Are Enzymes the Missing Link in Your Health Plan?

Enzymes are energized, active protein compounds.  Scientists have learned that high levels of enzymes in the body coincide with youthful vigor and health.  With a loss of enzymes, aging and disease can result.  The knowledge of the role of enzymes in the body has brought about the widespread use of enzyme supplementation, which is used successfully by many holistic health practitioners and nutritionists to help with a variety of conditions such as allergies, arthritis, neurological conditions, digestive issues, weight gain, pain and others.  Some holistic physicians, like New York-based Dr. Nicholas Gonzales, are using enzyme supplementation as a cornerstone in their drug-free cancer treatment programs. 

Enzymes are involved with every aspect of digestion and all cellular metabolism throughout our bodies.

Enzymes play a role in:

- creating cellular energy
- building bone and muscle
- hormonal production and distribution
- thought and cognition

In fact, every activity in our body is governed by enzymes.  When a person's body is depleted of enzymes, taking vitamin and mineral supplements- or even eating healthy foods- does not work as well as it should because enzymes are needed to convert these materials into healthy tissue and energy. 

Enzyme supplementation is one way to increase your body's enzyme supply when it's depleted, but it's not the only way.

You can preserve and enhance your body's enzymatic activity to achieve optimal health and vitality (even in your later years) using the following strategies: 

1. Including raw food in your diet, especially sprouts and lacto-fermented foods/beverages like sauerkraut, kombucha tea, and kefir.  Raw honey is another extremely highly enzymatic food, which researchers theorize is the reason its consumption is associated with longevity.

2.  Chew your food well to maximize your saliva enzymatic production, which removes the burden from your pancreas to produce proteolytic enzymes. 

3.  Minimize your consumption of meat and pasteurized dairy products as these require more enzymes to digest than vegetable  foods or organically produced raw dairy products. 

4.  Relax and enjoy your meals.

5.  Enjoy plenty of sunlight (without wearing sunglasses) as the full spectrum sunlight triggers the production of thousands of enzymes in your body.

Sources:

1.  "Digestive enzymes enhance nutrient absorption, gut health and longevity"  by PF Louis, www.naturalnews.com.
2.  Eat Fat and Look Thin:  A Safe and Natural Way to Lose Weight Permanently by Bruce Fife
3.  The Warrior Diet  by Ori Hofmekler
4.  Enzyme Nutrition by Edward Howell