Your Health Matters: Happy Holidays

[Guest guest]

2007 November 23

 

0855 hrs EST

 

 

The FV Group:

 

Good morning, all. *handshake* Happy Thanksgiving Holidays!!!

I hope that everything is going well with all today. The attachment

below is an excerpt from a monthly newsletter that I received about

eating naturally as God had intended. As we gather around the table

for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's what we eat, cooked or

uncooked, can have a tremendous impact on our mind, body and lifespan.

 

The below letter goes into detail about Digestion & Vitality

where most of the health issues we face today can begin at. If you

have ever experience gradual increased weight gain, bloating,

irritable bowel movements, acid reflex, allergies, skin rashes, acne,

waking up suddenly in the middle of the night w/o 5 hrs straight

sleep, etc. than a big part of those symptoms derive from what we do

at the dinnertable and the lack of our digestive enzymes to

metabolize. Please enjoy the newsletter below.

 

 

 

Respectfully,

 

Justice

 

_________________________BEGIN_______________________________

 

Vitality

Nourishment for the body, mind, and soul November 2007

Monthly Special

 

Digestive Enzymes

 

 

As we move into the Holiday season, we all indulge in our

traditional, favorite foods which often include a mixture of meats,

starches, and desserts. Most, if not all, of these foods are cooked.

 

This year treat your body as well as your taste buds.

 

Using digestive enzymes will help alleviate the feelings of

bloating and indigestion which often accompany a meal rich in a

variety of food groups, by providing the enzymes essential for proper

digestion.

 

Treat yourself to your favorite foods, AND treat your body well

- use enzymes.

 

 

 

Digestive Enzymes

 

Catalysts of Life

 

There are two primary classes of enzymes - metabolic and

digestive. They are responsible for every activity of life.

 

Metabolic enzymes function in every cell in the body and are

responsible for the structuring, repairing, and remodeling of each

cell. Your body is under a great burden every day to supply

sufficient enzymes for optimal health.

 

 

 

The three primary digestive enzymes are: protease (to digest

proteins), amylase (to digest carbohydrates), and lipase (to digest

fats). These enzymes act as catalysts to help break down food. The

pancreas and liver are the two digestive organs that produce most of

the body's digestive enzymes. The remainder should come from uncooked

foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, raw sprouted grains, seeds

and nuts, unpasteurized dairy products, and enzyme supplements.

Digestive enzymes are rich and potent in raw foods.

 

 

Digestion of food takes a high priority and has a high demand

for enzymes. When uncooked food is consumed, fewer digestive enzymes

are required to perform the digestive function, because they are

already present and intact in the food. The body will adapt to the

plentiful, external supply by secreting fewer of its own enzymes,

preserving them to assist in vital cellular metabolic functions.

Consuming food in its natural, unprocessed state is essential to the

maintenance of good health; and the lack of this type of food in the

modern diet is thought to be responsible for degenerative disease.

 

On the other hand, when we eat too many cooked foods we begin

the process of diverting our reserves of metabolic enzymes from

performing their normal functions to performing digestive functions.

Eating a diet of overcooked, overrefined foods contributes to our

being metabolically depleted of enzymes by middle age. Our glands and

major organs suffer most from this deficiency. The brain may actually

shrink as a result of this type of diet. In an effort to meet the

deficiency, the pancreas may swell.

 

Poor eating habits, including inadequate chewing and eating on

the run, also contribute to inadequate enzyme production and, hence,

malabsorption of food. This is often exacerbated by aging, because as

we grow older, there is a general decline in digestive enzyme secretion.

 

While cooking of foods destroys enzymes, frying is possibly the

worst because of the extremely high temperatures.

 

While there is some debate as to whether supplementing with

digestive enzymes is valid - opponents claim that they become

deactivated when exposed to stomach acid - there is much research in

favor of supplementing. Among the many esteemed researchers on this

subject are Dr. Mark Percival, Dr. Arnold Renshaw, Dr. Schneider, and

Dr. Rachman. The use of enzyme therapy in the treatment of many

diseases - including digestive disorders, rheumatoid arthritis,

allergies, high cholesterol, and chronic arterial obstruction - has

been widely studied and indicates strong support for their use in the

treatment of disease.

 

Our normal ability to produce enzymes is greatest in our youth.

This is also a time of rapid growth and is often a time with no

serious illness. However, as people age and their food enzymes become

depleted, they often begin to suffer a broad range of health complaints.

 

How long we live and our state of health are determined by our

enzyme potential. As human beings, when we consume an enzyme-less

diet, we use vast quantities of our enzyme potential from secretions

from the pancreas and other digestive organs, perhaps resulting in

shortened lifespan, illness, and lowered resistance to all types of

stress.

 

We're fast approaching a time of the year traditionally

associated with large, heavy, well-cooked meals. It's important to

remember as we sit down to our tables laden with delicious food to

include some dishes which feature raw foods - raw nuts, fresh

vegetables and fruits.

 

It's also very helpful to use digestive enzymes at the beginning

of the meal. And remember not to overeat - use the Auyervedic

principle of leaving one third of the stomach empty to assist in

digestion.

 

" We are what we eat, " as the saying goes. Enzymes make the digestion

of food possible. We must make maximum use of enzyme activity, both

internal enzymes and those consumed either in food or as supplements.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Much of the information in this article was available in: Life

Extension, Disease Prevention and Treatment, Expanded Fourth Edition,

2003, pp. 745-749

 

 

____________________________END____________________________

 

 

Thanksgiving Dinner

 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Enjoy your time with

family and friends. Eat well, rest, and play!!!

 

 

 

VR,

 

Justice