Fw: The Essentials Of Enzigne Nutritional Therapy 1/3

[Guest guest]

Walt

 

Monday, November 08, 2004 9:38 AM

[Mr_Tracys_Corner] The Essentials Of Enzigne Nutritional Therapy 1/3

 

 

The Essentials of

Enzyme Nutrition Therapy

Part 1/3

Food enzymes in raw food are vital for digesting that food, but their

destruction during cooking is a key factor in today's rising levels of

allergies and chronic degenerative diseases.

 

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Extracted from Nexus Magazine, Volume 10, Number 6 (October-November 2003)

PO Box 30, Mapleton Qld 4560 Australia. editor

Telephone: +61 (0)7 5442 9280; Fax: +61 (0)7 5442 9381

From our web page at: www.nexusmagazine.com

 

© 2003 by Mark Rojek

785 N. Dancer Road

Dexter, MI 48130, USA

Telephone/fax: +1 (734) 433 9267

Email: mrojek1

Website: http://www.radianthealth.cc

 

 

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In August 1971, the US Department of Agriculture published " An Evaluation of

Research in the United States on Human Nutrition; Report No. 2, Benefits

from Nutrition Research " . The US government spent approximately $30 million

analysing the relationship diet has to disease. According to the study:

.. Major health problems are diet related;

.. The real potential from improved diet is preventative;

.. Benefits would be shared by all.especially by lower economic and non-white

population groups;

.. Major benefits are long range. Early adjustments of diet could prevent the

development of undesirable long-range effects;

.. There exist geographical, regional differences in diet-related problems.

 

 

It's now known that within a very short time after its release, all copies

of the report were seized by the federal government. It was not until the

campaign in 1993-94 for the Dietary Health Education and Supplement Act that

a copy was mysteriously forwarded to the grassroots organisation, Citizens

for Health, to help in its fight to prevent the Food and Drug Administration

from classifying food supplements as drugs.

Within any group that seeks control and power over a population, even health

is a legitimate target. If you can manipulate the population's health or

induce disease by modifying what they consume, you can create a pseudo

healthcare system that seems to care but is busy making billions off disease

that is relatively easy to prevent or cure through diet alone. With the

multimillion-dollar backing of an industry, you can also discredit any

alternative to current, popularly accepted treatments by labelling them " old

wives' tales " , " quackery " or " unscientific " .

In 1988, " The Surgeon-General's Report on Nutrition and Health " addressed

the overwhelming evidence of the connection between diet and chronic

disease. In his report, then Surgeon-General C. Everett Koop wrote: " For the

two out of three adult Americans who do not smoke and do not drink

excessively, one personal choice seems to influence long-term health

prospects more than any other: what we eat. The weight of this evidence and

the magnitude of the problem at hand indicate that it is now time to take

action. In the cause of good health for all citizens, I urge support for

this Report's recommendations by every sector of American society. " (Italics

added.)

 

 

As reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (vol. 280,

November 11, 1998), a nationwide survey on the use of alternative medical

therapies revealed that " [e]stimated expenditures for alternative medicine

professional services increased 45.2% between 1990 and 1997 and were

conservatively estimated at $21.2 billion in 1997, with at least $12.2

billion paid out of pocket " . The article concluded that " [a]lternative

medicine use and expenditures increased substantially between 1990 and 1997,

attributable primarily to an increase in the proportion of the population

seeking alternative therapies, rather than increased patient visits per

patient " .

Not only in America but in other countries, the populace is demonstrating a

preference to what are referred to as " alternative therapies " . People are

seeking natural therapies, drawing upon cultural heritages of healing

aligned with their own philosophies and beliefs. These therapies include

acupuncture, herbal medicines (both Eastern and Western botanicals),

homoeopathy, Reiki and other so-called energy treatments, and nutrition.

It has become overwhelmingly clear that diet and lifestyle influence health

and disease. Yet, within the field of nutrition, there are differing

opinions on just what constitutes a healthy diet. This is most evident with

popular books on diets which flood the market. Is the low fat/low protein,

high complex carbohydrate diet that Pritikin advocated correct? Or is the

Atkins diet with high protein/fat, low carbohydrate the one we should

favour? Should we eat according to our blood type? What about raw versus

cooked foods? Is soy good for you, or is it harmful? Do the media drive our

choices through advertising? What about the " friendly " doctor staring from

your television set, telling you how dangerous this herb or that vitamin is?

Are nutritional supplements effective or not? The debate seems endless.

Over the last decade, sales of nutritional supplements have generated a US$4

billion industry worldwide. Almost every month, new companies claim to have

the " magic bullet " for what ails us. Multi-level/network marketing companies

are quick to get on the bandwagon, knowing how much profit is available

thanks to members of the baby-boomer generation who pride themselves on

" looking good " and staying healthy, no matter what the cost. The rush to

discover new drugs from medicinal herbs in Third World countries keeps

pharmaceutical companies abreast of all that is under the sky.

 

Pioneers in Enzyme Nutrition Therapy

Within the field of nutrition, enzymes have become the buzzword. Every

company now has its own " super-concentrated enzyme formula " , and boasts how

powerful it is and how it contains 10 times the enzyme power as the other

company's product.

Yet, understanding enzymes and their role in human nutrition requires more

than just knowledge of the chemistry. We also need to be familiar with the

history and pioneers behind the development of enzyme nutrition therapy and

the rationale behind its clinical use.

Historically, there is recorded evidence of diverse cultural groups

developing foods high in concentrated enzymes. Many of these cultures

discovered the health benefits of enzyme-rich foods because of trial and

error and probably just plain luck, by leaving them out in the open for

bacteria to work on them. Among these foods are fermented dairy products,

such as yoghurt, kefir and various soured-milk products; fermented

vegetables, such as European sauerkraut and Korean kim chi from cabbage; and

soy products like miso and tempeh, which were first developed in Asia. In

tropical countries, certain fruits such as papaya and mango were found to

contain very high concentrations of enzymes, and have been used

traditionally for the topical treatment of burns and wounds.

Nonetheless, it was not until the early 1900s that Dr John Beard, a Scottish

embryologist, filtered the pancreatic liquid of freshly slaughtered young

animals for the active enzyme content. He reasoned from observation that

young animals had to have greater and more powerful concentrations of

enzymes because the energy required for growth was greater. Dr Beard

injected this concentration into veins, gluteal muscles and sometimes

directly into tumour sites of cancer patients. He observed the rapid

shrinkage of tumour masses and cancer cell growth inhibition. Some patients

experienced allergic reactions because the unpurified juice contained

foreign proteins. In spite of this, more than half of the cancers completely

disappeared, while other patients' lives greatly improved and were prolonged

far beyond what was expected.

Dr Beard's enzyme treatment caused turmoil in the allopathic medical

community in England. He was called a charlatan and received threats to

close down his practice. However, patients of other doctors requested Dr

Beard's enzyme treatment. To satisfy them, doctors ordered pancreatic juice

from local pharmacists who, in turn, ordered it from the slaughterhouses.

Doctors were sold pancreatic juice from older animals whose enzyme content

was inactive. Unfortunately, the results were not successful and patients

were very disappointed.

In all, Dr Beard treated 170 cancer patients and recounted his enzyme

therapy in his book, The Enzyme Treatment of Cancer and its Scientific

Basis, published in 1907.

Not much followed from the early part of the 20th century. Indeed, it was

not until the 1930s that clinical use of enzymes began to pique the interest

of a few physicians.

In 1930, at the First International Microbiology Conference, held in Paris,

Dr Paul Kautchakoff, a Swiss doctor, presented a paper entitled " The

Influence of Food Cooking on the Blood Formula of Man " . In it, he explained

how digestive leukocytosis occurred every time cooked food was ingested by

subjects of differing age and sex. This phenomenon was observed in patients

as early as 1843 and was considered a normal occurrence.

Digestive leukocytosis is the dramatic increase in the amount and activity

level of white blood cells (leukocytes) in the blood due to a stimulus-that

stimulus being undigested cooked food crossing the gut wall. With canned and

cooked foods, the increase was moderate. With heavily processed foods such

as packaged meats, the increase was identical to food poisoning! The only

difference was the absence of the bacterium associated with food poisoning.

Cooked foods are missing essential enzymes which prevent adequate digestion.

Dr Kautchakoff made note that there was no increase leukocyte count/activity

in subjects who ate only raw food. This is because all raw food contains

food enzymes which completely digest what we eat.

From 1932 to 1942, Dr Francis Pottenger, Jr, of Monrovia, California, began

one of the most intriguing clinical studies undertaken in the field of

nutrition. His study ran for 10 years, covering four generations of over 900

cats. In this groundbreaking study, Dr Pottenger simply controlled the food

cats were fed. The original group was fed raw, unpasteurised milk, cod liver

oil and cooked meat scraps. The other two groups were fed uncooked

meat/pasteurised milk and cooked meat/pasteurised milk respectively. The

fourth group was fed uncooked, raw meat and raw, unpasteurised milk.

Dr Pottenger's observations should have shaken the foundations of modern

medicine. Nonetheless his work, like that of so many others, has largely

been ignored. He meticulously recorded his observations with exacting

measurements and photographs. Here is a brief summary of his discoveries. In

the group of cats fed only raw food, there were no chronic degenerative

diseases! The cats lived to grow old and were easily handled. They primarily

died of old age, living much longer than cats from the other groups.

In the first generation of the combination cooked-food groups, cats showed

symptoms of chronic degenerative disease that we are familiar with:

allergies, asthma, arthritis (both rheumatic and osteo), cancers, heart

disease, kidney, liver and thyroid disease, dental disease and osteoporosis.

The second generation manifested the same diseases, albeit even more

severely. Most kittens were stillborn or born with disease, and died within

six months in the third generation. By the fourth generation, the study

ended because the cats were infertile and could not reproduce.

In drawing his conclusions, Dr Pottenger reported the underlying nutritional

factor had to be a " heat-labile substance " . Unfortunately, he had not

deduced them to be enzymes, because so little was known about them at the

time.

In the early 1930s, a " special substance " was discovered in the blood of

healthy individuals which was proficient at attacking and destroying cancer

cells. However, this substance was found only very slightly or was missing

altogether in patients suffering from cancer. Working during those years in

New York, Dr Max Wolf became one of the most celebrated doctors of his time.

He was fascinated to hear of this substance and began investigating on his

own. He convinced Dr Helen Benitez to join him from her post in the

neurosurgical department at Columbia University, and they performed

thousands of tests to determine exactly what this substance was. They

concluded it had to be enzymes.

Dr Wolf then had to isolate which of the many dozens of known enzymes were

responsible for several activities, i.e., controlling inflammation,

correcting degenerative disorders and breaking down cancer cells. After

years of testing various enzyme mixtures on animals, with no harmful

reactions, he was able to offer his enzyme therapy. It soon earned him a

reputation with many famous clients in politics and the arts. Even a few

Presidents and European leaders sought him out. He developed one of the most

widely used enzyme products available-WobenzymeT.

At the same time that Dr Pottenger was overseeing the clinical study in

California and Dr Wolf was researching in New York, Dr Edward Howell of

Chicago was questioning the use of cooked, processed food for human

consumption. He found that heating food to 118°F (47.78°C) for more than 15

minutes destroyed all the enzymes. Obviously then, heating foods at higher

temperatures for shorter periods also destroys enzymes. The current

technology of " flash pasteurisation " of milk and juice is an example.

Enzymes are the only substances capable of digesting food. They exist in raw

food in order to digest (break down) that food.

 

Enzyme Deficiency and Degenerative Disease

In 1940, Dr Howell posed the question, " Is chronic degenerative disease a

matter of severe enzyme deficiency? " To this end, he spent the rest of his

life researching and documenting clinical work throughout the world, and he

answered his query with a resounding " Yes! "

In the early 1940s, Dr Howell created the first manufacturing facility for

the production of plant-based enzymes. While Drs Beard and Wolf used

animal-based enzymes produced from the pancreas of animals, Dr Howell used

certain species of fungus to " grow " highly concentrated plant-based enzymes.

This is where animal- and plant-based enzymes become markedly different in

their clinical use. And this is where Dr Howell's observations and research

have made all the difference in the world of enzyme nutrition.

Dr Howell wrote two books reporting his life's work: Food Enzymes for Health

and Longevity and Enzyme Nutrition. Some of the most important revelations

about enzymes, nutrition and physiology are contained in these pages. He

noted that all mammals have a pre-digestive stomach; he called it a " food

enzyme stomach " . In humans, it is the uppermost portion of the stomach-the

fundus or cardiac portion. It is here that enzymes found in raw food

pre-digest what has been ingested. Enzymes secreted from saliva and other

glands will likewise pre-digest some of the cooked food consumed. However,

when cooked food is eaten, enzymes will be supplied from other organs to

digest the cooked food. This produces a constant drain of enzymes from the

immune system and other important organs. When this happens over a lifetime,

organs fail and are overcome with " disease " .

Howell discussed organ hypertrophy, noting that any organ or gland will grow

more cells, becoming larger because the demand placed on it exceeds its

ability to function. He found that, in particular, the pancreas in humans

was 2-3 times heavier and larger in proportion to body weight as compared to

the pancreas of other mammals. He attributed this to consumption of an

excessive amount of cooked foods.

When enzymes are not present in the stomach for digestion, food passes into

the duodenum, the upper portion of the small intestine, where enzymes

secreted from the pancreas digest the food. This is the common teaching in

medical schools. But what if the pancreas was not meant to be the major

digestive enzyme organ? What if digestion was meant to take place in the

stomach, with enzyme-rich food?

Dr Howell cited studies suggesting this to be the case. Because food is not

digested in the stomach as Nature intended, the burden then falls to the

pancreas, causing it to hypertrophy. If the burden continues for long enough

periods, it may lead to pancreatitis or other more serious ailments.

Howell referred to what he called " the law of adaptive secretion of

digestive enzymes " -that the body will secrete exactly the right amounts and

types of digestive enzymes depending upon what type of food is ingested.

Eating a piece of cheese will produce more fat-digesting enzymes than would

be produced if eating a piece of bread, which is primarily a starch and

requires a starch-digesting enzyme.

Dr Howell remarked that during the early part of the 20th century when zoos

were being developed to house captured wild animals, the death rate was very

high. It was found that animals in their natural habitat ate everything raw.

They were now being fed cooked foods and experiencing many new diseases

unknown to their counterparts in the wild. It was found that the enzyme

content of saliva from animals in the wild was either hardly there or

missing altogether. On the contrary, captured animals fed cooked foods had

very high enzyme content in their saliva. The animals were being forced to

secrete enzymes from other organs to digest the cooked food. When their

diets were changed back to mostly raw foods, the enzyme content in their

saliva was reduced and the death rate dropped significantly.

Before Dr Howell passed away in the late 1980s, Dr Howard Loomis journeyed

to Florida to spend time with him. He had been asked by Dr Howell's original

manufacturing facility to formulate a professional line of enzymes. Dr

Loomis had become frustrated with the use of nutrition in clinical practice.

There seemed to be no rhyme nor reason in administering minerals, vitamins

or herbs to those in his care. As he said: " A patient comes in with a cold

and you give him vitamin C, and within a week he's feeling better. Another

person comes in with a cold and takes nothing. Seven days later, she's

fine. " Everywhere one looks, the common discussion centres around

deficiencies. " Oh, you have this or that mineral or vitamin deficiency: take

some of these. "

Nutrition today is practised much like pharmacology is. For every symptom,

there is a corresponding deficiency. The solution, then, is to take more of

a particular mineral or vitamin. It is a matching game, much like with

pharmaceutical drugs. And while it is true that in certain cases a

deficiency can relate to a symptom, it is not rock-solid evidence of a

deficiency. " I have a deficiency in relation to what-another mineral or

vitamin? Isn't it possible I have an excessive amount of something? "

 

Making Sense of Decades of Misdiagnoses

The progression of differing diagnoses over the last few decades is an

example of how symptoms alone can be misleading when it comes to finding

root causative factors in disease.

In the 1960s, one of the common diagnoses in Western societies was

hypoglycaemia or low blood-sugar levels. Blood sugar is composed of glucose

which is metabolised from protein by the liver. Doctors told their patients

simply to eat more protein. And while it is true that low blood sugar can be

the result of inadequate protein intake, no one ever suspected it could be

the result of an inability to digest protein completely, i.e., a protein

digestive enzyme deficiency. So even if you increase the patient's protein

intake, what good is it doing if they cannot digest it adequately? Was it a

protein deficiency or a protease deficiency which caused the low levels of

protein leading to hypoglycaemia?

In the 1970s, vitamin B12 deficiency was a popular diagnosis. Many of the

symptoms of B12 deficiency match those of hypoglycaemia. These include

fatigue, inability to concentrate, irritability, headaches, confusion,

tremors and even cold sweats. Patients were given vitamin B12 shots to

alleviate the symptoms. A major concern with vegetarianism is the high

incidence of vitamin B12 deficiency that's been documented.

One of the functions of protein in the blood is that of a " universal

carrier " . Protein transports vitamins, minerals, enzymes and hormones

throughout the body. Not having enough blood protein to transport these

substances would lead a doctor to diagnose a patient with a particular

imbalance or illness. The underlying assumption in the medical world is that

patients' digestions are working fine-unless, of course, they complain to

the contrary. Nevertheless, if patients have inadequate protein levels, even

though blood tests are within reference range, they still may not be

transporting or utilising vitamin B12.

Moving into the 1980s, most everyone had become infested with yeast/fungal

organisms and/or parasites. Normally, various micro-organisms inhabit the

digestive tract and are kept in balance by " friendly " micro-organisms like

Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Many of the symptoms of this new

diagnosis were, again, very similar to hypoglycaemia and vitamin B12

deficiency.

When it comes to immune system function, protein is the most essential

nutrient. White blood cells, cellular complements and many other aspects of

this system are dependent upon protein. Enzymes themselves are composed of

protein and minerals. Additionally, Dr Howell reminds us of this " vital

force " inherent in enzymes. These microscopic entities we are dependent upon

have something of an almost mysterious nature. Various white blood cells use

enzymes literally to digest what they come up against in our bodies. These

processes are known as pinocytosis and phagocytosis. After engulfing an

offending pathogen or allergen, white blood cells secrete enzymes that

destroy and digest it. If the majority of enzymes from the immune system are

being redirected to digest food, how is it possible to maintain healthy

immune system functions?

As the 1990s progressed, patients were told they must have an

environmentally induced illness, which could include allergies and

hypersensitivities. Patients were told to avoid everything they were

allergic to and take enormous amounts of supplements. Usually this resulted

in extremely limited diets and very expensive bills. New " energy " techniques

were developed supposedly to remove blocked energy and rewire the nervous

system to allow for accepting the allergen into the body without the overt

reaction.

If we look at allergies from an enzyme point of view, it becomes apparent

why so many of these techniques work only temporarily. Allergies are the

body's reaction to something entering via the blood, skin, nasal cavity or

other source. When something enters the body in a healthy person, the immune

system is called upon to investigate and clear the allergen (substance) from

the body. This happens without any notice. Because there are enough enzymes

available in a healthy person, the allergen can be cleared unobtrusively. In

someone with an allergic response to the same substance, the immune system

is called to do the same work but finds it cannot handle the request. In a

person who exhibits an allergic response, there are not enough enzymes

available for the white blood cells to break down the allergen and rid the

body of it. They then experience the typical histamine response, including

reddening of the eyes or local tissue, heat, runny nose and pain.

People with allergies of an airborne source are typically those with a

history of excessive sugar and simple carbohydrate intake. Someone with this

problem has depleted their reserves of the enzyme amylase. Amylase is an IgG

histamine blocker. Like bioflavonoids, amylase stabilises the mast cells and

basophiles that release histamine as a reaction to the damaged area.

Antihistamines are what these types of patients get from their doctors.

Finally, in the last five years or so, patients were tested for something

called " Syndrome X " , which happens to bear a striking resemblance to type II

diabetes. Syndrome X patients exhibit excess weight, cardiovascular issues,

lightheadedness and elevated glucose levels, among other symptoms. If this

is actually another name for diabetes II, it should be apparent how symptoms

are only one aspect of proper diagnostics.

What the examples above point to are signs and symptoms of distress in the

body. Looking more deeply, one finds the same phenomenon exhibited in

Pottenger's cat study and Howell's life research: namely, that signs and

symptoms of disease are proof of chronic enzyme deficiencies! It is like

coming upon a car accident and seeing the wreckage, but not knowing exactly

how it happened. The medical profession is seeing evidence of enzyme

deficiencies but is unable to correlate them to the actual disease. Governed

by their training in schools biased towards pharmaceutical drugs, surgery,

radiation and the latest in genome biotechnology and nanotechnology, doctors

today are further away from realising the truth of how the body can go out

of balance and end up in a diseased state.

When Dr Loomis asked Dr Howell what the symptoms were for a particular

enzyme deficiency, Howell did not have an answer. He had not linked up the

signs and symptoms of enzyme deficiencies. Dr Loomis left with many

unanswered questions and began the work that has developed into Enzyme

Nutrition Therapy. After 20 years of clinical work in the field of enzymes,

Dr Loomis is considered the foremost living authority. His trained

associates continue adding to the body of work he pioneered. Enzyme

Nutrition Therapy is a scientifically sound system of assessing enzyme

deficiencies in patients. Loomis has taken Howell's baton, carried it to the

next stage and continues to push it to a higher level.

Over time, as Dr Pottenger observed in his study of cats, the continued use

of cooked, enzyme-deficient food not only leads to enzyme deficiencies but

also to subsequent generations of subjects with disease that's more intense

with each generation. Could this explain why 40 to 50 years ago childhood

asthma and allergies were rare, but today they affect the majority of

children? What about obesity? Or infertility? The percentage of infertile

couples has risen sharply in the last several decades. And while

environmental toxins may play a part in this, are we now not seeing the

results of generations fed excessive amounts of cooked food-as Drs Howell

and Pottenger foresaw?

Without ever knowing it, Drs Howell, Pottenger and Wolf confirmed each

other's work and left a legacy upon which Dr Loomis has demonstrated the

solution to humanity's many ills-that enzymes are the key factors in health

and healing, but their destruction by heat leads to chronic degenerative

disease.

 

Enzymes - the Vital Labour Force

Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (28th edition) defines an enzyme as

" a protein molecule that catalyses [increases the velocity of a chemical

reaction.] chemical reactions of other substances without itself being

destroyed or altered upon completion of the reactions " . While this may seem

to be definitive, it does not clarify why an enzyme can do what it does, nor

how a protein can become an active enzyme. In other words, if an enzyme is

simply a protein molecule, why not manufacture enzymes synthetically?

The trouble begins here because, to date, no one has successfully created an

enzyme from synthetic material. Enzymes can only be created from living,

organic material. It is evident that there is something more to enzymes than

can yet be accounted for scientifically.

Dr Howell observed enzymes giving off a " luminescent glow " when actively

working. He is famous for his statement, " Life itself could not exist

without enzymes " . He surmised that there is a " vital force " inherent in all

living beings, as demonstrated by enzymes. For ages, humans have observed

and deduced a " divine innate force " common to all living things. Animation

of animals and plants separates us from the soil, dust and rocks on which we

move around.

Enzymes are considered the " labour force " in living things. They are the

only substances capable of doing work. They are busy putting things together

or splitting them apart. They initiate, speed up, slow down or stop all

biochemical processes in living beings. Enzymes are very specific in how

they work on a substrate (the component upon which they work). This has

often been referred to as a " lock-and-key system " . The substrate is the

lock, while enzymes are the keys that fit precisely into the lock. They can

only work on the exact substrate.

 

 

Enzymes are classified into several groups. Hydrolytic enzymes are the most

relevant in clinical nutrition, and they are of three major groups:

1) Digestive enzymes-manufactured by digestive organs to assist in digesting

food;

2) Food enzymes-found in all raw, uncooked food;

3) Metabolic enzymes-manufactured by all cells to carry out their respective

functions.

Although there are many classes and sub-classes of digestive enzymes, there

are four general enzymes considered here:

.. Amylase-digests starches, including grains and starchy vegetables;

.. Cellulase-breaks down plant fibre;

.. Lipase-splits apart fats and oils into fatty acids;

.. Protease-breaks down protein into amino acids and small-chain peptides.

Probably the most familiar of the amylases is lactase. People who are

lactose intolerant are both deficient in and lack the ability to manufacture

this enzyme.

All the above, except cellulase, are manufactured in the human body.

Cellulase must come from the plants themselves, which is why it is so

important to chew one's food thoroughly. Cellulase is trapped inside the

fibre itself and must be liberated in the chewing process-otherwise, one

experiences the gas and bloating common to those, especially the elderly,

who cannot digest raw foods. Juicing fruits and vegetables also extracts

cellulase from the fibre. But the need for plant fibre in a world where many

are dependent on laxatives cannot be overstated and may outweigh unnecessary

juicing.

All raw, uncooked foods contain the exact types and amounts of enzymes

necessary for their breakdown (digestion). Fruit ripening is the consequence

of enzymes slowly breaking down the fruit's contents. If it has gone too far

before we consume it, we say it is " rotten " . There are optimal times when

fruit should be harvested and consumed. But due to " shelf life " , fruit is

picked unripe and left to ripen in the warehouse or grocery store. In this

case, the vitamin, mineral and enzyme content is inadequate and not

desirable from a nutritional point of view. One study found that plants gave

up their enzyme structures to return the mineral portion of them back to the

soil since it was lacking in minerals.

Enzymes are the most heat-sensitive nutrients. As mentioned earlier, food

enzymes are generally destroyed when heated at 118°F (47.78°C) for longer

than 15 minutes, and this happens whether the food is baked, boiled,

broiled, canned, fried, pasteurised, roasted, steamed or especially

microwaved. Dr Howell observed this and reasoned that enzyme-deficient food

must force the body to use up metabolic enzymes to digest food. He compared

it to a bank account. If you continually drain your resources and never

replenish your holdings, at some point you are bankrupt. In the case of

enzymes, degenerative disease occurs, with old age following soon

afterwards. We are told all the time, " Oh, your symptoms are related to old

age; better get used to it " . Culturally, this seems true because we have

observed it since childhood. We even expect to grow old with the

accompanying health issues associated with old age because we have been told

so.

Granted, our progression from infancy through adolescence and adulthood

involves changes and the appearance of " ageing " . But what if there were

substances naturally occurring in the food and within our bodies that were

responsible for the rate at which we grew older? Dr Howell equated that the

length of life was proportional to the amount of enzymes exhausted in

digestion. In other words, one's length of life is influenced by how much

our metabolic enzymes are used to digest cooked food. Since enzymes are

shifted from their metabolic uses, especially from the immune system, to

digest cooked food, we will age faster. Could this be what Ponce de León was

looking for in his legendary " fountain of youth " ? Some researchers may have

given us a clue.

In the 1980s, Dr Roy Walford of UCLA conducted numerous laboratory

experiments on animals. He reduced their food intake and found that their

length of life extended beyond what was considered normal. He suggested that

all one had to do was not eat so much in order to have a healthier and

longer life. Walford stated the obvious, but he may have missed the real

point.

Dr Howell found that in fasting there is an increase in available enzymes in

the body due to the lack of food, especially cooked food. In the absence of

food, the body has more enzymes for repair and healing. As an example, there

are approximately 64 different types of enzymes circulating in the blood to

clear waste and prevent the build-up of plaque. When the body is

short-changed of these enzymes, there will be an unnatural build-up of

plaque. Why would there be a lack of these enzymes in the blood? When cooked

food is eaten, enzymes for digesting it must be found somewhere in the body.

It is here that metabolic enzymes are shifted from their normal functions to

the role of digestion, leaving the body primed for future disease.

 

Signs of Enzyme Deficiencies

Symptoms of mineral and vitamin deficiencies occur relatively quickly. They

are recognised to cause specific illness. Enzyme deficiencies, outside of

genetic or birth defects, take longer periods to be noticed and have only

begun to be recognised in some circles of the medical community. What, then,

are typical signs and symptoms of the more common enzyme deficiencies?

.. If you have problems digesting carbohydrates, you may experience

airborne-sourced allergies, diarrhoea, fibromyalgia or attention deficit

disorder (ADD or ADHD).

.. If you cannot digest fats, you may experience constipation, gallbladder

problems, heart disease or hormone imbalances.

.. If you cannot adequately digest protein, you may experience constipation,

arthritis or other inflammatory conditions, anxiety or panic attacks,

premenstrual syndrome or immune system disorders.

.. If you are unable to break down plant fibre, you may experience

constipation, eczema or other skin-related problems, recurrent yeast/fungal

infestations or excessive weight gain.

The above conditions are also the result of diets high in those foods

associated with the enzyme deficiency. In fact, the foods one craves are

those that create dietary stress due to one's inability to digest them

completely. They are also the foods one has either allergies or

hypersensitivities towards because of the failure to be able to digest them,

i.e., because of the deficiency of that particular enzyme.

People may crave certain foods because of the enzymes found within the food,

which the body needs. But being cooked and destroyed, those enzymes do

nothing for the craving-so we eat more of the same thing, telling ourselves

we should not.

 

To be continued...

 

References:

.. Cichoke, Anthony J., Enzymes and Enzyme Therapy: How to Jump Start Your

Way to Lifelong Good Health, Keats Publishing, New Canaan, 1994

.. Effros, R.B., Walford, R.L, Weindruch, R., Mitcheltree, C.J., " Influences

of dietary restriction on immunity to influenza in aged mice " , Gerontol 1991

Jul; 46(4):B142-7

.. Howell, Edward, Enzyme Nutrition: The Food Enzyme Concept, Avery

Publishing Group, Inc., Wayne, NJ, 1985

.. Howell, Edward, Food Enzymes for Health & Longevity, Lotus Press, Twin

Lakes, WI, 1994, 2nd ed.

.. Loomis, Howard F., Jr, Enzymes: The Key to Health, Vol. 1 - The

Fundamentals, Grote Publishing, Madison, WI, 1999

.. Lopez, D.A., Williams, R.M., Miehlke, M., Enzymes: The Fountain of Life,

The Neville Press, Inc., Charleston, SC, 1994

.. Pottenger, Francis, Jr, " The Effect of Heat-Processed Foods and

Metabolized Vitamin D Milk on the Dentofacial Structures of Experimental

Animals " , American Journal of Orthodontics and Oral Surgery, St Louis, MO,

vol. 32, no. 8, pp. 467-485, August 1946

.. Pottenger, Francis, Jr, Pottenger's Cats: A Study in Nutrition,

Price-Pottenger Foundation, Inc., La Mesa, CA, 1995

.. Verdery, R.B. and Walford, R.L., " Changes in plasma lipids and

lipoproteins in humans during a 2-year period of dietary restriction in

Biosphere 2 " , Arch Intern Med 1998 Apr 27; 158(8): 900-6

.. Walford, R.L. and Crew, M., " How dietary restriction retards aging: an

integrative hypothesis " , Growth Dev Aging 1989 Winter, 53(4) 139-140

.. Walford, R.L., " The clinical promise of dietary restriction " , Geriatrics

1990 Apr; 45(4):81-3, 86-7

 

About the Author:

Mark Rojek began researching alternative therapies in 1970. His studies

included botanicals, mineral and vitamin requirements and diet. He interned

in acupuncture with Dr Bell in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, in 1973, and

graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science. He studied aromatherapy,

kinesiology, massage therapy and classical homoeopathy in England.

In 1986, Mark began formal studies in traditional Chinese medicine,

especially acupuncture. In Chicago, he worked with several holistic

physicians as a medical technician and maintained a private nutritional

practice. Also in 1986, he met Dr Howard Loomis, foremost living expert in

enzyme nutrition, and continues to work with him. He works with several

doctors in Michigan who refer to him and seek his counsel. He continues to

research, lecture and counsel clients in nutrition and diet.

Mark Rojek can be contacted by phone/fax on +1 (734) 433 9267, by email at

mrojek1, and via his website at http://www.radianthealth.cc.