Our body has thousands of different enzymes, each of which enable a specific reaction. There are enzymes for the digestion of fats, or carbohydrates, for cell metabolism, detoxification of the liver, and much more. Humans, animals and plants all produce them and we need the variety that comes from both the enzymes that we create ourselves and those we obtain from eating vegetables.
Enzymes act as a catalyst
An enzyme is a type of protein that accelerates a reaction, a catalyst in other words. It may cause a chemical reaction inside or outside a cell and accelerate that reaction without being itself consumed or changing its own composition. Enzymes are needed for every reaction of the body, for example in digestion or in cell metabolism.
If you cut open an apple and leave it for a short time, you will see it turn brown and decay. This is partly due to exposure to the oxygen, but also due to the fact that the enzymes naturally present in the apple start to digest it.
Why our food does not contain enough enzymes
In today’s world our food is so different to what it once was that our store of enzymes are no longer topped up by what we eat. Most enzymes are destroyed above a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and since our food is often processed – and therefore heated – it no longer contains enzymes.
Even worse, our body produces less and less enzymes as we get older. For every year that we age, we make 13% less enzymes.
Is raw food the solution?
Our forefathers ate practically everything raw, so their food contained all the enzymes the body needed. Nowadays it is usually not such a good idea to eat your food raw, because our digestive systems are mostly not suitable for it. More than a thousand Bio-Resonance tests have shown that less than 1% of people have a digestive system which could support a raw food diet without any problems. The other 99% have to take different measures to optimize their digestion.
How do I still get enough enzymes?
There are highly specialized types of enzymes. There are types that replenish the missing enzymes in the upper part of the digestive system near the stomach. There are also enzymes that work in the lower part of the digestive system, in the small intestine. Enzymes are available as supplements to be taken before or during a meal. Although some people think it unnatural to take supplements, that doesn’t apply in the case of enzymes. What is unnatural is not obtaining the enzymes we need from the food we eat. But we don’t, so the most logical step is to supplement them with your meals.
The digestive system is not the only system in the body which needs enzymes to work properly. Enzymes can help with high cholesterol levels, blood sugar problems, premature aging and painful joints. That makes it a wise choice to take an enzyme supplement as you get older. It lessens the burden on the intestines, the food digests better and you get fewer health problems.