When we are born, we are provided with a rich bank account of live enzymes. And every one of them is necessary because not one of the trillions of cells in our body can function without the assistance of enzymes.
Herein lies the dilemma. Unlike our blood supply, which can replenish white blood cells necessary to combat sickness-causing free radicals, our body cannot manufacture enzymes. Consequently, as we age, our enzymes are depleted, resulting in the onset of illness and disease because of a weakened immune system.
What we eat can either replenish our enzymes or deplete them further by over-taxing our digestive process. Eating raw or lightly cooked foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains and some nuts, along with the live enzymes they contain, is about the only way we can add to our crucial bank account of enzymes.
Now you know why several daily servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, as you keep hearing, is essential to our health.
With the emergence of fast food chains, microwave ovens and processed foods that make eating much more convenient, it is safe to say that we are eating less well than our parents and certainly less nutritiously than our grandparents. Our 21st century diet taxes our digestive system like never before. Need proof?
In East Asia and pristine tribal communities throughout the world, western culture diseases and degenerative conditions, such as diabetes and arthritis, had never been evident until western-style fast foods were introduced.
A study concluded shows that obesity in children in South Korea has quadrupled in the last 25 years. Any guess as to when fast food franchises made their entry into that country? It’s no coincidence. The cumulative affect of such eating is no less destructive to us than inhaling a pack of cigarettes daily.
Here’s why: When we eat primarily cooked foods, either at home or when dining out, we are ingesting foods that are dead, which is to say that all live enzymes that once existed have been killed by the cooking process. Enzymes cannot remain alive and active when exposed to heat of 46 degrees Celsius (121 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher.
Humans are the only species on this planet that cook their food before eating it. Herbivores flourish on the live enzymes and countless nutrients of the plant kingdom.
Have you ever watched a tiger feast on its prey? Though not pleasant to watch, what does the tiger feast on first? No, it’s not the meat surrounding bones like we humans like to toss on the barbecue. The tiger instinctively devours all the organs and the intestines, which are rich in water content, nutrients and live enzymes. Next is the meaty flesh, raw and full of enzymes.
Even our pet cat knows enough to leave behind a bird’s bones and feathers, which would burden its digestive system and offer no nutritional value whatsoever.
The more lifeless or enzyme-depleted food we ingest, the more live enzymes we must call upon from elsewhere in our body to digest this food. This not only diminishes our enzyme bank account, it fractionally weakens vital organs and our immune system with each improper meal eaten.
The efforts of enzyme pioneers such as Dr. Edward Howell establish that there is a correlation between enzymes and aging, as well as enzymes and disease, often linked to the quality of digestion.
Quite simply, the poorer our diet, the more enzymes we require for proper digestion, resulting in the depletion of vital enzymes from other areas of our body. We can rob Peter to pay Paul only so often before ill health catches up with us. No matter how many abdominal crunches you do, no matter how many miles you jog, no matter how many weights you lift, absolutely nothing you do expends more energy and enzymes than that needed to digest an improper meal.
This point is often overlooked by well-intentioned health conscious individuals who are fooled by how they look on the outside. Such people are tricked into believing that their exercise regimen and supplements exempt them from having to eat properly. These people may be Chippendale Dancers or Dallas Cowboy’s Cheerleaders on the outside, but they are inviting chronic illness and disease on the inside.
For the couch potato, the internal damage is even worse. Adding weight to our frame through lack of activity puts excess demands on our limited amount of enzymes, setting us up for disease and early aging.