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Enzymes are essential for health. Enzymes are catalysts, which means they speed up biochemical reactions without being changed in the process. Enzymes are proteins made up of small chains of amino acids made by cells in our bodies and all living organisms. They are specialized proteins that do work, such as making chemicals, rearranging molecules, adding elements to compounds, and breaking down compounds. They cause biological reactions to occur under conditions that sustain life.
Why worry or know about enzymes? Because they are essential for our health and well being and most people do not have enough in their diet and are compromising their health without even being aware of it. Knowing about enzymes and making sure you have enough to support your body’s functions will help optimize your health and become essential in treating and supporting certain health conditions.
Enzymes exist in all raw food. This is another reason why vegetables and fruit are essential for optimum health and wellbeing. Although we do produce enzymes we must obtain much of our enzyme needs from food as well. Cooking or other types of processing destroys enzyme activity. This is the basis for ‘canning” of vegetables and fruits-the heat destroys the enzymes and this preserves the food. As our society  continues its use of processed and fast food intake our “enzyme health” suffers as does overall health. Our farming techniques and related deficiency of minerals in our topsoil produces vegetables and fruit lacking the nutrients they used to have in a simpler, less processed world of the past. The added assault of pesticides requires more activity by our detoxification processes to rid us of these harmful chemicals when we eat those foods. This requires enzymes to catalyze these reactions and eventual deficiency of enzymes due to overtaxed chemical processes.
Although our local pharmacies, health food stores and coop markets have wonderful enzyme formulas; initial use should be overseen by a health care provider who knows how to evaluate which enzyme formulas are best for your specific health needs. Certain enzymes used at the wrong time and place can cause problems and side effects you will want to avoid.
The more raw food you eat, the less digestive enzymes your body needs to produce. Supplementing your diet with nutrients filled with enzymes have become essential and necessary for proper health. The need to take digestive and metabolic enzymes is just as important or more important than using a multivitamin/mineral formula. Eating large amounts of raw fruits and vegetables is not a common practice and eating raw meat is not a healthy option. During this day and age and given our collective eating habits and toxic load, that we all must be aware of, using enzymes should be universal. Taking enzymes on a daily basis is essential for good health and optimum function. I would like to end this part of our series on enzymes and your health with information taken from a wonderful new book written by Dr.Ellen Cutler. Her book is called, Micro Miracles: Discover the Healing Power of Enzymes. Dr. Cutler discusses five points, which she calls the Miracles of Enzymes in Your Life.
- Enzymes strengthen your immune system so that you are no longer as vulnerable to illness, especially to common cold and flu viruses.
- Enzymes restore levels of vitality and energy that you have not experienced since you were a child.
- Enzymes rejuvenate your beauty and refresh you from within, allowing your hair, nails, and skin to become more healthy, radiant, and youthful.
- Enzymes enable you to utilize all of the nutrients from your food, which not only creates well being, but also supports weight loss and ultimately weight management.
- Enzymes restore an efficient and effective digestive system.
Bon Apetite!
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