Enzymes

What are Enzymes

Enzymes are organic substances found largely in the food that we eat. These substances assistant in chemical reactions within each individual cell that is crucial for its survival. In fact without enzymes vital bodily functions could not take place, such as the absorption of nutrients, and maintenance of cells and body tissue in general.

Types of Enzymes

There are three main categories of enzymes: metabolic enzymes, digestive enzymes and food enzymes.

Metabolic Enzymes: They are required for the growth of cells and repair and maintenance of all the body's organs and tissues. Metabolic enzymes take protein, fat, and carbohydrates and transform them into the proper balance of working cells and tissues. They also remove worn-out material from the cells, keeping them clean and healthy.

Digestive Enzymes: These enzymes help in the digestion and absorption of food and nutrients throughout the body.The 3 most important enzymes for digestion are protease, which digests protein; amylase, which digests carbohydrates; and lipase, which digests fat.

Food Enzymes: As their name suggests these enzymes come from the food we consume; more specifically raw fruits, vegetables, and supplemental sources. These enzymes help the body to digest the food so the nutrients can be easily absorbed.

What Happens When We Run Out of Enzymes?

There are over 2,700 known enzymes and each is assigned with a specific task. With each enzyme performing its own unique action, if the body is missing one or several of these individual enzymes may result in diseases, abnormalities, and even mental disorders.

But maintaining the essential amounts of enzymes in the body is not as easy as it seems. Even though most of us, perhaps didn’t even know that enzymes exist, our bodies are constantly using up, depleting and replenishing these necessary substances through the food that we eat. If an enzyme type is completely depleted the body can no longer perform certain functions and this will inevitably have health repercussions, some more severe than others. The list of possible health problems include Diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, migraine, PMS, bowel disorder, food allergies, acne, psoriasis, bloating, flatulence, fatigue, anxiety, depression and a long list of other diseases are results of toxemia.

On the other hand, when our enzymes intake is constantly kept at an optimum level, we can expect very minimal wear and tear to our body.

Tips to Maintain an Optimum Level of Enzymes

So how do we know what foods give us the most enzymes? Well we can start with the ones that don’t. Many Americans have become accustomed to the fast paced life that surely includes foods of convenience. Processed foods and ‘junk’ foods are just two types of foods that while obviously low in nutrients, have absolutely no enzymes to aid our bodies. Actually as soon as any foods are cooked, all the enzymes are zapped from the food. Even worse still is the fact that our body then further depletes its own stores of enzymes to process this unproductive food source that perhaps fills our bellies, but does little else.

The more we depend on our internally-produced enzymes, the more stress we put on our body systems and organs. When our body enzymes are busy digesting our heavy meal that has no enzyme, their function of rebuilding and replenishing our worn-out and damaged cells are neglected.

Here are a few suggestions on how to maintain an optimum level of enzymes in your body.

• Eat organic, uncooked fruits and vegetables.-Most food enzymes are destroyed at the temperatures used to cook and process food.
• Choose free range meats more often -These animals will have fewer chemicals and impurities in their meat.
• Eat whole grains- Whole grains retain the nutrients and enzymes that are stripped in their refined counterparts.
• Use a daily food enzyme supplement- Supplementation of food enzymes is necessary today because so much of the food is processed or cooked.
• Avoid eating processed foods with little nutritional value (i.e.: junk food) - Not only do many of our foods not contain the necessary digestive enzymes, they use up an excessive amount of your metabolic enzymes as your body attempts to digest these nutrient lacking products.

Comments

5 Comments

AshleyStar
July 29th, 2010

Hi, I am a personal trainer and really enjoy this website. I get asked many health questions on a regular basis, it's good to know I can find the proper answers.

Heather555
July 26th, 2010

After years of not eating properly, I am finally starting to see that there is hope.

JulieW
July 21st, 2010

My previous habit of eating lots of junk food was making me feel very unmotivated and tired all the time. A few months ago I decided to consider a detox and I am so thankful for it.

Barbara79
July 14th, 2010

Very helpful tips. One thing I have learned from many detox dieting is that buying in season and locally is the vital to a healthy lifestyle. Thanks

VeganGirl
July 5th, 2010

Hello, new to the site. Just wanted to say thanks for such great tips!

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