Are you enzyme deficient?

Do you get enough enzymes?

The most well-known symptoms of enzyme deficiency are indigestion and gas. But did you know that there are a host of other health challenges in which an enzyme-deficient diet can play a role? To understand how one could become enzyme-deficient, a person has to understand that cooked foods have no live, viable enzyme activity left. So many people today eat mostly cooked foods. Even when we eat raw foods, we typically only get the enzymes needed to digest the food itself and supply our body with those nutrients. There are not enzymes left over for taking care of all the other fast foods, fried foods, sugary foods, white flour foods, etc. Add to this the fact that stress depletes enzymes and it becomes easier to see how a person could be enzyme-deficient, even if they regularly eat some raw foods. Age is a factor too because while it is true that our body can make enyzmes, it makes less as we grow older. So what are the symptoms of enzyme deficiency? I'm so glad you asked....

Special Note: It should go without saying, but in case it does not, that any of these symptoms alone is not a sign of enzyme deficiency. Nor is enzyme supplementation suggested as a treatment here, apart from any needed medical treatment you might need. What we are saying is that if you have these conditions, then an enzyme-deficient diet might be a factor and supplementing with enzymes, in addition to whatever healing regimen you and your health care professional decide upon, could be beneficial

If you are deficient in protease you may experience:hearing concerns, gum disease, restless or fitful sleep, high blood pressure, fungal infection, back pain or weakness, and constipation.

A deficiency of the enzyme amylase may produce the following: Depression or mood swings, PMS in women, allergies, cold feet and hands, aching pain in neck or shoulders, celiac sprue, skin outbreaks, inflammation and blood sugar problems.

If you don't have enough lipase, you could be dealing with: Gallbladder pain or stones, bladder problems, joint pain, cystitis, hay fever, urinary incontinence, constipation or diahrrea, heart problems, feet that ache, prostate problems or acne.

And if you happen to be deficient in more than one digestive enzyme, symptoms may include Chronic colds or allergies, bowel disorders such as IBS or diverticulitis, sinus infections, immune system problems or chronic fatique.

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Enzyme Deficiency Symptoms

Are you sure you have enough digestive enzymes? Check the enzyme deficiency list below for important information.

Enzyme Deficiency Symptoms

Have you ever wondered if we get enough enzymes from our diets and the food we normally eat? No, we don't and for a number of reasons. First, because cooking kills many of the enzymes when cooking temperatures get above 105 degrees. Also, the process of pasteurization destroys enzymes.

When you drink commercial milk all enzymes have been destroyed so unless you are lucky enough to live on a farm or have a resource where you can purchase raw milk you are not receiving digestive enzymes from the milk.

You could make a choice to eat raw meat for the live enzymes, but then you would be exposing yourself to hormones, antibiotics, along with the herbicides and pesticides that are found in meat along with parasites. Also, most people do not prefer the taste of raw meat and the raw meats often contain bacteria.

This brings up an important question. Just, how can we get the enzymes we need from our diets? Fortunately we can now get them through supplementation of plant phytoenzymes.

Some of the best enzyme formulas we prefer to take are Enzyme Essentials because they are high quality and offer the enzymes we need to make up what our diets are lacking to help us maintain a healthy body system.

When you lack important enzymes and become deficient a body can manifest as a variety of unwanted conditions. A deficiency of each enzyme can manifest different types of symptoms:

Amylase Deficiency

• Skin Rashes
• Hypoglycemia and Mood Swings
• Depression and Fatigue
• Allergies and Sinus Issues
• PMS and Hot Flashes
• Poor Circulation Causing Cold Hands and Feet
• Neck and Shoulder Aches
• Inflammation in the Body

Protease Deficiency

• Weakness in the Back
• Fungal Irritations
• Constipation

Lipase Deficiency

• Acne
• Gall Bladder Stress and Gallstones
• Hay Fever
• Aching Feet
• Arthritis
• Bladder Problems
• Cystitis and Prostate Problems

Prostate Cancer and Enzymes

• Psoriasis
• Urinary Weakness
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Heart Problems

Combination Deficiency

• Chronic Allergies
• Common colds
• Diverticulitis
• Irritable Bowel
• Chronic Fatigue
• Sinus Infection
• Immune Depressed Conditions

Basic Information On E-Club Discounts And Other Order Options

Take the Enzyme Tour - Learn about the Importance of Digestive Enzymes

• Digestion: A Technical Review of Oral Enzymes in Digestion
• Your Digestive System and How It Works
• Protease and the Importance of Protein
• Amylase and the Importance of Carbs
• Lipase and the Importance of Fats

Eat to improve your chances long and healthy life? Yes, you can. At a time when we seem to be overwhelmed by conflicting diet and health messages, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) have some good news: by making the right food choices, you may reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and cancer.

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Enzymes: Are they the key to raw foods?

Enzymes: Are they the key to raw foods?
by Frederick Patenaude http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/
PLEASE SEE HIS EXCELLENT WRITINGS AND WEBSITE

Dear Frederick. I am Marios from Greece and this is my
second e mail with a question. You say that raw foods are
good for us but not because of the enzymes.. This is really
something ... then why all this raw food movement is expanding
throughout the western world? Many well known hygienists and
raw foodists claim that enzymes are the exact reason of why raw
food is superior to the cooked one.

Can you please clarify this one? Do we really have any scientific
information on whether the enzymes that the foods carry don't or
do take a part in digestion?”

--

That’s an interesting question. In most raw-food books you’ll
read that food enzymes are “the lifeforce” of foods and that
they’re the reason why we should eat a raw diet. That’s what
I used to think when I gullibly believed everything that the
raw-food gurus said. Now my understanding is that food enzymes
are not important at all in the digestive process, and most of them
are destroyed in the process of digestion anyway. If they are not
destroyed, it is unlikely that they have any role to play in
digestion.

You ask if I’ve got any scientific research to back it up. You
should ask the question differently. Do raw-foodists have any
scientific research to back up their enzyme theories? Very
scant. Open up any physiology book and you’ll realize that
all of those theories are pure conjectures. Everything that I just
said about enzymes are recognized facts of physiology.

Here’s what one of my correspondents sent me, and this
summarizes this issue a lot:

“It was SO good to read your snippet about enzymes as you
have put out publicly exactly the conclusions I had come to!
All this hype about enzymes being good for your health flies
in the face of proven science on many counts:

1) Enzymes are biological catalysts and the definition of a
catalyst is that it is something that alters/speeds up a reaction
without being used up in the process. So, by definition, we
cannot 'run out of enzymes'. Even if we could:

2) Enzymes are proteins and are made up of the same amino
acids as other proteins needed in the body. Thus, if more are
needed, more can easily be made from the same materials as
other body parts! Our raw plant foods actually go to make up
enzymes!

3) Enzymes are specific - they catalyze one reaction and one
reaction only. That means that plant enzymes are there to deal
with reactions connected with the plant's life and not to help
humans digest food. Look at the speed at which fruit ripens then
decays. It takes days, if not weeks! But human digestion of fruit
takes only hours. How can the same enzyme suddenly do that?
Simply, it can't. Also, enzymes being specific, human metabolic
enzymes cannot logically be used as digestive enzymes. They
are there only to catalyze the metabolic reaction.

In my opinion, the food enzyme theory and its wide following is
one of the major things against more mainstream acceptance
of raw foodism as a whole. It's blatantly wrong and gives those
who insist on it a bad name. If the raw and natural food
movement wishes to be gain wider credibility, it has to be more
credible.” Elizabeth, UK

Let’s take the example of the banana. An unripe banana is
loaded with various enzymes that are needed BY THE
BANANA to transform its own starch into simple sugars.
As the banana ripen, it becomes sweeter as complex substances
(starch) are transformed into simpler ones (sugar). In the end,
the enzymes are themselves disintegrated in the process.
So when you eat the ripe bananas, there are few enzymes in it.
But then, it is so easy to digest that the body will use fewer
enzymes to digest it than if you ate a slice of bread, which
contains mostly complex carbs. So in the end, you indeed
“save up” your enzymes by eating the raw banana, but this
has nothing to do with the enzymes in the bananas, which
are not needed anyway.

Raw-foodists often say that avocados are easy to digest
because they contain a lot of fat-digesting enzymes (called
lipase). It this were true, the avocado would digest itself.
It would not sit on the counter and ripen, but it would quickly
digest itself down! In reality, when you eat a ripe avocado,
your body has to use its own enzymes to digest it.

Nuts and seeds are easier to digest when they are soaked not
because it supposedly “activates the enzymes” in the nuts.
In fact, they are easier to digest simply because they are
hydrated. A dried fruit is also easier to digest when it is
soaked.

But enzymes supplements work, you’ll say. Sure they work.
The enzymes used are specific digestive enzymes. However,
when you use them, you cripple a natural function. If you’re
experiencing digestive problems and you find relief in using
supplemental enzymes, you’re simply not addressing the
cause of your problem. Over time, your digestion will become
less and less efficient because you are using a natural “aid”
like a crutch – you’ll end up with a weaker digestion.

Enzymes: Are you Lacking?

Enzymes: Are You Lacking These Crucial Catalysts to Your Digestion?
by www.SixWise.com

http://www.sixwise.com/Newsletters/2009/March/25/Enzymes-Are-You-Lacking-These-Crucial-Catalysts.htm?source=nl

All living things, plants or animal, contain an array of 2,500 or more different enzymes. These enzymes are actually special proteins that act as catalysts for the chemical reactions that occur to keep your body functioning.

Enzymes in your saliva, for instance, help break apart starches, while those in your stomach help break down protein. Enzymes in your intestines, meanwhile, are responsible for breaking apart all of your food, whether fat, protein or carb. These digestive enzymes are what allow your food to be broken down, and the nutrients absorbed by your bloodstream.

There are other types of enzymes as well, namely metabolic enzymes and food enzymes, which are responsible for initiating, speeding up, slowing down, or otherwise altering about 4,000 different biochemical reactions. Millions of these reactions take place in your body each day, helping you to not only digest food but also to:

* Assimilate and digest nutrients
* Breathe
* Detox certain organs
* Purify your blood
* Move your muscles
* Produce and regulate hormones
* Renew and repair your cells

While your body does produce enzymes on its own, another important source is the enzymes you get from raw food.

Why Getting “Extra” Enzymes from Raw Food is so Important

Raw plant and animal foods (such as raw milk) are loaded with beneficial enzymes for your body. However, enzymes begin to be destroyed at temperatures above 110-115 degrees. So if your food is cooked, pasteurized or processed, it will contain no enzymes whatsoever.

"When you cook something, you destroy the enzymes," said Karyn Calabrese, a well-known raw foodist in the Chicago-area in an NBC5 article. "You need enzymes for every metabolic purpose in your body. When you lose enzymes, that's when you die."

Even though your body produces some enzymes on its own, if you’ve been eating only cooked foods for a long time, your body must divert extra energy to producing more and more enzymes to break down this food.

This puts a strain on your digestive organs, including your pancreas, and some say may cause premature damage to these organs that can impact your overall health.

On the other hand, if you eat raw foods that contain their own living enzymes, you’re giving your body a break, and allowing it to digest efficiently with very little effort. This is actually one of the key benefits that raw foodists often give to advocate a raw food diet.

How to Make Sure Your Diet is Enzyme-Rich

While there have been no major studies done to show that eating enzyme-rich foods is beneficial to your health, many experts in natural medicine believe doing so is a key way to stay healthy.

There are numerous enzyme supplements available on the market to help increase your levels, and you can also do so by making sure to include more fresh, raw foods in your diet.