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EnzymesLife could not exist without enzymes. Enzymes convert the food we eat into chemical structures that can pass through the membranes of the cells lining the digestive tract and into the blood stream. Food must be digested so that it can ultimately pass through cell membranes. Enzymes also aid in converting the prepared food into new muscle, flesh, bone, nerves, and glands. Working with the liver, they help store excess food for future energy and building needs. They also assist the kidneys, lungs, liver, skin and colon in their important eliminative tasks. Perhaps it would be easier to write about what enzymes don't do, for they are involved in almost every aspect of life.There are three main types of enzymes: 1. Metabolic enzymes, which perform countless tasks inside our bodies. 2. Digestive enzymes, which digest the foods that we eat. 3. Enzymes present in living and raw foods which initiate digestion, helping us digest our food. Metabolic and digestive enzymes are manufactured by our bodies while the enzymes present in living foods are manufactured by the plants. By consuming foods rich in live enzymes, we allow our bodies to use the energy of manufacturing digestive enzymes for other metabolic functions. The heat ing of food above 118 degrees Fahrenheit destroys the naturally occurring enzymes in the food. This is of great concern to those individuals seeking optimum health and longevity because the body must work to manufacture enzymes that the cooking of the food has destroyed All uncooked foods contain an abundance of food enzymes which correspond to the nutritional highlights of food. For example, dairy foods, oils, seeds and nuts, which are relatively high in fat content, also contain relatively higher concentrations of the enzyme lipase which aids in the digestion of their fats. Carbohydrates, such as grains, contain a higher concentration of amylase (digests carbohydrates) and lesser amounts of lipase and protease (digests protein). The banana is an excellent example of how a food is capable of digesting its own ingredients. The banana has about 20 percent starch when green. The enzyme amylase changes the banana into 20 percent sugar when the fruit is kept warm for a few days and becomes speckled. The amylase in bananas works on banana starch, but not readily on other starches, such as potato starch. So what's the big deal about getting these digestive enzymes from the diet as opposed to using the body's organs to supply the digestive enzymes? According to the research of Dr. Howell, enzyme expert, each individual has what he calls an "enzyme potential" or "enzyme bank account" and when it runs out, the organism's life ends. How does one's enzyme bank account get depleted? According to Dr. Howell, it is by "heavy withdrawals, and skimpy deposits" of enzymes. Many researchers are now convinced that each of us is given a limited enzyme potential at birth (i.e. our genetic potential). This supply, similar to the energy supply of a new battery, has to last a lifetime. The faster you use up your enzyme supply, the shorter your life. A great deal of our enzyme energy is wasted haphazardly throughout life. The habit of cooking our food and eating it processed with chemicals, and the use of alcohol, drugs, and junk food, all draw out tremendous quantities of enzymes from our limited supply. Frequent colds and fevers and exposure to extremes of temperature also deplete the supply. A body in such a weakened, enzyme-deficient state is a prime target for cancer, obesity, heart disease, or other degenerative problems. A lifetime of such abuse ends in the tragedy of death at middle age. The length of life is inversely proportional to the rate of exhaustion of the enzyme potential of an organism (emphasis mine). The increased use of food enzymes promotes a decreased rate of exhaustion of the enzyme potential . One of the keys to a healthy, long life is to consume dietary enzymes so that the body conserves the metabolic enzymes and uses them for other functions. The remarkable thing about the eventual bankruptcy of the enzyme account is that it can proceed quite painlessly, without immediate symptoms. The only warning may be a belated malfunction or a breakdown in some organ far removed from the digestive tract. But the diagnostician, unaware of the importance of enzyme nutrition, would have difficulty in connecting such a referred process to the true, underlying cause. This is how an assortment of human ailments may get started. Enzymes can also disarm free radicals. Apples, mangos and grapes contain enzymes called peroxidase and catulase which help disarm free radicals. Some mushrooms, sweet corn and raw honey also contain these enzymes along with amylase. However, when these foods are cooked, the beneficial enzymes are destroyed. Some foods contain enzyme inhibit ors. For example, lentils, beans and chickpeas contain trypsin-inhibitors that prevent protein from being completely digested. However, this anti-enzyme factor can be destroyed either by sprouting or cooking. The same is true for grains rich in phytates that can bind beneficial minerals. If these enzyme blockers are not inactivated, they can create an enzyme drain on the body and cause intestinal gas. Nuts with brown skins, such as almonds, contain enzyme inhibitors. Soaking the nuts (from 8 to 12 hours depending on the type of nut) deactivates these inhibiters. Read More on Next page See also: Healthy Eating Plan Keeping Your Brain Sharp long past your 80th birthday is simply to eat a Mediterranean-style diet |
 
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