Nutrition Fact

Why is an Enzyme Delivery system necessary? What happens if a supplement does not have a delivery system?

Your body’s natural processes call for coordinated enzymes and minerals to be present in order for nutrients to be delivered to the cells of your body. As a result, certain minerals and co-factors must be present in order for enzyme activity to occur.

Without these necessary co-factors, enzymes work less efficiently and enzyme activity “robs” your body’s nutrient stores. Without a delivery system, supplements taken in high dosages or over a long period of time may “leach” minerals from your body’s stores.

What do you mean when you use the term “cellular nutrition”? Does each cell in my body eat?

Yes! Your body is made up of billions of living cells. Just as you can take in and excrete nutrients, just as you can reproduce, just as you have a metabolism, just as some days you have lots of energy and some days you do not, so does each individual cell in your body. As a result, how you treat each individual cell will determine your overall health. This is why it’s important to ensure that each cell has the nutrients it needs.

Do many “supplements” not make it through the stomach wall and into the bloodstream because they don’t have the right molecular structure?

Exactly. However, it’s best that they not be absorbed, if they are not whole food vitamins. For example, if a vitamin C supplement contains only the fractionated vitamin known as ascorbic acid, your body has to supply the rest of the co-factors so that the vitamin C can be utilized. This “robs” your body of vital reserves.

For an example that recently hit the headlines, please check my page called Whole Food Vitamin

What makes unabsorbed vitamins and minerals toxic?

When many minerals, vitamins and herbs are not absorbed, they are only partially broken down, and get into areas of your body where they cause problems. Iron, for example, can get into your liver and cause liver damage because your body cannot process it and excrete it. Other vitamins and minerals, especially the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), cause similar problems in other organs, affecting, for example, bile production in your liver.

What are the five categories of need for supplementation in today’s human population?

• Whole food vitamins – missing from food as the result of diets which are high in processed foods.
• Bio-available minerals – low in foods because of commercial farming methods.
• Antioxidants – low in the Standard American Diet because of poor food choices
• Enzymes – missing from food as a result of cooking and processing
• Probiotic organisms – depleted in your body by consumptions of carbonated beverages, antibiotics, drugs, preservatives, stimulants, processed food and many other substances, as well as life-style factors such as stress.

What is an enzyme

Enzymes are energized protein molecules, which have been termed the “life force” of body chemistry. They catalyze and regulate every biochemical reaction within the human body, including energy production. Metabolism, respiration, nerve function, reproduction, immunity and digestion. Simply put, without enzymes, life would not exist. Individuals who are enzyme deficient are subject to disease and degeneration.

Are all enzymes the same?

No. There are thousands of different enzymes that regulate your bodily functions. Enzymes have been grouped into three categories:

• metabolic enzymes,
• digestive enzymes and
• food enzymes.

Metabolic enzymes work within your cells to regulate such activities such as detoxification and energy production. Digestive enzymes break foods down and make them available for use in your body. Food enzymes are those that are naturally present in raw foods and which perform the first stage in the breakdown of that food.

Can’t I get enzymes from the food I eat?

Yes, most definitely, but only if that food is not cooked or processed. Modern food processing destroys nearly all of the naturally-occurring enzymes in food. With the prevalence of cooked and processed foods, the average American diet is essentially devoid of food enzymes. I recommend that you eat as many raw foods as possible, but even then, the raw foods contain only enough enzymes to digest that food. We know that most modern foods, particularly meat, are cooked and processed. Nutritional enzyme supplements are an effective way to assist your digestive process and relieve the stress placed on your body .

How do I know if I need enzymes?

If you eat foods that are cooked or processed, you need enzymes.

How does eating cooked and processed food cause enzyme deficiency? And, how does enzyme deficiency affect my body?

Your body was not designed to handle the demands of digestion without the help of food enzymes. While raw food contains the proper enzymes necessary to digest itself, enzymes are destroyed by processing and cooking temperatures above 118˚ F.

When enzymes are missing from your food, the full burden of digestion falls on your digestive system. This leads to degenerative diseases and reduces life expectancy. In essence, eating processed food “robs” your body of the energy it needs for growth, maintenance and repair of its tissues and organ systems. Caffeinated and alcoholic beverages, colds and fevers, pregnancy, stress, exercise and extreme weather can also cause your body to lose enzymes at a rapid rate.

What is the solution to enzyme deficiency?

The solution is to replenish the food enzymes you destroy by cooking or processing or which are lost because of lifestyle factors. This can be done by eating more raw foods and taking enzyme supplements.

Can I eat too many enzymes?

Enzymes are only active in the presence of their substrate. That is, if they don’t have correct nutritional substrates to work on, they are simply used by your body as a high quality nutritional protein.

A word of caution : Taking too many enzymes produced by companies whose formulations do not include the necessary co-factors will deplete certain minerals and co-factors from your body, eventually causing more harm than good.

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