Pan-GL Pancreatic Enzymes: Digestive Support for Fat Maldigestion, Fat Malabsorption, and Low PE-1

Digestive problems are not always caused by the foods you eat. Sometimes, the problem is that your digestive system is not producing or delivering enough enzymes to break those foods down properly.

The pancreas produces several enzymes that help digest protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fat. When pancreatic enzyme output is inadequate, food may remain partially undigested as it moves through the digestive tract. This can contribute to bloating, gas, abdominal discomfort, changes in bowel movements, and poor nutrient absorption.

Pan-GL is an acid-resistant pancreatic enzyme supplement formulated to support the digestion of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Each capsule provides concentrated porcine-derived pancreatic enzymes, including lipase, protease, and amylase.

For people experiencing signs of fat maldigestion, fat malabsorption, or a low PE-1 result on a stool test, targeted pancreatic enzyme support may be one component of a broader digestive health plan.

What Are Pancreatic Enzymes?

Pancreatic enzymes are digestive substances produced by the exocrine portion of the pancreas. After eating, the pancreas releases these enzymes into the small intestine, where they help break larger food molecules into smaller components that can be absorbed.

The three primary categories of pancreatic digestive enzymes are:

Lipase

Lipase breaks dietary fats down into fatty acids and monoglycerides. These smaller components can then be absorbed through the intestinal lining.

Lipase is especially important because fat digestion may become impaired when pancreatic enzyme output declines. Inadequate lipase activity can contribute to greasy stools, floating stools, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, and deficiencies of fat-soluble vitamins.

Protease

Protease enzymes help break dietary proteins into smaller peptides and amino acids. Amino acids are needed for tissue repair, immune function, enzyme production, neurotransmitter synthesis, and many other physiological processes.

Amylase

Amylase helps break starches and complex carbohydrates into smaller sugars that can be absorbed and used for energy.

Together, these pancreatic enzymes allow the body to extract nutrients from meals more efficiently.

What Is Pan-GL?

Pan-GL is a high-activity, porcine-derived pancreatic enzyme formula designed to support the body’s natural digestive processes.

Each Pan-GL capsule provides a minimum enzymatic activity of:

• Amylase: 175,000 USP units
• Protease: 175,000 USP units
• Lipase: 14,000 USP units

The formula is acid resistant, helping protect its enzyme activity as it passes through the acidic environment of the stomach.

Pan-GL may support:

• Digestion of dietary fats
• Digestion of proteins and carbohydrates
• Normal digestive system function
• Nutrient and vitamin absorption
• Occasional indigestion
• Digestive support in people with low pancreatic enzyme output

Pan-GL contains a raw porcine pancreas concentrate and is not appropriate for people with an allergy or hypersensitivity to pork protein.

Understanding Low PE-1 on a Stool Test

PE-1 stands for pancreatic elastase-1. It is also called fecal elastase when measured in a stool sample.

Although elastase is technically a protein-digesting enzyme, the PE-1 stool test is used as an indirect marker of overall pancreatic exocrine function. A low PE-1 result may suggest that the pancreas is not producing or delivering an adequate amount of digestive enzymes.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases identifies the stool elastase test as the most commonly used stool test for evaluating exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. Low fecal elastase levels can be a sign that pancreatic digestive function is impaired.

A low PE-1 result does not simply mean that one enzyme is low. It may reflect reduced output of the pancreatic enzyme package, including:

• Lipase for fat digestion
• Proteases for protein digestion
• Amylase for carbohydrate digestion

This is why some people with low PE-1 experience symptoms after eating a wide variety of foods rather than reacting to one specific food group.

Low PE-1 Does Not Always Confirm Pancreatic Disease

A low PE-1 result should be interpreted within the broader clinical picture. The result should not automatically be assumed to confirm pancreatic disease or severe pancreatic insufficiency.

Several factors may influence fecal elastase results. For example, watery or very loose stool can dilute the concentration of elastase and potentially produce a falsely low result. This is one reason a solid or semisolid stool sample is preferred for testing.

Low PE-1 should be considered alongside:

• Stool consistency
• Digestive symptoms
• History of pancreatitis or pancreatic disease
• Gallbladder and bile function
• Weight changes
• Nutrient status
• Fat-soluble vitamin levels
• Intestinal inflammation
• Celiac disease
• Diabetes
• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
• Previous gastrointestinal surgery

The goal is not simply to raise a stool test number. The goal is to understand why digestive enzyme function appears low and whether the person is showing evidence of maldigestion or malabsorption.

What Is Fat Maldigestion?

Fat maldigestion means dietary fat is not being broken down adequately during digestion.

Fat digestion is a multistep process that depends on several organs and digestive substances. These include:

• Stomach function
• Pancreatic lipase
• Bile production by the liver
• Bile release from the gallbladder
• Proper mixing of bile and enzymes with food
• A healthy small-intestinal lining

Pancreatic lipase is one of the most important enzymes involved in this process. When insufficient lipase reaches the small intestine, dietary fat may remain partially undigested.

Potential signs of fat maldigestion include:

• Greasy or oily stools
• Floating stools
• Pale or clay-colored stools
• Stool that is difficult to flush
• Loose stool after higher-fat meals
• Urgency after eating
• Abdominal cramping
• Excessive gas
• Bloating
• Nausea after fatty foods
• Visible oil in the toilet water

Not everyone with fat maldigestion experiences obvious oily stool. In milder cases, the signs may be more subtle, such as persistent bloating, inconsistent bowel movements, or discomfort after meals.

What Is Fat Malabsorption?

Fat maldigestion and fat malabsorption are related, but they are not exactly the same.

Maldigestion occurs when fats are not properly broken down.

Malabsorption occurs when digested nutrients are not properly absorbed through the intestinal lining.

Fat maldigestion can lead to fat malabsorption because large, incompletely digested fat molecules cannot be absorbed efficiently.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency can interfere with normal digestion and contribute to nutrient malabsorption. Over time, this may result in low levels of fat-soluble vitamins and other nutritional complications.

Possible consequences of prolonged fat malabsorption include:

• Vitamin A deficiency
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Vitamin E deficiency
• Vitamin K deficiency
• Unintentional weight loss
• Difficulty maintaining weight
• Dry or flaky skin
• Poor wound healing
• Muscle weakness
• Fatigue
• Reduced bone density
• Easy bruising
• Hormonal imbalances

Fat is also necessary for building cell membranes, producing signaling molecules, supporting the nervous system, and maintaining healthy hormone production. Poor fat absorption can therefore affect much more than bowel function.

Why Pancreatic Lipase Is So Important

Of the pancreatic enzymes, lipase is especially vulnerable when pancreatic function declines.

Protein and carbohydrate digestion can receive some assistance from enzymes produced elsewhere in the digestive tract. Fat digestion, however, depends heavily on pancreatic lipase working together with adequate bile.

Pancreatic lipase breaks triglycerides into absorbable components. If this step does not occur effectively, even a healthy diet containing nutritious fats may not provide the expected nutritional benefits.

Someone may consume foods such as:

• Olive oil
• Avocados
• Nuts and seeds
• Eggs
• Salmon
• Coconut products

Yet still struggle to absorb their fat-soluble nutrients if digestion is impaired.

Pan-GL provides 14,000 USP units of lipase per capsule to support the breakdown of dietary fat.

Symptoms That May Be Associated With Inadequate Pancreatic Enzymes

People with inadequate pancreatic digestive enzyme activity may experience different combinations of symptoms.

Common complaints may include:

• Bloating after eating
• Excessive gas
• Abdominal pain or discomfort
• Indigestion
• Fullness after small meals
• Loose stools
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Alternating constipation and diarrhea
• Greasy stools
• Floating stools
• Undigested food in the stool
• Unexplained weight loss
• Difficulty gaining weight
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Fatigue after meals

These symptoms are not specific to pancreatic insufficiency. Similar symptoms may occur with low stomach acid, impaired bile flow, intestinal inflammation, celiac disease, SIBO, food intolerances, infections, or altered gastrointestinal motility.

Testing and clinical interpretation are therefore important before assuming that pancreatic enzymes are the only missing piece.

How Pan-GL Supports Fat Digestion

Pan-GL supplies lipase to help break dietary triglycerides into smaller components that can be absorbed in the small intestine.

This may support people who notice:

• Heaviness after fatty meals
• Bloating after consuming fat
• Loose or oily stool
• Difficulty tolerating healthy fats
• Signs of fat maldigestion
• Low PE-1 on a stool test

However, fat digestion does not depend on lipase alone.

Bile must emulsify large fat globules into smaller droplets before lipase can work efficiently. If bile production or gallbladder emptying is impaired, pancreatic enzymes by themselves may not fully resolve fat digestive problems.

A comprehensive approach may need to evaluate both:

1. Pancreatic enzyme output
2. Liver, bile, and gallbladder function

This distinction is especially important when a person has pale stools, discomfort under the right rib cage, nausea after fatty foods, or a history of gallbladder problems.

How Pan-GL Supports Protein Digestion

Each Pan-GL capsule provides 175,000 USP units of protease activity.

Proteases help break proteins into smaller peptides and amino acids. This is important because protein digestion begins in the stomach but continues in the small intestine with pancreatic enzymes.

Inadequate protein digestion may contribute to:

• Fullness after eating protein
• Bloating after meat
• Undigested food particles
• Gas
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Poor recovery from exercise
• Reduced muscle maintenance

Supplemental protease may help support the final stages of protein breakdown when pancreatic enzyme production is inadequate.

How Pan-GL Supports Carbohydrate Digestion

Pan-GL also provides 175,000 USP units of amylase activity.

Amylase helps digest starches from foods such as:

• Potatoes
• Rice
• Oats
• Legumes
• Root vegetables
• Grain-based foods

When starches are not digested efficiently in the small intestine, more carbohydrate may become available for fermentation by intestinal microorganisms. This can contribute to excessive gas, abdominal distention, and discomfort.

Supporting carbohydrate digestion may therefore be particularly relevant for people who experience bloating after starchy meals.

Low PE-1, Maldigestion, and Bacterial Overgrowth

Low pancreatic enzyme activity may also affect the intestinal environment.

When protein, fat, and carbohydrates are not adequately digested, larger amounts of food material may remain available for intestinal bacteria to ferment or metabolize.

This may contribute to:

• Excessive gas production
• Bloating
• Changes in stool consistency
• Opportunistic bacterial overgrowth
• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
• Intestinal irritation

At the same time, intestinal inflammation, rapid transit, or chronic diarrhea may influence digestive function and stool-test interpretation.

This creates a potential cycle:

Reduced digestive enzyme activity → incomplete digestion → increased microbial fermentation → bloating and altered bowel movements → further disruption of digestion and absorption

For this reason, low PE-1 should not be viewed in isolation. A comprehensive stool analysis and clinical evaluation may reveal additional factors that need to be addressed.

Pan-GL Versus Prescription Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy

Pan-GL is a dietary supplement. It is not the same as prescription pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, commonly called PERT.

Prescription PERT is the standard medical treatment for diagnosed exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. It provides regulated amounts of pancreatic enzymes and is typically taken with meals and snacks under medical supervision.

Pan-GL may be used as nutritional digestive support when recommended by a qualified healthcare practitioner. It should not be presented as a substitute for prescription treatment in someone with confirmed or severe pancreatic insufficiency.

People with significant weight loss, persistent steatorrhea, pancreatitis, pancreatic surgery, pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis, or severe nutrient deficiencies should receive appropriate medical evaluation.

How to Take Pan-GL

The suggested use for Pan-GL is:

Take one capsule one to three times daily with or after a meal, or as directed by your healthcare practitioner.

Digestive enzymes are generally most useful when taken in close proximity to food because they need to mix with the meal being digested.

The appropriate amount may depend on:

• The size of the meal
• The fat content of the meal
• The degree of digestive impairment
• Stool-test findings
• Symptoms
• Whether bile support is also needed

Follow the guidance of your healthcare practitioner rather than increasing the amount solely based on symptoms.

Who Should Not Take Pan-GL?

Pan-GL contains porcine-derived pancreatic enzymes.

Do not use Pan-GL if you:

• Are allergic or hypersensitive to pork protein
• Have a current peptic ulcer
• Have a current duodenal ulcer
• Have been instructed to avoid pancreatic enzyme products

People who are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication, or receiving treatment for a digestive or pancreatic disorder should consult their healthcare professional before using this supplement.

Pan-GL does not contain milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soy.

When Low PE-1 Needs Further Investigation

Digestive enzymes may improve the breakdown of food, but supplementation does not explain why PE-1 is low.

Further evaluation may be appropriate when low PE-1 occurs alongside:

• Persistent abdominal pain
• Unintentional weight loss
• Chronic diarrhea
• Greasy or oily stools
• Recurrent nausea or vomiting
• A history of pancreatitis
• Diabetes
• Celiac disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Pancreatic or gastrointestinal surgery
• Low fat-soluble vitamin levels
• Significant malnutrition

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases notes that pancreatic enzyme problems may occur with pancreatic disorders as well as conditions such as diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, untreated celiac disease, and previous pancreatic or upper gastrointestinal surgery.

The larger goal should always be to identify the source of the digestive problem rather than simply suppressing symptoms.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pan-GL and Pancreatic Enzymes

What does a low PE-1 result mean?

A low PE-1 result may indicate reduced pancreatic exocrine function and inadequate digestive enzyme output. However, the result should be interpreted alongside stool consistency, symptoms, medical history, nutritional markers, and other test findings.

Can low PE-1 cause fat malabsorption?

Low PE-1 may reflect inadequate pancreatic enzyme output, including insufficient lipase. Because lipase is necessary for breaking down dietary fat, reduced enzyme activity may contribute to fat maldigestion and subsequent fat malabsorption.

Can pancreatic enzymes help greasy or floating stools?

Pancreatic enzymes containing lipase may support the digestion of dietary fat. Greasy or floating stools can have several causes, however, including impaired bile flow, celiac disease, infections, rapid intestinal transit, and other malabsorption disorders.

Does Pan-GL contain lipase?

Yes. Each Pan-GL capsule supplies a minimum of 14,000 USP units of lipase, along with 175,000 USP units of protease and 175,000 USP units of amylase.

Is Pan-GL vegetarian?

No. Pan-GL is made with a raw porcine pancreas concentrate and is therefore not vegetarian or vegan.

When should Pan-GL be taken?

Pan-GL is intended to be taken with or immediately after a meal so the enzymes can mix with food during digestion.

Can pancreatic enzymes improve nutrient absorption?

Pancreatic enzymes help break food into smaller components that can be absorbed through the small intestine. Supporting digestion may therefore improve the availability of nutrients when inadequate enzyme activity is contributing to maldigestion.

Is Pan-GL the same as prescription pancreatic enzymes?

No. Pan-GL is a dietary supplement and is not interchangeable with prescription pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. People with confirmed exocrine pancreatic insufficiency should follow the treatment recommendations of their physician.

Can pancreatic enzymes help bloating?

They may help when bloating is related to incomplete digestion of fats, proteins, or carbohydrates. Bloating can also be caused by SIBO, constipation, food intolerances, low stomach acid, bile dysfunction, infections, or intestinal inflammation.

Should everyone with low PE-1 take pancreatic enzymes?

Not necessarily. The significance of a low PE-1 result depends on the degree of reduction, stool consistency, symptoms, medical history, and other findings. A healthcare practitioner should determine whether enzyme support and additional evaluation are appropriate.

Supporting Digestion Requires Looking at the Entire Digestive Process

Pancreatic enzymes are essential, but they are only one part of digestion.

Proper digestion also depends on:

• Adequate chewing
• Healthy stomach acid production
• Bile production and release
• Pancreatic bicarbonate
• Intestinal motility
• A balanced microbiome
• A healthy intestinal lining
• Proper coordination between the stomach, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, and small intestine

Pan-GL can provide targeted pancreatic enzyme support, but persistent digestive symptoms require a broader investigation.

When I evaluate a low PE-1 result, I also consider whether the person has impaired stomach function, poor bile flow, intestinal inflammation, bacterial overgrowth, nutrient deficiencies, or another condition interfering with digestion and absorption.

Pan-GL Pancreatic Enzyme Support

Pan-GL provides concentrated amylase, protease, and lipase activity to support the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

It may be particularly relevant for people who have:

• Low PE-1 on a stool test
• Signs of fat maldigestion
• Signs of fat malabsorption
• Bloating or indigestion after meals
• Difficulty digesting higher-fat foods
• Suspected inadequate pancreatic enzyme activity

Digestive symptoms are often interconnected. Supporting enzyme activity can be helpful, but the best results come from identifying and addressing the underlying reasons digestion has become compromised.

Why We Need Pancreatic Enzymes 

Pancreatic enzymes help with pancreatic malabsorption and pancreatic maldigestion common problems related to bloating, constipation, diarrhea and stomach pain.

1. Breakdown of Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats: Pancreatic enzymes are responsible for breaking down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into smaller molecules that can be easily absorbed by the body. For example, amylase aids in breaking down carbohydrates (starches) into simpler sugars like glucose, while proteases help in breaking down proteins into amino acids. Lipases, on the other hand, break down fats into fatty acids and glycerol.

2. Optimizing Nutrient Absorption: Once food is broken down into simpler molecules, it can be absorbed more effectively in the small intestine. This allows the body to obtain essential nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals that are necessary for various bodily functions.

3. Supporting Digestive Processes: Pancreatic enzymes also contribute to the overall digestive process by neutralizing stomach acid and creating an optimal pH environment for enzymes to function efficiently. This helps in preventing damage to the delicate lining of the intestines and allows proper absorption of nutrients.

4. Pancreatic Insufficiency: If the pancreas does not produce enough enzymes or if the enzymes are not delivered properly to the small intestine, it can lead to a condition called pancreatic insufficiency or pancreatic malabsorption. This condition can cause difficulty in properly digesting food, leading to symptoms like bloating, gas, abdominal pain, weight loss, and malnutrition.

Acid-Resistant Digestive Enzyme*

Pan-GL™ is an acid-resistant digestive enzyme supplement designed to aid the body’s natural digestive function.* It is a porcine-derived, raw pancreas concentrate with high enzymatic activity to help the body break down proteins, carbohydrates and fats.*

One Capsule Contains

Caution: Do not use if there is a prior history of or with a current peptic or duodenal ulcer. Do not use if allergic or hypersensitive to pork protein. Keep out of reach of children.

Size: 90c

Serving Size: 1 Capsule

Servings Per Container: 90

Directions: Take one capsule 1-3 times per day with or after a meal or as directed by your healthcare practitioner.