You have most likely heard about enzymes, and you know that they are important in the process of food digestion.
What you may not know, however, is just how important enzymes are when it comes
to reducing inflammation.
Enzymes are also responsible for producing energy in your body, absorbing oxygen, fighting infection and
boosting your immune system, removing toxic waste in your lymphatic system, and regulating your hormones.
There are 3 basic types of enzymes:
1) Digestive
2) Metabolic
3) Food-based
Most of the digestive and metabolic enzymes are produced by the pancreas. In addition, you are able to get a
large portion of enzymes from the foods you eat. Unfortunately, however, you may not be consuming enough of
the proper foods to get you a good supply of enzymes.
How can you get a good supply of these important nutrients? You should be eating lots of raw foods. These will
directly help to aid digestion, and they will lower the amount of enzymes that are required to be made by your
pancreas. When we heat our food through cooking (or heat milk through pasteurization), we change the molecular
structure of the food, and most of the enzymes become inactive. This is why eating raw foods is so important- by
“going raw,” you keep and benefit from the naturally-occurring enzymes in food!
The reason we talk about proteolytic enzymes (protein digesting enzymes) in particular is that they play such a
vital role in breaking down foreign proteins and decreasing chronic inflammation that can lead to autoimmune
disease, cardiovascular disease, and chronic pain like neck and back pain.
How else can we ensure we have enough proteolytic enzymes?
1) Avoid chewing gum- by chewing, you send a signal to your digestive tract that tells your body to start the
digestion process and start breaking down food. Because of this, your body will secrete its natural enzymes,
like increasing saliva, and you will begin to deplete your body’s reserves of these important digestive enzymes.
2) Consume foods high in enzymes like seeds, avocado, raw honey, papaya, kiwi, pineapple, mango, grapes,
extra virgin olive oil, and coconut oil.
3) While you are much better off eating a diet with more enzyme-rich foods, one way to ensure you have
enough enzymes is to take them in supplement form. As you age, your enzyme production slows down, so
it may be necessary to supplement. This does not mean that you can just eat a diet of junk food and take a
magic supplement that will compensate for all your poor food choices!
But supplementing CAN give you a boost when you are eating raw, enzyme-rich foods. Just make sure that when you choose an enzyme supplement, as with choosing all supplements, you choose one from a reputable company, and that it doesn’t contain excess fillers and additives. If you are interested in getting a good enzyme supplement from a trusted manufacturer, ask me and we can get a good one for you.
