ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Erepsin

Erepsin is a type of enzyme that helps your body break down food in your small intestine.

Think of your small intestine as a long tube that helps digest your food. When you eat, your body breaks down the food into smaller pieces called nutrients. Your body needs these nutrients to make energy and help you grow big and strong.

But sometimes, the nutrients are too big to be absorbed into your body. This is where erepsin comes in! Erepsin helps break down those big nutrients into tiny little pieces so that they can be absorbed into your body.

It's kind of like taking apart a puzzle. If you have a big puzzle piece, you can't fit it into the puzzle. But if you take that big piece and break it into smaller pieces, you can fit those pieces into the puzzle. Erepsin does the same thing with the nutrients in your food.

So, erepsin is like a little helper that makes sure your body can use all the good things in your food. Without erepsin, your body wouldn't be able to break down the nutrients from your food and use them properly.