Enzymes and Nutrition

It is important in understanding enzymes and nutrition to really have a firm grasp of what enzymes are, where they come from, what role they play in nutrition. In the first two articles we have learned what enzymes are, where they come from and how we use them. Now let’s ask a few key questions about enzymes and look at the answers. This will give us a much better perception of the importance of enzymes to our nutrition and our overall health.

What is the role of enzymes in nutrition?

To better understand digestive enzymes, we must first understand the role of NUTRITION in our health. The Oxford American Dictionary defines “nutrition” as simply “nourishment”. Another definition of Nutrition is the body's ability to use and metabolize food.

There are 45 known essential nutrients required in specific amounts in order for the body to function properly. The term "essential," as used here, means the body cannot synthesize them internally. Therefore all essential nutrients must come from outside the body – from food and other vitamin and mineral sources. In addition to carbohydrates, fats (lipids), complete proteins, and water, there are at least 13 kinds of vitamins and at least 20 kinds of minerals required for proper metabolic function.

Once consumed, the food containing these nutrients must be digested, meaning they must be broken apart and reduced to a state that the nutrients can be absorbed into and transported by the blood stream to all parts of the body.

Our cells are genetically programmed to direct these nutrients to combine and interact with other nutrients and chemicals to create still other chemicals and compounds which, in turn, are used to build and repair the body's cells – bones, tissue, and organs. This process is called metabolism. Each metabolic reaction is started, controlled, and terminated by enzymes.

Without enzymes we will have no metabolic activity. A body that does not consistently and efficiently metabolize the essential food elements necessary for life will be unhealthy, out of balance, and this condition will result in a severe susceptibility to disease. Many illnesses are the result of a dietary problem that causes toxemia inside of the body, a natural condition resulting from malnutrition – whether from a malfunction of the body or from a lack of proper dietary intake.

How many different kinds of enzymes are there?

For our purposes (this article), there are three major types or categories of Enzymes:

•DIGESTIVE ENZYMES
•FOOD ENZYMES
•METABOLIC ENZYMES

The two kinds of enzymes we are concerned with here are DIGESTIVE ENZYMES and FOOD ENZYMES. These two are active only within our digestive system. They have one main job — to digest our food.

But the third type is important. They are the Metabolic enzymes which run the body. They exist throughout the body in the organs, the bones, the blood, and inside the cells themselves. They are “genetically programmed” to regenerate and maintain their host. These enzymes do a great job carrying out their metabolizing mission as long as they are health and there are enough of them.

Digestive enzymes are manufactured within our body's organs. Digestive enzymes are secreted by the salivary glands, stomach, pancreas, and the small intestine. Technically, digestive enzymes are also considered to be metabolic enzymes whose metabolic role is to digest food. We are specifically distinguishing these particular enzymes here because they deal with digestion and they can be supplemented from an outside source.

In fact, these digestive enzymes become depleted when we eat too many overcooked foods, when we eat foods which are laced with antibiotics, when we eat foods which have traces (or more) of artificial fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides. Nor do those foods contain any systemic replenishing enzymes. Our body’s stock of beneficial organisms (metabolic and digestive enzymes) also becomes depleted when we are ill and must take antibiotics. In these instances we must have outside sources of enzyme replenishment.

Digestive enzymes and food enzymes basically serve the same function, which is to digest our food so it can be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the blood stream. From this viewpoint the only real difference between food enzymes and digestive enzymes is whether they come from inside our body or from the food we eat.

This is accomplished in one of two ways. Food enzymes are already present within the foods we eat. Food enzymes exist naturally in raw food. If the food is cooked, however, the high temperature involved in the cooking process will destroy the enzymes. An alternative source, then, of enzymes is required. Such food sources as “enzyme rich” supplements, i.e., “greens” (not the leafy stuff like lettuce, etc.), is called for.

Why are enzymes so important for digestion?

Most food, when it is uncooked, contains enough natural food enzymes to digest that food. When you cook the food the enzymes are inactivated (denatured) and can no longer assist in the digestive (breaking down) process. Eating raw food is totally acceptable in some cases and quite unacceptable in others. We eat raw fruit and many raw vegetables, but less often do we eat raw meat, raw fish (not withstanding sushi), or raw pork. Eating uncooked rice is nearly a guaranteed trip to your dentist! So, obviously, we cook our food.

Here's where the problem occurs. Cooked food contains no enzymes because they have been destroyed. If you eat a meal consisting of a salad, a steak and a baked potato, there are likely enough food enzymes contained in the salad to digest it (break it down so your body can use its nutrients). But, there are no extra enzymes available to help digest the steak or the baked potato. Because the steak and potato are cooked, there are no FOOD ENZYMES available to digest them, so our body must take over and internally create the needed amount of DIGESTIVE ENZYMES to handle the digestive task.

The more we depend on our internally generated DIGESTIVE ENZYMES, the more stress we put on our body's systems and organs and the less time these systems and organs have for rebuilding and replacing worn out and damaged cells and tissue and keeping our immune system strong. Your body’s top priority is making sure it has enough nutrients to run its systems. This means digesting food and converting it into nutrients. There is no activity more important to the body than this. This takes a lot of energy and enzymes, particularly if the body must make most or all of these enzymes. Remember that no food can be digested without digestive enzymes.

Dr. DicQie Fuller, in her book The Healing Power of Enzymes, emphasizes the importance of enzymes for digestion: "Eighty percent of our body's energy is expended by the digestive process. If you are run down, under stress, living in a very hot or very cold climate, pregnant, or are a frequent air traveler, then enormous quantities of extra enzymes are required by your body. Because our entire system functions through enzymatic action, we must supplement our enzymes. Aging deprives us of our ability to produce necessary enzymes. The medical profession tells us that all disease is due to a lack or imbalance of enzymes. Our very lives are dependent upon them!"

Later in this article we will discuss which enzymes digest which type of food, whether I have an infinite supply of enzymes, what happens when I start to run low on digestive enzymes, what I can do to maintain my enzyme level and whether there are certain enzymes I can take for specific health conditions.

Which digestive enzymes digest food?

Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are the three main food groups that make up the bulk of our daily diet. A "balanced" diet means we consume the proper proportions of these three basic food groups on a daily basis. This balance, when combined with the assurance that we also get the essential nutrients, can help provide a healthy life — if we properly process and metabolize these nutrients. To do this we also need an adequate source of the major types of digestive enzymes: Proteases, Amylases and Lipases.

Let’s build a small chart and take a look at just what these food groups and enzymes are:

FOOD GROUP % OF DAILY ENZYME ENZYME FUNCTION
DIET CLASS
Proteins 20-25% Protease Digests Protein
Carbohydrates 50-60% Amylase Digests Carbohydrates
Fats 20-30% Lipase Digests Fats (Lipids)

There are numerous categories of digestive enzymes, but for the purpose of this discussion, we will cover the three primary classes of digestive enzymes that digest our food. [NOTE: generally speaking, enzymes end with the suffix "ase."]

If the proper QUANTITY and required TYPE of enzymes are not present, your body becomes TOXIC from the left over WASTE of incomplete digestion. This is the reason why most illnesses and diseases are initially a dietary mistake. This can be prevented and it can be reversed. It’s all a matter of having the right amount and the right kind of enzymes available at the right time to prevent your body from becoming a receptacle for pollution and waste — a receptacle that then breeds and harbors disease.

Do I have an infinite supply of enzymes?

No. Until recently, many within the scientific community labored under the misconception that the digestive enzymes in our body are constant and last forever; that they can be used and reused; that they never get old and never wear out.

Researchers now know that we lose digestive enzymes through sweat and body waste. Through constant use, enzymes lose their strength and ability to do their work. As we age, the organs responsible for producing our digestive enzymes become less efficient. Today's environmental pollution, overly processed fast foods, genetically modified foods, high anti-biotic content and microwave cooking can result in free radical damage, which lowers the body's effectiveness to produce enzymes. To offset this loss, we need to supplement our system with oral digestive enzymes. One such enzyme supplement is an organic greens, Bio 88+ (Plus).

What are some of the causes of low enzyme supply?

When our bodies are nutritionally out of balance, which may lead to chronic illness. Also, our digestive enzymes become depleted when we go on long-term restrictive diets which cut out one basic food group for too long a period, when we eat too many overcooked foods, when we eat foods that are laced with antibiotics, when we eat foods which have traces (or more) of artificial fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides.

Nor do those foods contain any systemic replenishing enzymes. Our body’s stock of beneficial organisms (metabolic and digestive enzymes) also becomes depleted when we are ill and must take antibiotics. In these instances we must have outside sources of enzyme replenishment.

What happens when we start to run low on enzymes?

Here's the bottom line. Many illnesses and poor health conditions are the result of a digestive malfunction causing toxemia inside the body. This malfunction is the result of insufficient quantities of Digestive Enzymes to properly digest and metabolize nutrients. Significant short- and long-term health problems could develop when these nutrients are not digested.

Some lifestyle problems like high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver problems, indigestion and heartburn, adult onset diabetes, fibromyalgia, migraines, PMS, even hyperactivity in children, often have their starting point in nutritional problems.

When our body is stressed by a shortage of digestive enzymes two things can happen and both are bad.

1.Because our body finally becomes so overworked it can't make enough enzymes to properly digest our food. As this undigested food begins to pollute our body, the chances of chronic disease increase.

2.Our body continues to work overtime to create the needed enzymes required to digest our food. This extra stress adversely affects our immune system and lowers our ability to protect ourselves from and fight off disease.

Supplemental digestive enzymes will deliver the necessary nutrients to fortify your body and can enhance your body's healing system, often resulting in improved overall health and vitality.

What can I do to restore and/or maintain my enzyme levels?

You don't need to be in this predicament and there are some ways to stay out of it. The digestive enzymes you need for the process of restoring and maintaining your health are available through several sources. One of them is the author’s website, at the bottom of this page. However, you are urged to follow the advice given in the closing paragraph.

Which special health conditions might benefit from enzyme treatment?

Here are some specific health problems or conditions which may benefit from specific enzyme treatment.

1. Chronic indigestion, heartburn, or gastric disorders (i.e., gastroenteritis).

2. Nervousness, anxiety and difficulty sleeping.

3. Irregularity, constipation and diarrhea.

4. Digesting fats (lipids) including whole milk, a situation often associated with high cholesterol, heart disease and obesity.

5. Weight problems, either high or low.

As you may be aware there are extensive studies and research on soy that have discovered remarkable and wide-ranging benefits to good health. Soy's beneficial health properties have proven successful in alleviating many hormonal-related issues (such as hot flashes), preventing bone density loss, reducing some cancer tumors, lowering cholesterol levels, and promoting cardiovascular health to name just a few. The problem with soy products (see digestive problems above) is that “good soy” has virtually all, worldwide, become contaminated with the Genetically Modified (GMO) versions.

I cannot emphasize too often nor too much the statement I have made many times in other health-related articles of recent vintage. We are all different in the chemical makeup of our bodies. Some of us will react differently to the same treatment for the same problem. This article is intended solely as educational in that there are alternative treatments and alternative remedies available for virtually every condition.

Disclaimer: This article in no way should be taken as “medical advice” on any product, condition or course of action, nor does it constitute in any way “medical advice” endorsing any specific product, specific result, nor any possible cure for any condition or problem. This article is meant as a source of information upon which you may base your decision as to whether or not you should begin using any vitamin, mineral and/or herbal supplement for better health, or begin using a “greens” product as a dietary supplement.

If in doubt, or if you have questions, you should consult your physician and, if possible, consult a second physician for a possible different opinion. The author does not bear any responsibility for your decisions nor for the outcome of your actions based upon those decisions.

Author's Bio:

Loring Windblad has studied nutrition and exercise for more than 40 years, is a published author and freelance writer.

This article is Copyright 2005 by http://www.organicgreens.us and Loring Windblad. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text, including the Authors Resource Box, intact and unchanged except for minor improvements such as misspellings and typos.