Feature Story: 7 Summits

But Aupperle, a businessman who is currently working to complete a masters degree in nutrition, had other motives with his high peaks spree. As the founder of Enzymology Research Center Inc., a manufacturer of supplemental nutrition products, Aupperle said accomplishing the seven summits would serve to demonstrate the effectiveness of a certain underappreciated amino acid group. “Completing these peaks was my first step in the ultimate goal of introducing enzymes to the world,” he said.

Indeed, Aupperle expresses not a hint of irony in this statement. The full disclosure is that he owns a company that sells enzyme-based products to resellers. The fine print is that, as an athlete, Aupperle has long believed in the effectiveness of enzymes, which are proteins found in many foods that catalyze chemical reactions at a cellular level.

He takes about 10 capsules of enzymes and other supplements each day. He credits this regimen as increasing his energy levels and aiding in digestion. “Your body is more efficient and effective with enzyme supplements,” he said.

Aupperle’s company, which employs 11 people out of a facility near Alexandria, Minn., offers plant and fermented microbial enzymes the likes of glucose oxidase, fungal lipase and serratiopeptidase. Traveling around the planet, Aupperle packed bottles of the stuff alongside his mountaineering boots and ice axes. “The digestion process consumes ridiculous amounts of energy, so if you can relieve the body from those duties you will have more energy to put towards your climb,” he explained.

Health experts disagree on the effectiveness of enzyme supplements, which are sold over the counter in dozens of types. Promised effects range from easing upset stomach to increasing a person’s lifespan. The supplements are regulated by the FDA but do not require their approval.

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