Studies show that a high percentage of adults in North America and other developed countries eat less than the minimum daily allowance of 10 or more essential nutrients. Adequate amounts and proper balance of these nutrients are needed not only for maintaining good health, but also for the dietary management of the body's structure as well as the optimum functioning of its various systems, including the digestive system. DGST Support Formula has been carefully developed to contain the right proportions of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and other nutrients without danger of toxic build-up or of side effects. Each ingredient is selected in consideration of its absorbability, competitive relationship with other nutrients, allergenic potential, and long-term safety. Certain nutrients such as beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and B-complex vitamins are included in high-potency amounts because of the vital roles they play in antioxidant protection, energy production and maintenance of healthy blood cells, nervous system, hormonal balance, and more. Minerals and trace elements are provided in their safest and most bioavailable forms. DGST Support Formula contains not only the base formula of Douglas Laboratories’ Ultra-Specific Nutrition 2000 Series that offers intensive support for the healthy functioning of the body in general, but also a blend of herbs and additional nutrients specifically formulated to assist in the assimilation and utilization of foods. The pancreas supplies the major digestive enzymes which catalyze the breakdown of fats, carbohydrates and protein, so that the breakdown products can be absorbed in the upper small intestine. Although fat digestion starts in the mouth with salivary lipase, most fat triglycerides are digested by pancreatic lipase, which is secreted by the exocrine pancreas into the duodenum of the intestine. Pancreatic lipase separates triglycerides into monoglycerides and free fatty acids, which are efficiently absorbed in the upper small intestine. Some carbohydrate digestion takes place in the mouth by salivary amylase, but pancreatic amylase is the major carbohydrate-digesting enzyme. It breaks down starches into maltose and maltotriose, which are further hydrolyzed into glucose by the disaccharidases of the mucosal cells, and then absorbed. Protein digestion is initiated in the stomach by pepsin and hydrochloric acid, which denature and divide large proteins into smaller polypeptides. The pancreatic proteinases, trypsin and chymotrypsin, break down these polypeptides into free amino acids, and di- or tri-peptides, which are directly absorbed by the intestinal mucosa. DGST Support Formula provides high levels of catalytically active pancreatic enzymes which are specific for fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Bromelain acts to help prevent allergens from crossing the gastrointestinal tract, and assists in the breakdown of large macromolecular protein complexes. This reduces the chance that these complexes will leave the stomach untouched or in large fractions retaining their recognizable antigenic form that could pass through gastric or intestinal lesions inducing an allergenic response.