Q: My sister is too thin for her height and age. She also has eczema on her hands, is constantly fatigued and is rather stressed. These symptoms have been going on for years. Could you help?*

A: First, I would strongly recommend that you find a health professional in your area, one who deals in alternative therapies, to aid in finding a solution to this problem. That said, digestive enzymes are an important part of any health regimen. It may be that your sister is not able to digest fats and that is one reason for her thinness. Certainly, the skin disorder, fatigue and stress can be associated with an inability to digest and absorb essential fatty acids.

I would also suggest that she purchase a good essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement to take with meals and with digestive enzymes. This will increase the availability and digestion of EFAs, and she may gain weight and see improvement in other symptoms.

She should also take a good probiotic supplement. There is a great deal of research that demonstrates probiotics are beneficial for proper digestion, skin disorders and immune health.

Dan Kaur Weamer, MS, CN

*The technical services division of Enzymes, Inc., received this question from one of its customers. To fit this blog, the question was modified from its original version. The response from clinical nutritionist Dan Kaur Weamer also has been modified.