Enzymes: Life’s Activators

By Truman Berst, Master Herbalist

All living things need enzymes in order to maintain life.

Food enzymes are not something new, but have been known to exist since the time of Hippocrates. It has long been recognized that illness is related to improper diet and inadequate nutrition and that fasting, juicing, and diets rich in herbs and raw foods help restore the body to health.

Traditional foods and ethnic diets with herbs were the rule prior to the introduction of modern processed foods. One of the longest living populations on earth, the Hunzas, subsist primarily on a raw food diet, a diet abundant with enzymes. Enzymes act within different ranges of temperature and pH, depending upon their type and function and are easily destroyed by cooking, including microwave ovens. Currently, work being done in Europe with raw food diets show that patients with long-standing degenerative diseases are able to make remarkable recoveries, and the National Institute of Health has recently released a study showing that eating smaller meals leads to a longer life. This suggests that our intrinsic enzyme production is better able to take care of smaller dietary loads than a larger intake of food.

WHAT ENZYMES DO

Enzymes are complex protein molecules which are found in every cell in your body. Enzymes can become activated, and are capable of specific tasks such as, the production of energy or exchange of oxygen, and carbon dioxide, when we breathe. They are able to transfer energy to other molecules, making it easier for them to be produced, and utilized by the body, creating a domino effect, and therefore, speeds up all bodily functions. Our body contains 1,300 different enzymes which break down nutrients, rebuild cells, and cause the body to function disease-free.

The digestive system transforms food into energy for the body’s use by breaking down complex proteins, fats and carbohydrates into smaller, simpler, and more usable forms. Without this transformation, digestion and assimilation of nutrients is difficult to impossible. Your health is more overtaxed, and abused by excesses of processed foods, and stimulants: baked flour, dairy, and, caffeine, soft drinks, sugar, and alcohol. Digestion begins with the sight and smell of food which stimulates the secretion of enzymes. The tasting and chewing allows saturation of the salivary enzyme, amylase, which breaks down the starch to glucose when chewing potato or bread. The pH drops to an acid range as low as four or five. The upper portion of the stomach called the fundus continues to use amylase and other enzymes for predigestion. The stomach contents are then passed through the pyloric valve into the small intestine where it is mixed with pancreatic juices. These juices are rich in enzymes such as protease (protein), amylase (starch) and lipase (fat, digesters). They continue to digest and prepare food for assimilation. The alkaline nature of the pancreatic secretions helps to neutralize the stomach acids (which aid in digestion), and protects the small intestine.

NATURE’S PROTECTION

Enzymes have a great effect upon the entire immune function. White blood cells contain digestive enzymes such as alkaline phosphatase, lipase, protease, amylase and peptidase, which are part of the pancreatic juices, and are only a part of many enzymes that increase immune function.

Pancreatin contains the pancreatic enzymes amylase, lipase, and trypsin.

These useful pancreatic enzymes assist in the breakdown of starches, fats, and proteins. These white blood cell enzymes act to destroy bacterial and viral proteins (which may cause disease) and also act on improperly digested food. It has been shown that the white blood cell concentration in the stomach and the intestines increase with digestion as white blood cell enzymes are needed to help with the breakdown and assimilation of food. A diet rich in raw food, and using herbs as food and medicine is rich in enzymes, which predigest the food in the stomach sparing the body’s white blood cell reserve. This is why a decreased appetite and/or nausea often accompanies a disease process. Also, digesting cooked or processed foods requires energy and white blood cells which are needed elsewhere to fight the disease process. Brain chemistry turns off the hunger center in the brain as needed so the immune system can be at peak function to fight the disease process.

NUTRITIONAL THERAPY

Enzymes are very useful in treating various illness. They are absorbed by the body as intact molecules and are distributed to the body through the bloodstream as needed supporting the body’s needs against the disease process.

The enzyme bromelain, found in pineapple is used to decrease inflammation in arthritis, rheumatism and musculo-skeletal injury. It is proven to be more effective than commonly prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and has no toxic side effects. It is best to use fresh pineapple in small amounts or diluted in water or juice, as the canned or bottled has been heated and lost its enzymes. Cystic fibrosis is a disease in which the pancreas cannot secrete enough enzymes. This usually accompanies other glandular disorders affecting the thyroid, adrenals, spleen and other glands. It also toxifies the liver and can be related to bowel problems, sleep disorders, hormonal estrogen imbalance and loss of energy.

Protease is an enzyme shown to slow metastasis and contribute to tumor shrinkage while protease reduces pain of cancer.

Recent evidence shows that rich lipase and amylase levels in the blood lead to a decrease in arteriosclerotic plaques, thus making enzyme therapy useful against coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis.

Aging reduces the ability to produce enzymes and assimilate nutrients, thus slowing our ability to heal. On the other hand, enzymes have proven to give elderly patients more energy and a sense of well being and better nutrient assimilation and resistance to disease.

Deficiencies in enzymes are often associated with gastrointestinal disease, digestive disturbances, periodic gas and bloating, and meals that seem to remain in the stomach for hours or days may be signs of an illness. An evaluation by your physician is needed to determine the cause. Herbal enzyme therapy may be the cure.

ENZYME SUPPLEMENTATION

The use of enzymes as a supplement with meals has been popular for some time. We consume cooked and processed foods such as fast foods that are nutritionally incomplete. This adds to the burden of the pancreas and immune system to replace lost enzymes, robbing the body of energy production, enzyme reserve and function. Enzyme supplementation with meals is a very good preventive measure.

A good general digestive formula, which also helps the body to adjust to its proper weight and works great for weight loss, should contain betain HCI (increases stomach acidity), pancreatin and pancrelipase ( digests starches, fats, proteins), papain (digests proteins), pepsin (digests proteins), diatase (digest starches), and Ox Bile (digests fat).

Herbs are enzyme activators which potentiate and enhance enzymatic action while reducing inflammation, removing gas and increasing digestion: Fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum) is one of my favorites.

Fenugreek is cleansing to the bronchial passages of catarrh and other irritants and extraneous materials. It is useful for all mucus conditions and for lung congestion; soothing to inflamed conditions of the stomach and intestines and for ulcers; effective as a poultice on wounds, inflamed areas, boils and carbuncles. May be used as a lubricant for the intestines, as a digestive aid, for fevers, diabetes, gout, and as an aphrodisiac and rejuvenator.

A suggested dosage is two or more 500 mg capsules, 10–15 minutes before meals; if more is needed consult your health practitioner.

It is important that persistent digestive problems should be evaluated by your physician.

References:

Krusel, Thomas: Health Foods Business, June 1993
Berst, Truman: Herbal Descriptions, 1976–1996
Berst, Truman: Tru's Health & Herb News -1996