Enzymes from fresh veggies and fruit are very imortant for helping digest meat and starch in the diet.In the book fit for life they say that you should eat your salad and vegetables first before you start eating the meat because it help get the digestion process started otherwise it just kind of sits there and rots.So I changed my way of eating,I eat a few bites of the fruit or veggies first to get the motor started then I got for the meat!;.)
> I did an interesting study on enzymes, I
> never knew what they were or where they come
> from, why our body needs them. As far as I
> knew they were something the soap companies
> were putting into laundry detergent to help
> break away the dirt on your clothes
> "EXTRA SPECIAL ENZYME ACTION!"
> Here's an article I got from my desk
> reference about enzymes. It may take about 4
> minutes to read, but is worth the
> information--GET SMART ABOUT YOUR BODY!
> ************************************
> The Importance of Enzymes
> There are two basic categories of enzymes:
> digestive and metabolic. Digestive enzymes
> are absolutely vital to human health. They
> break down and digest food in order to
> liberate the essential nutrients, vitamins,
> and minerals that sustain life. Some
> digestive enzymes are present in the food we
> eat; some are produced by the body itself.
> A lack of digestive enzymes in the diet
> forces the body to overproduce its own
> digestive enzymes and limits its ability to
> produce metabolic enzymes which are also
> crucial for health and normal metabolism.
> This limitation occurs because both
> digestive enzymes and metabolic enzymes are
> created from the same enzyme precursors. The
> production of these precursors
> is limited in the human body, so when the
> digestive system must overproduce digestive
> enzymes (due to an enzymeless diet), it
> causes a harmful underpro-duction of
> metabolic enzymes.
> How important are metabolic enzymes?
> Metabolic enzymes are involved in every
> process of the human body. The immune
> system, circulatory system, liver, kidneys,
> spleen, pancreas, and even our ability to
> see, breathe, and think, depend upon
> metabolic enzymes.
> When the diet is supplemented with digestive
> enzymes that are naturally present in whole,
> raw, or uncooked foods, two powerful
> benefits are unleashed:
> 1. The body can extract maximum nutritional
> value from food
> 2. The body can reduce its internal
> production of digestive enzymes, which
> allows for higher production of metabolic
> enzymes, crucial for daily metabolism,
> health, and detoxification.
> So there are three categories of enzymes:
> 1) Metabolic enzymes
> These enzymes work in the blood, tissues,
> and organs. Our organs are run by metabolic
> enzymes. These enzymes convert food
> substances into healthy cells. One
> researcher found over 98 enzymes carrying
> out metabolic functions in the arteries
> alone.
> 2) Digestive enzymes produced by the body
> These include trypsin, chymotrypsin, and
> pepsin, which contain a broad spectrum of
> protein, starch, and fat-digesting enzymes.
> Some typical animal-derived enzymes include
> pancrelipase (from pigs) and pancreatin
> (from cows).
> Protein digesting enzymes
> ・protease
> ・protease
> ・protease
> ・peptidase
> Fat-digesting enzymes
> ・lipase
> Starch-, sugar-, and carbohydrate-digesting
> enzymes
> ・alpha-galactosidase
> ・sucrase
> ・maltase
> ・invertase
> ・lactase
> ・cellulase
> ・amylase
> ・glucomylase
> ・hemicellulase
> ・phytase
> ・malt diastase
> 3) Digestive enzymes found in food
> These are present naturally in raw food and
> jump start the digestive process. They are
> broadly classified into proteases
> (protein-digesters), lipases
> (fat-digesters), and amylases (starch
> digesters). There are also many different
> subcategories of enzymes.
> Broad-spectrum plant enzymes
> ・papain
> ・bromelain
> Amylase is the only digestive enzyme that
> does not exist in a newborn infant. It can
> only be obtained through mother's milk.
> Children who use formulas and cow's milk do
> not receive this enzyme. This may be the
> reason some children are born with allergies
> or develop allergies as they begin growing.
> In the food chain, nature has strategically
> placed enzymes in many raw or whole foods to
> assist our own body's enzymes in the
> digestive process.
> Ancient cultures prized the natural enzymes
> in foods, especially meats. They worked hard
> to conserve the natural enzymes present in
> their foodstuffs because they knew how
> valuable they were for strength and health.
> This is why many ancient cultures 'aged' or
> cured meats. This allowed the natural
> enzymes present in the flesh to predigest
> it, thereby easing the burden on their own
> digestive system and conserving their own
> limited pool of enzymes.
> When meat is predigested, it places less
> stress on the body's own enzyme bank.
> Predigestion also enhances the breakdown of
> peptide chains and proteins into free form
> amino acids, the building blocks of every
> major body function, from immunity to
> growth.
> Every protein that enters the human body via
> digestion has to be broken down into amino
> acids before it can be fully utilized. Meats
> that are not completely digested contain
> large protein fragments that cannot benefit
> the body. In fact, these protein fragments
> can cause allergic reactions if the body's
> antibodies mistake them for foreign
> microorganisms. Even worse, these protein
> fragments can become trapped in the
> intestines where they will ferment and
> promote parasite infestation.
> Cathepsin is a natural enzyme present in all
> animal flesh. The aging or 'curing' process
> allows cathepsin, an enzyme that is within
> the flesh, to slowly digest the meat. This
> is not unlike the process that ripens
> bananas. A green banana starts out high in
> starch. As it ages or ripens, the natural
> amylase in the banana converts the starches
> into sugar. In effect, the
> amylase is digesting the banana, eventually
> turning it brown.
> As soon as an animal is dead, cathepsin
> begins to predigest the meat. It begins
> splitting large peptide (protein) chains
> into smaller, more digestible ones. When
> this meat is eaten after it has been hung
> for two to three weeks, the digestive system
> now has a far easier job completing its
> breakdown and liberating the vital free-form
> amino acids, the building blocks of all
> bodily processes.
> The remarkable physical strength and
> endurance exhibited by the pioneers and
> Native Americans may have been due to their
> consumption of enzyme-rich raw and
> unprocessed foods, despite the sometimes
> meager rations of less than four ounces of
> food a day. We have been taught that you
> must eat to have strength. But there is more
> to it than that. You must be able to digest
> and assimilate the nutrients that you take
> in, in order to sustain health and strength.
> On the average, only 8 percent of the food
> we consume is metabolized and used to
> sustain normal bodily function. The
> remainder passes through us undigested. Even
> worse, only 1 to 2 percent of the nutrient
> value of the food that we consume reaches
> our cells.
> Many people today suffer wheat and grain
> allergies. This may be due to the fact that
> grains are not grown and prepared as they
> used to be.
> Egyptian hieroglyphics depict the ancient
> process of grain harvesting. The grain was
> cut with a handsaw, tied into sheaves and
> left to stand in the field for several days.
> It was then loaded into ox carts, hauled to
> the threshing site and thrown into a big
> stone grinder operated by an ox team. The
> stone rolled around on the grain, cracking
> the hulls. With the sifting of the wind, the
> chaff was blown off, and the grain picked up
> by slaves and carried in baskets to the
> storehouse.
> Stone-ground, whole-wheat bread which is
> rich in enzymes, vitamin E, and other
> nutrients, sadly, is a thing of the past.
> Today, modern technology brings grain to us
> via a machine called a combine. The combine
> cuts the grain, almost instantly separates
> the kernel from the husk and delivers the
> grain ready for market on the same day it
> was cut. It is then further processed to
> strip out the vitamin E and other oils. Most
> of it is then bleached leaving only a tiny
> fraction of the grain's initial enzymes.
> To maximize the enzymes in a food, the fruit
> of the plant needs to mature on the
> stalk/stem to the point of ripening, or
> readiness to sprout. This is when the enzyme
> content of the food is the highest.
> Unfortunately, many fruits, vegetables and
> grains are harvested when they are immature
> and assumed to ripen in transit. This
> results in a food that has a far lower
> enzyme content.
> In order for grains to fully digest in the
> human body, they must contain a full
> complement of their natural enzymes. Every
> food has its own specific enzymes. In order
> for a grain to have viable enzymes, it must
> have time to germinate. Once it germinates,
> its enzymes are released from the bondage of
> enzyme inhibitors. This is why sprouted
> grains are so health-giving, because the
> enzyme inhibitors have been deactivated and
> can no longer counteract the natural enzymes
> present in the food.
> What are some of the early signs of enzyme
> deficiency?
> Digestive complaints, heartburn, gas,
> bloating, fatigue, headaches, stomach aches,
> diarrhea, constipation, chronic fatigue,
> yeast infections, nutritional deficiencies,
> pain, joint stiffness; colon, liver,
> pancreas, and intestinal problems, skin
> eruptions, psoriasis, and eczema.
> Many enzymes are not only deficient but also
> inactive. At the Young Life Research Clinic
> in Springville, Utah, Gary Young tested over
> 21 different enzyme products from 21
> different manufacturers and did not find a
> single one that was effective in a clinical
> environment. The patients were closely
> monitored, their food intake measured; their
> blood and digestive systems regularly
> measured and analyzed. The clinic staff
> found that patients were simply not
> obtaining value from their foods because
> their enzymes were inactive.
> How are enzymes destroyed or rendered
> inactive?
> 1) Chemical cultivation. When natural food
> is grown in an artificial, chemical
> environment created by chemical fertilizers,
> herbicides and pesticides, enzyme content
> suffers.
> 2) Heat. Enzymes begin breaking down at 118ｰ
> F and are totally destroyed at 129ｰ F.
> 3) Pasteurization, Sterilization, Freezing,
> Microwaving. All these modern processes
> render enzymes inactive.
> Fasting allows the body to slow down the
> secretion of digestive enzymes, thereby
> permitting an increase in metabolic enzymes
> that help the body to repair and rejuvenate
> tissue that has been damaged or destroyed.
> In effect, the fasting process rebuilds the
> body.
> In addition, fasting spurs an increase in
> growth hormone release, which is important
> for preventing premature aging.
> The human body has the potential to live for
> 120 years and beyond. However, devitalized,
> enzyme-deficient foods deplete our enzyme
> stores and unduly stress the organs and
> major physical processes. This can hasten
> the onset of many degenerative diseases.
> Hence, one of the most effective ways of
> preventing disease is to maintain an ample
> reserve of enzymes in the body.
> Medical research shows that food enzyme
> supplements can fight illness, slow the
> development of life-threatening diseases,
> and slow the effects of aging.
> Dr. Francis Pottinger conducted an amazing
> study with over 900 cats. He fed one group
> of cats raw milk and meat. They lived
> healthy and disease free. They produced
> healthy litters generation after generation.
> He fed another group of cats pasteurized
> milk and cooked food. After the first
> generation, this group became lethargic and
> began to suffer from allergies, infections,
> and other diseases, including heart, kidney,
> and lung diseases. Each succeeding
> generation of cats that ate cooked food
> suffered more diseases. By the third
> generation, the cats were unable to
> reproduce.
> Another study showed that after eating
> cooked food, the human body reacted just as
> if suffering an acute illness. Within 30
> minutes of eating cooked food, white blood
> cell counts increased dramatically, as
> though the body were fighting an infectious
> disease.
> In a very interesting experiment, one group
> of pigs was fed enzyme-rich raw potatoes and
> another group enzyme-deficient cooked
> potatoes. The pigs eating cooked potatoes
> gained weight rapidly. The pigs that were
> eating raw potatoes did not get fat.
> An area of deep concern is obesity. Dr.
> David Galton at the Tufts University School
> of Medicine tested people weighing 230-240
> pounds. He found that almost all of them
> were lacking lipase enzymes in their fatty
> tissues. Lipase, found abundantly in raw
> foods, is a fat-splitting enzyme that aids
> the body in digestion. Lipase activity
> breaks down and dissolves fat throughout the
> body. Without lipase, fat are kept and
> stored in tissues. We see this manifest
> around the waistline, hips, and thighs.
> It is astounding to see the obesity levels
> of American children. According to 1998
> statistics, a minimum of 25 percent of our
> children are overweight today, an increase
> of 33 percent since 1978. This obesity may
> be due to chronic enzyme deficiency.
> Copyright ｩ2002 Essential Science Publishing
> All rights reserved. No part of this book
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> information storage and retrieval system,
> without permission in writing from the
> publisher.