Here’s the deal: Everything you eat, whether it’s a cheeseburger or salad, takes your body a certain amount of energy to digest. Since we’re all eating three (or more!) times daily, one of the easiest things you can do to kick up your digestive system and massively take the burden off your body’s energy resources is to incorporate more digestive enzymes into your life.

Now you might be asking: what are digestive enzymes? Well, according to health expert Vincent Pedre, M.D., digestive enzymes “are proteins that break down food macromolecules into their smaller building blocks, in order to facilitate their absorption into the body through the gut lining.”

In layman’s terms, digestive enzymes essentially break apart your food so you can absorb everything in it, whether it’s the protein or vitamin C. While some people produce enough of their own digestive enzymes naturally, many do not.

A lot of us don’t have optimal gut health, whether it’s due to the food we eat or any gut-harming chemicals we’re exposed to. By adding digestive enzymes to your diet, you can increase nutrient availability and optimize your energy levels. It’s not so hard to get more natural digestive enzymes into your body.

While you can use supplements in order to get your daily dose of digestive enzymes, you can also get them the good old fashioned way by eating raw vegetables or certain fruits, such as papaya and pineapple. Other foods with a high amount of digestive enzymes include avocados, miso, and kefir. Want to get the full rundown on digestive enzymes? Check out this super informative piece from our friends over at MindBodyGreen.