Equipping People To Make Sense Of What They Are Told
Enzymes are vital to health and change the rate at which chemical reactions happen
without any external energy source added or by being changed themselves. They are
reaction specific, and will only act on certain substances known as substrates.
These reactions could be for the substrate to bond to the enzyme, or different substrates
bonding together, or for the substrate to be broken up into different products.
Enzymes are specialised protein molecules facilitating most of the body's metabolic
processes such as:
Supplying energy.
Digestion.
Purifying the blood.
Eliminating body waste products.
Enzymes are divided into two main groups:
Metabolic enzymes.
Digestive enzymes.
Without enzymes the best nutritional plan will fail.
Although enzymes are found in small quantities, they are extremely powerful and are
involved in actions such as:
Lowering cholesterol.
Cleansing the colon.
Breaking down fats.
Strengthening the immune system.
Detoxifying the body.
Building muscles from protein.
Eliminating carbon dioxide from the lungs.
Enzymes are classified into several categories, where hydrolytic enzymes break down
substances into simpler compounds, oxidizing enzymes (or oxidases) assist with oxidizing
reactions and reducing enzymes, which speeds up reduction where oxygen is removed.
A shortage of enzymes in the body will influence the health of the entire body, and
symptoms may include:
Stomach gas.
Indigestion.
Bloating.
Heartburn.
Flatulence.
Enzymes are sensitive to heat as well as the surrounding pH. Food processing kills
of these entities and the presence of heavy metals, as well as dehydration and ultra-violet
radiation impair their functions.
Enzymes do not attach to living cells, but will digest the proteins in dead cells.
Enzymes are unable to pass through the cell membrane of a living cell, but when the
cell dies the membrane loses its ability and the enzyme can act upon it.
Food sources - Raw food, eaten in its original state
