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where is bile produced in our body and why is it not an enzyme?

Bile acids are chemicals made by the liver and put into bile, the yellow fluid that flows from the liver to the intestines. Bile acids are the body's natural detergents that help the intestine break down and use the fat and vitamins from the foods we eat. Bile acids are made from cholesterol. There are many steps in the process of making bile acids, and each step needs a certain "enzyme." An enzyme is a protein that causes something to happen in the body. If each step of the process is not completed correctly, the bile acids are not made correctly.

Bile is not an enzyme. However, it emulsifies the fats, breaking it down into tiny droplets. This provides a much larger surface area for lipase enzyme to work on, so that fat is digested more quickly.Bile is not considered an enzyme because it does not contain a protein catalyst.

Enzymes are very important in digestion. They help act as catalysts to break down the big molecules (which cannot pass through the gut wall into the blood) into smaller ones (which can diffuse into the blood). Starch, proteins and fats are big molecules. Sugars, amino acids and fatty acids/ glycerol are much smaller.


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