Digestive Enzymes
Digestive Enzymes for Beginners
by Ruth Anna Spooner
Basically, enzymes are molecules composed of a protein, plus an essential vitamin or mineral (for example, a protein + zinc = an enzyme). These molecules, along with coenzymes—sidekicks who help in the digestive process, usually some combination of vitamins and/or minerals—play several vital roles in your body. One such role includes breaking down food so that nutrients can be absorbed in the small intestine. Your pancreas produces enzymes to aid digestion, and you also gain some outside enzymes from the raw, uncooked foods you eat (think raw vegetables, fruits, and so forth).
Various foods derived from plants and animals in their natural form are chock full of enzymes that help your digestion. Raw foods can be powerful aids to your body. However, when these foods are cooked—whether by fire, stove, or microwave—heat destroys the enzymes in these foods. Also, cooked foods lose some of their vitamins and minerals during the cooking process, which forces your body’s enzymes to work even harder with less help.
Without the proper balance of vitamins and minerals in your diet, your enzymes can’t do their job. Certain vitamins and minerals act as triggers that activate the enzymes during the digestive process. If you don’t have enough zinc or vitamin C in your diet, for example, then some of your enzymes will not be activated; this prevents your digestive system from absorbing nutrients and functioning properly.
Insufficient enzyme activity in your system also causes other negative effects on your body. Because enzymes play essential roles in all of the systems of your body (in addition to the digestive system), you need enzymes to keep all of your organs, muscles, and tissues functioning. Your body, however, has only a limited number of enzymes to do all of these jobs. When you eat cooked and/or processed foods—foods that have virtually zero enzymes due to heat and/or chemical exposure—it forces your digestive system to work harder to break down the food into absorbable parts. This requires more enzymes. In order to accommodate this need, your body actually takes enzymes away from your tissues, muscles, and even your brain so that extra help can be sent to the digestive system. This means that to achieve optimal health, you need to eat fresh and uncooked foods regularly, because they, in their raw and natural form, provide extra enzymes to help the ones already in your body.
How can you ensure that you have plenty of digestive enzymes in your body and in your diet? Well, some studies advocate eating more raw and uncooked foods to boost the amounts of vitamins, minerals, and outside enzymes in your body. Some other studies recommend taking digestive enzyme supplements, which can come from fungi, plants, and/or pancreases of livestock animals.* These diets and supplements can provide the extra activation “boost” that your body’s enzymes need to properly process and digest foods.
Digestive enzyme supplements have also been found to reduce inflammation in general, and some doctors in Europe even prescribe them to people recovering from surgery and to athletes who are battling sports injuries. If you find yourself plagued with digestion trouble—ranging from inflammatory bowel syndrome to chronic diarrhea to constipation—digestive enzyme supplements could bring immense relief to your problems.
*One note of caution: Some researchers have expressed reserve about recommending enzyme supplements that are derived from animals because the origins of these enzymes may be difficult to trace. You have no way of knowing whether the animal enzymes came from animals that were raised with steroids, antibiotics, or other growth hormones. Enzyme supplements that have been cultured from plants and fungi, however, work in a wider range of people and are easier to trace, so if you’re interested in taking enzyme supplements to boost your digestive process, more researchers recommend looking for enzymes that come from plant or fungi origins.
Before you take that next bite of food, I have an important question to ask: “Are you getting enough enzymes?”
Tough question, I know. So let me help you out. Do you ever feel tired and sluggish after eating a big meal? Ever have a stomach ache? Indigestion? Constipation? If so, then you’re probably not getting a sufficient amount of enzymes.
But an enzyme deficiency is much more serious than just an upset tummy. Here, in alphabetical order, is a partial listing of illnesses and disorders attributed to a lack of enzymes in one’s diet:
Aching Feet, Acne, Allergies, Arthritis, Back Weakness, Bladder Problems, Chronic Allergies, Chronic Fatigue, Cold hands and feet, Common colds, Constipation, Cystitis, Depression, Diarrhea, Diverticulitis, Fatigue, Fungal forms, Gall Bladder Stress, Gallstones, Gingivitis, Gum Disorder, Hay Fever, Hearing Problems, Heart Problems, High Blood Pressure, Hot Flashes, Hypoglycemia, Immune Depressed Conditions, Inflammation, Insomnia, Irritable Bowel, Lipase Deficiency, Mood Swings, Neck and Shoulder aches, Parasites, PMS, Prostate Problems, Psoriasis, Sinus Infection, Skin rashes, and Urinary Weakness.
What Are Enzymes?
If you’re like most people, you haven’t a clue what enzymes are. Enzymes are highly complex protein molecules. They work together with oxygen to help us digest food. This is important because unless food is digested properly, it is not usable by the body. diverticulitis foods to avoid
Enzymes and oxygen are detroyed whenever food is cooked or highly processed. Eating cooked and/or processed foods puts a tremendous burden on your body. Instead of the necessary digestive enzymes coming directly from your food (as nature intended), your body must now call upon its stored reserves to properly digest that food. These reserves are limited. Once the body’s digestive enzymes become depleted, your body has no choice but to draw upon its reserve supply of metabolic enzymes.
So what’s the big deal? The big deal is, if these metabolic enzymes have to be used to digest your food, a series of unfortunate events are set in motion in your body’s metabolism.
First, these metabolic enzymes are now taken away from other important activities. Consequently, numerous bodily functions are disrupted. Your immune system weakens, making you more suseptable to disease. Your energy level drops. In fact, the functioning of every organ system in the body, including the brain, begins to stress out – all because enzymes have been diverted to digest food.
Bottom line, eating foods that are depleted of enzymes over-taxes you, which can ultimately lead to numerous diseases and immunity disfunctions. A diet consisting largely of processed and/or cooked foodstuffs contributes heavily to sickness and disease, not to mention premature aging and an early death!
The Benefit of Raw Food
correct diet for diverticulitisSo what’s the answer? I’m not suggesting going cold-turkey by never eating cooked foods, nor am I saying to never dine at restaurants. What I am saying is this: If the majority of your diet consists of cooked and/or processed foods and you’re not supplementing your diet with enzymes, you’re probably a heart attack waiting to happen.
Here’s the solution: Replace most of your cooked and processed foods with raw foods. The benefits of natural raw foods have been well documented. Raw foods are alive with life-enhancing phytochemicals and essential enzymes. And to be on the safe side, consider an All-Natural Whole Food Multi-Vitamin Supplement that is high in Enzymes, one that has 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins and minerals. That way, you know you’re getting the nutrients you need, plus you’re not over-taxing your body’s digestive system.
Remember: Before you take your next bite of food, “Don’t Dine Without Enzymes!”
By Tom Gruber
Pingback by Enzymes - Don’t Dine Without Them - free article courtesy of … — February 6, 2009 @ 11:52 pm
Hi,
In one of your article, you mentioned that human have the lowest level of starch (amylase) disgestive enzymes and highest level of amylase enzyme in urine. Is there any research paper to support this?
You also mentioned about enlargement of pituitary gland due to enzyme free diet. Please provide supporting reseach studies.
Tks,
Jackie
Comment by Jackie — August 16, 2012 @ 2:26 am
Hi Jackie,
I am not able to find the article in question. Please give me a link. Thanks.
Comment by Gail — August 17, 2012 @ 9:30 am