The Essentials of Enzyme Nutrition Therapy

[Guest guest]

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.

 

http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/Enzymes1.html

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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—Wobenzyme™.

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.

 

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(: 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.

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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