Digestive Enzymes

Once food is swallowed, it settles in a mass in the food - enzyme section of our stomachs. If it is cooked, enzyme-free food, it waits there for a period of one-half to one hour, during which time nothing happens to it. If harmful bacteria are swallowed with the food they may attack during this time of enforced idleness. The salivary enzyme works on the carbohydrate, but the protein and fat must wait. Here is where proper enzyme digestive supplements fit in. Taken and chewed up with the meal, these exogenous digestive enzymes begin immediate digestion of all nutrients. They work on the protein, carbohydrate and fat during the half-hour period that these foods remain in the food-enzyme part of the stomach. According to the Law of Adaptive Secretion of Digestive Enzymes, whatever digestion is accomplished by enzyme supplements or food enzymes does not have to be done by the digestive enzymes of the body. There is no further need for such rich digestive enzyme juices. This desirable reaction results in a conservation of the enzyme potential and body energy. It allows the body to devote its attention to supplying more metabolic enzymes for use by the organs and tissues to carry on their functions, provide repairs, and bring about cures," writes Dr. Edward Howell in Enzyme Nutrition: The Food Enzyme Concept.

Howell writes, "Have you ever heard of a racing ambulance speeding through the jungle with a siren screaming, rushing a valuable wild lion to a hospital with a heart attack? Has any hunter or animal observer ever seen a wild elephant, or any jungle inhabitant, hobbling along painfully on deformed arthritic joints? A wild female chimpanzee or gorilla with a breast eaten into by cancer would make newspaper headlines all over the world. We expect these denizens of the wild to be free of all disease. Let us not lose sight of the fact that the reason they are disease-free is due to their superb enzyme nutrition. Among the many thousands of species of creatures living on this earth, only humans and some of their domestic animals try to live without food enzymes. And only these transgressers of nature's laws are penalized with defective health. We cannot ascribe poor human health to vitamin or mineral deficiencies because foods have been fortified to the hilt with these."

Enzymes may be the answer

Anthony J. Cichoke, in Enrymes & Enzyme Therapy, writes, "Because the nutrient levels of our foods are depleted by pesticides, growing conditions, processing, storage, and cooking, many people take enzyme supplements as vitamin and mineral boosters. But remember, supplements are just that, supplements, and should be taken in addition to a well-balanced, daily diet."

In an April 1999 issue of Environmental Nutrition, in an article titled "Can Digestive Enzyme Supplements Ease Stomach Woes?", the author says, "Digestive enzymes are specialized proteins that help break down food into nutrients, which are then absorbed into the bloodstream from the intestines. They are found in the mouth and stomach and are secreted from the pancreas into the small intestine, where most digestion occurs. Different types of enzymes work on different types of foods. Amylases break down carbohydrates. (Lactase is one example; it digests lactose, the sugar in milk.) Lipases break down fats. Proteases, like trypsin and pepsin, break down proteins. Other enzymes are found naturally in plant foods, including bromelain in pineapple and papain in papaya. Plant enzymes are typically destroyed, however, during cooking and processing. (That's why, for example, only canned pineapple works in Jell-O; if you add fresh pineapple, the enzymes prevent it from gelling.)" The article offers the following tips to aid good digestion and good nutrition:

. Include more raw fruits and vegetables in your diet, including freshly squeezed juice.

. Eat fresh pineapple after meals for a natural source of bromelain.

. Chew food thoroughly to promote saliva, which contains enzymes that begin the digestive process.

. Eat slowly to minimize the amount of air you take in.

. Don't overeat or lie down within an hour of eating.

Supplemental enzymes

Cichoke writes that even if you are eating correctly, digesting properly and also absorbing the nutrients, you may still need supplemental enzymes if you have a weakened immune system, a build-up of cholesterol, AIDS, herpes, or cancer. He says conditions, including these, can severely impact your enzyme systems.

Cichoke writes that canning kills all of the enzymes in food because it involves heating food to the boiling point for extended periods of time. "Buy fresh fruits and vegetables, instead of canned ones, whenever possible."

Additionally, he gives reasons that supplementation with many vitamins and minerals is necessary for the proper functioning of our body's enzymes:

. There is not enough time to eat correctly

. Due to extended storage time, processing, additives, preservatives, colors, flavors, etc., there is reduced nutrient value in the foods we do eat.

. Because of today's physical, emotional, and environmental stresses there is an increased need for additional nutrients.

• Enzymes & Enzyme Therapy by Anthony J. Cichoke, D.C. Enzyme Nutrition by Dr. Edward Howell
• Environmental Nutrition, April 1999, Vol. 22, Issue 4