven't found a trial testing DigeZyme, or a similar blend, for constipation. The positive results above are specific to diarrhea-type symptoms in diagnosed lactose intolerance, not constipation in a general population.