Natural Enriching Gifts

General

Can you summarize how enzymes may help improve my health?

The following are ways in which enzymes may help improve health: Purifies our blood. It is a known fact that fungal forms, parasites and bacteria are made up of protein. Viruses also have a protein coating as a shell that protect them. The enzyme protease breaks down proteins, and since the invaders of our blood system are protein, it makes sense that ingesting protease could break down the protein invaders. Strengthens our immune system. Enzymes have been found to deliver nutrients to our cells, carry away toxic debris, digest our food, purify our blood, deliver hormones by feeding and fortifying our endocrine system and balance our cholesterol and triglycerides levels while doing no harm to our body Breaks down fats. Research has shown that the enzyme lipase breaks down and digests fat. This takes stress off our gallbladder, liver and pancreas. This will enhance weight loss. Enzymes lower our cholesterol and triglycerides levels.Cholesterol and triglycerides are fats that circulate in our blood stream. The enzyme lipase will control the release of these fats which could protect us from certain forms of heart disease, like atherosclerosis. Enzymes enhance our mental capacity. Our body usesglucose called from the liver to feed and fortify the hypothalamus. Glucose is made from the protein stored in our liver. Most all plant foods contain protein enzymes. Our red blood cells carry oxygen to the brain and along with glucose to feed the brain cells. When there is a dysfunction with this mechanism we become fatigued and are unable to think clearly. The hypothalamus directs our endocrine system and is responsible for our water balance, body temperature, appetite and emotions. Enzymes cleanse our colon. Foods that are not digested properly are stored in our colon and digestive problems can begin. Some researchers estimate that nearly 70% of all illness starts in our colon. Undigested protein putrefies, carbohydrates ferment, and fats turn rancid in our colon. Enzymes will break down our foods properly and keep our colon free of these toxins. In fact, it is recommended by many researchers that it is healthy to have at least two bowel movements per day.Enzymes help us sleep. Enzymes enhance our endocrine glands. The under nourished endocrine system may create a malfunction in our hormonal system which can upset our nervous system and sleep patterns. When we are unable to digest our food or deliver the nutrients to keep our endocrine and nervous system in balance, we cannot rebuild our lifestyle or energy level. Enzymes help us shed excess weight and fat. Many overweight people have a metabolic imbalance or will soon create one. Remember, our endocrine system regulates our metabolism. Once we are able to fortify the endocrine system, have our bowels working regularly and can digest our food rather than turning it into fat, we have a successful combination. Enzymes, especially lipase, will break down our fats properly, which will help us bum fat, thus promoting weight loss. Improves aging skin. An adequate supply of enzymes are absolutely essential for keeping the skin young-looking and healthy. Enzymes fight the aging process by increasing blood supply to the skin, bringing with it life-giving nutrients and carrying away waste products that can make your skin look dull and wrinkled. Our circulation slows down as we get older. To counteract this we need to consume more enzymes. Maintains proper pH balance our Gl-tract. Friendly flora such as L. Acidophilus and bifidobacerium are important to the intestinal tract for maintaining proper pH and also for controlling the population of potential pathogenic organisms like clostridium and Candida. Plant flora enzymes have now been proven to be very effective in the pathogen control role of beneficial bacteria. Another role of beneficial bacteria is the actual synthesis of highly favorable natural chemicals in the colon through the fermentation process. These fermentive products include such molecular species as natural antibiotics and very importantly, digestive enzymes. These enzymes can play an extremely important role in the digestion of otherwise incompletely digested food substances, especially proteins. Enzymes maintain proper pH balance in the urine. Research has shown that a balance of the plant enzymes (lipase, protease, and amylase) eaten by individuals produce a proper urine pH of 6.3 to 6.6 in 24 hour urinalysis.

Does the addition of raw food to the diet or juicing guarantee enough enzymes to meet our needs?

Raw food provides only enough enzymes to digest that particular food. There are no extra enzymes in raw food to digest cooked or processed food. Due to the risk of bacterial contamination many foods should not be eaten raw, including meats, poultry, eggs and beans. Also, the fiber content normally found in raw food is very difficult to digest due to the body's inability to produce cellulase.

Can enzymes help me with my psoriasis?

Many dermatologists have reported favorable results with enzyme therapy. In the early 1930s researchers found that they could treat psoriasis by having their patients eat large quantities of raw butter. Raw butter contains large amounts of lipase. Recent research has found that massive doses of lipase will help cure it. However, when large amounts of concentrated enzymes are used, it is essential that the patient be observed by a doctor with experience along these lines.

Can you overdose on enzymes?

Research is uncertain. However, data from over sixty years revealed that there has not been one report of side effects from enzyme consumption. More long term studies may be needed. Plant enzymes are food.

I have insomnia. Will enzymes help?

Sometimes. There are many causes of insomnia. The causes that are associated with hormonal imbalances in the endocrine system have been shown to respond favorably to enzyme therapy. The lack of metabolic enzymes will definitely affect the secretions of the pituitary gland, which could lead to insomnia. Eat raw foods or taking special plant enzyme supplements will enhance your endocrine system.

Should children take enzymes?

Yes. Children usually eat the same enzyme deficient foods as their parents. It should be pointed out the importance of breast feeding in comparison to bottle feeding and acquiring enzymes. Children that are breast-fed acquire dozens of enzymes from their mother's milk. Bottle-fed babies receive pasteurized milk that has been heated, which destroys the milk enzymes. This causes the baby's own enzyme factory to begin using its enzyme potential from day one. Research indicates that this could be harmful for the child. Their study involved 20,061 babies that were divided into three groups (breast-fed, partially breast-fed, and bottle-fed). They studied the morbidity (sickness) rate for the first nine months of the infant's life. They found that 37.4% of the breast-fed babies had sickness in comparison to 53.8% of the partially breast-fed and 63.6% of the bottle-fed. It is obvious that babies who were entirely breast-fed had far less sickness than babies who were only partially breast-fed or who were bottle-fed. They also identified the mortality rates of these different groups which are presented as follows: No. of Infants Total Deaths % of deaths Breast-fed 9,749 15 0.15 Partially 8,605 59 .7 Bottle-fed 1,707 144 8.4 The mortality rate among the bottle-fed infants was 56 times greater than among the breast-fed. In the United States one deformed child is born every 5 minutes. This adds up to 250,000 deformed babies yearly. Dr. AndersHakannson at Lund University in Sweden discovered that when he added mother's milk to cultured cancer cells that were alive prior to the addition of the milk, he soon found them to be dead. Further tests indicated that only tumor cells were killed by the milk, while normal adult cells were left intact. Research is trying to tell us that we, which includes pregnant women and children, must eat raw foods that contain enzymes and/or take supplemental enzymes.

Can enzymes lower cholesterol?

Yes, in most individuals. Remember, cholesterol is a form of fat. Research has substantiated that consumed animal fats tend to cause cholesterol to settle in the arteries and cause atherosclerosis. However, it has also been found that the crystal clear "purified" vegetable oils (not heated) do not raise the blood cholesterol level. One answer for this might lie with the fact that lipase is found in these unheated vegetable oils. One researcher found that the [at tissue in obese humans has less lipase than the fat tissues in a slender person which means that supplemental lipase may be needed. Three British researchers tested the enzymes in individuals with atherosclerosis to find the relationship between cholesterol and clogged arteries. They found that all enzymes studied became progressively weaker in the arteries as persons became older and also as the hardening became more severe. These researchers believe that a shortage of enzymes is part of a mechanism which allows cholesterol deposits to accumulate in the inner part of the arterial walls (intima). Another researcher found a progressive decline in lipase in the blood of atherosclerotic patients with advancing middle and old age. Yet another researcher found that not only was lipase low in older persons, but that older atherosclerotic persons had slow fat absorption from the intestine. He also found that some absorbed fat was in the unhydrolyzed state. When he fed lipase extracted from animal pancreas to the older and younger persons he found a definite improvement in fat utilization. Think of the advantage of taking the plant enzyme lipase at the beginning of the meal to help in the predigestion of food.

I have severe allergies. Can enzymes help me?

Many researcher theorize that being allergic to a raw food may be nature's way of telling us that the food's enzymes are incompatible with some unhealthy bodily condition, and the body's immune system is trying to destroy it. This confrontation between food enzyme and disease could result in the classic symptoms of itching, nasal discharges, and rashes. Scavenger enzymes are believed to patrol the blood and dissolve the waste that accumulates from the millions of metabolic reactions that takes place each second within each cell of the body. In fact, some of our scavenger enzymes are present in white blood cells. The main function of these enzymes include the attempt to prevent the arteries from clogging up and the joints from being crammed with arthritic deposits. If the scavenger enzymes find the right substrate they latch on and reduce it to a form which the blood can eliminate. If these scavenger enzymes cannot handle the waste, nature causes some of the wastes to be thrown out through the skin, or membranes of the nose and throat, which produces the familiar symptoms that we call allergies. Other researchers believe that some allergies are caused by incompletely digested protein molecules. Allergies may be helped if certain enzymes are taken that can act as scavenger enzymes or as protein digestive enzymes.Since enzymes themselves are proteinaceous compounds, an allergic reaction is possible. Some individuals, particularly those sensitive to molds and penicillin, may experience nausea or gastric upset. If gastrointestinal sensitivity occurs, the use of enzyme products should be discontinued.

I like to eat a meal of meat, potatoes, bread, and salad. Is that bad?

It could be made better if your salad contains a lot of raw foods. However, your garden salad of raw vegetables does not contain enough enzymes, although every little bit helps, to digest the meat, potatoes, and bread. The cooked meat, potatoes, and bread do give you an abundance of minerals and vitamins, but not enough enzymes. Try to adapt to a diet which contains approximately 75% raw calories and 25% cooked calories. Eat as many fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains foods in their raw state as possible. If you cannot make yourself eat these raw foods then you must take an enzyme supplement if you desire a long and healthy life.

Can enzymes control obesity?

Very definitely. Obese individuals have been found to have a deficiency in the enzyme lipase. Lipase is found in abundance in raw foods. Cooking destroys lipase in raw foods. Lipase is the enzyme that aids the body in the breaking down of fats. Without lipase, our fat stagnates and accumulates in our arteries which could lead to heart disease. Lipase also helps us to burn fat for energy. Cooked foods which have no enzymes will put weight on more abundantly than raw foods. For example, pig farmers will not feed their pigs raw potatoes because the pigs stay lean. However, when the farmers feed the pigs boiled potatoes the pigs become fat. Another reason why enzymes reduce obesity is because cooked foods cause drastic changes in the size and appearance of the pituitary gland. Research has found that enzymes affect our hormone producing glands and hormones influence our enzyme levels. Cooked foods causes our pancreas, thyroid, and pituitary glands to exhaust their enzymes to digest our foods. This causes our body to become sluggish and weight is gained. Raw food calories are relatively non-stimulating to glands and stabilize body weight more so than cooked food calories.

How long do I have to be on enzymes?

Most everyone has an enzyme deficiency to one degree or another. To quote Dr. Dick Couey, Professor of Physiology and Nutrition at Baylor University, "I will never eat another meal without taking a plant enzyme supplement. My body doesn't deserve that treatment." As long as we eat enzyme deficient food' which is simply defined as any food that has been processed or cooked, our bodies need an enzyme supplement to aid digestion, deliver the nutrients and eliminate the waste. The logical conclusion is that we will need some supplementation for as long as we live and breathe.

What do you mean by "energy factor"?

The energy factor is the energy that triggers or starts the chemical reactions between enzymes. This energy factor is separate and distinct from the chemical make-up of the enzymes itself. A good example of this energy factor can be seen by placing a raw bean into a pot of boiling water. The cooked bean will fail to sprout. It's life force (energy factor) has been taken away from it. Science tells us that only living organisms can make enzymes possessing this energy factor. Chemicals that serve as catalysts work by chemical action only, while enzymes function by troth biological and chemical action. Catalysts do not contain the "energy factor" which is measured as a kind of radiant energy which enzymes emit. The energy factor of enzymes has never been synthesized. Simply stated the energy factor is the "electricity" that makes the light bulb (the enzyme) work.

What do you mean by nutrition?

Simply stated nutrition is: the body's ability to consume the 45 known nutrients in their proper amounts; digest these nutrients; absorb these nutrients; carry these nutrients into the cells; metabolize these nutrients; and eliminate the waste. To accomplish all of these functions is a tough job. The following is a list of the 45 known nutrients: Carbohydrate 9-Amino Acids Water Lipids (fats) 13-Vitamin Proteins 1 9-Minerals Eating foods containing these elements (along with their enzymes) in their proper amounts will normally ensure good nutrition. Enzymes are responsible for digestion, absorption, transporting, metabolizing, and eliminating the waste of these nutrients. Again, every organ, every tissue, and all the 100 trillion cells in our body depends upon the reaction of enzymes and their energy factor.

I am taking medicine that my doctor prescribed. Should I continue taking this medicine while I am taking plant enzymes?

Yes, continue taking all medicine prescribed by your doctor and follow all of his instructions. Plant enzymes, since they are completely from natural organic products and are classified as food by the FDA, will not adversely effect your medication program.

I take vitamins and minerals. Isn't that enough for good health?

No, not if your body cannot utilize the vitamins and minerals that are taken. Vitamins and minerals are really co-enzymes themselves. As such they require that other enzymes act on them in order to release their beneficial powers. If the body is unable to supply those necessary enzymes in the proper quantities at the proper time, the vitamins and minerals simply become inert materials and pass unused through your body.

I've heard that some foods contain enzyme inhibitors. Is that true?

Yes. Tree nuts, seeds, beans, and grains contain enzyme inhibitors, along with a very active number of enzymes. But because enzymes are very active entities, nature had to put a rein on them and make them dormant until such a time as the seed could fall to the ground and be adequately covered with soil. This slowing down by nature could be called enzyme inhibition.However, nature will inactivate these enzymes inhibitors when moisture is absorbed by the seed that is covered with soil. This is the time the seed begins germinating (sprouting) to form a seedling. Eating too many nuts and seeds, which has an abundance of enzyme inhibitors, could cause Gl- tract problems. So, you have only two options open to you: you can wait until the seed or nut begins germination, or you can take enzyme supplements with them to neutralize their enzyme inhibitors.

Is there a significant difference between raw calories and cooked calories?

Research supports that there is a difference. Normal non-diabetic and diabetic subjects were fed raw starch and then had their blood tested for sugar. It is well documented that eating cooked starch causes the blood sugar of diabetics to increase significantly. The diabetics who participated in this research found that their sugar level rose only 6 milligrams the first half hour. Then it decreased 9 milligrams after 1 hour, and 14 milligrams 2 hours after ingestion of the raw starch. In the non-diabetic persons there was a slight increase followed by a slight decrease in blood sugar in 1 hour. This research indicates that there is a difference between raw and cooked calories.

Can food enzymes help fight diseases?

Yes. There is a connection between the strength of our immune system and our enzyme level. The more enzymes we have, the stronger our immune system will be and the healthier and stronger we will be. For example, leukocytes (white blood cells) have eight (8) different amylase enzymes which assists the white blood cell to engulf foreign substances and reduce them to a form that the body can eliminate. Research has shown that leukocytes increase after one has eaten a cooked meal. This indicates a definite compensatory measure on the part of the body to transport more enzymes to the digestive tract for digestion. There is no increase in leukocytes after one has consumed a raw food meal. Research has shown that enzymes are related to all diseases via the immune system, whether the disease is acute or chronic. If the pancreatic output of enzymes is hindered, the whole body is affected. Therefore, we must eat raw foods or take supplemental enzymes to enable our body's immune system to fight against infections.

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are protein molecules which carry a vital energy factor needed for every chemical action and reaction that occurs in our body. There are several thousand different enzymes found in the human body. These enzymes can combine with co-enzymes to form nearly 100,000 various chemicals that enable us to see, hear, feel, move, digest food and think. Every organ, every tissue, and all the 100 trillion cells in our body depend upon the reaction of enzymes and their energy factor. Nutrition cannot be explained without describing the part that enzymes play.