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Enzymes improve digestion and enhance health

(NOTE: This is the sixth in a series about the writer?s experiences with promoting health.)

It?s spring and the bunnies are happily hopping around the yard devouring fresh sprouts and eating plenty of nutrient-filled greens. Meanwhile most humans are stuffing down too many foods void of vitamins and minerals yet rich in carbohydrates and calories.

Like the bunnies I believe in eating raw vegetables and fruits everyday. After discovering probiotics, a beneficial bacteria that curtails the growth of yeast and bad bacteria in the body, I continued to learn about supplements. Realizing that it is hard to get all our nutrients from food and wanting to enhance my diet I researched and experimented with what types of foods and supplements I needed to improve my health and to prevent illness.

Eventually I discovered that the assimilation of vitamins and minerals and other nutrients is enhanced by a group of substances crucial to health. These are called enzymes, which are any of the numerous complex organic substances mostly proteins or similar to proteins that are produced by living cells. Most are available only in raw, uncooked foods because their effectiveness is destroyed by heat.

The action of enzymes originates in four areas of the body: the salivary glands, the stomach, the pancreas, and the wall of the small intestine. They govern all chemical reactions and transformations in the body and are necessary for the breakdown to the digestion, assimilation, and utilization of all nutrients. Enzymes act as catalysts so food can be broken down and digested and absorbed by the blood. Their functions affect individual metabolism and aid all body processes.

These enzymes are like worker bees in the body; they tear down the genes of old cells and rebuild genes for new cells. Various enzymes serve different functions. Some help to break down large nutrient molecules, such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates, into smaller molecules; and others guide the small molecules through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. Enzymes are involved in the storage and release of energy, reproduction, respiration, vision, and heredity.

Scientists estimate that there are about 600 different enzymes essential for human health, but each enzyme is capable of breaking down only one specific substance. Each has one job to do: for example, an enzyme that breaks down fat cannot affect proteins or carbohydrates. Enzymes are complex catalysts; they are capable of inducing chemical changes on other substances without being altered themselves.

The activities of the enzymes are interdependent with those of proteins, vitamins and minerals. Many are available only in raw, uncooked foods. Most enzymes are killed in cooking processes. The best sources of enzymes are raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains, seeds and nuts, and fermented foods. Vegetables should be steamed or cooked briefly in small amounts of water to protect the essence of enzymes and other nutrients.

In order to get sufficient enzymes in the diet, as well as vitamins and minerals, it is important to eat nutritious foods, and especially whole foods. In refined and processed foods like white sugar and white flour, many of these enzymes are removed and therefore they are hard to assimilate and digest. An excess of junk foods and lack of enzyme-rich foods prevent the body from getting enough nutrients, and this can lead to deficiencies and eventually disease.

Every day I eat raw vegetables as snacks and relish fresh salads, however I believe it is difficult to get sufficient enzymes from foods so I take enzymes three times a day prior to meals. Like the bunnies in my yard I want to keep jumping with joy and exuding energy and enthusiasm.

Copyright ? 2012, AlexSandra Lett

AlexSandra Lett is writing a book ?Going Crazy?Getting Sane.? She is a professional speaker and the author of ?Natural Living, From Stress to Rest;? ?A Timeless Place, Lett?s Set a Spell at the Country Store;? ?Timeless Moons, Seasons of the Fields and Matters of the Heart;? ?Timeless Recipes and Remedies, Country Cooking, Customs, and Cures;? and ?Coming Home to my Country Heart, Timeless Reflections about Work, Family, Health, and Spirit.? Lett can be reached at 919-258-9299 or LettsSetaSpell@aol.com.

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