Enzymes: The Secret to Staying Young
Enzymes are the life principle in the foods we eat. Without them, chemical reactions don’t occur and no work gets done. It is commonly assumed that enzymes are protein molecules with a specific function, but the protein molecule is simply the carrier of this life force principle, much like a light bulb, which is the physical structure, which allows the energy of electricity to be conducted through it.
Enzymes are produced by the body to carry out all the myriad of chemical reactions that occur throughout the body. There are literally hundreds of different enzymes produced by the body. Enzymes are also contained in the foods we eat. Enzymes are what allow foods to break down if left unrefrigerated. When our food is cooked, enzymes get destroyed and along with them the life force is extinguished.
In order to ship fresh food and to keep it from spoiling, food processors, with the help of modern technology have created ingenious ways of getting what has been produced on our farms to our dinner table, but not without great sacrifice to the quality of the food we put into our bodies. In order for food to “survive” the rigors of shipping and marketing, processors must pasteurize, bottle, can, sterilize, cook, add preservatives, irradiate, refine and otherwise destroy the life principle in the food so that it can maintain a longer shelf “life”. Enzymes, however, are sensitive to temperatures above 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Above 120 degrees enzymes become sluggish, just as the human body becomes languid and relaxed in a hot bath. At 130 degrees Fahrenheit the life of enzymes becomes extinct. Eating these devitalized foods are in large part what create the many diseases of modern civilization. There are rats that will eat the packaging of refined cereals while leaving the cereal intact.
There are three major classes of enzymes: (1) metabolic enzymes that work in the blood, tissues and organs, (2) food enzymes from raw food, and (3) digestive enzymes. We inherit an enzyme reserve at birth, much like a bank account, which gets depleted when too many withdrawals have been made.
It is very important to our health to make sure that we ingest enzymes from raw foods in our diet. Without enzymes in our foods our pancreas and other digestive organs must draw from this reserve, which tax our organs and leads to premature degeneration.
The difference between live (raw) and dead food is enzymatic activity. Seeds in their raw state sprout even after years of storage, but once roasted are rendered sterile.
Animals in the wild eat almost all of their foods in the raw state, which have an abundant supply of enzymes present. This aids in the digestive process, taking the stress off organs such as the liver, pancreas, and spleen, which would otherwise have to produce large amounts of enzymes.
In one study, “Francis Pottenger, M.D., carried out a 10-year experiment using 900 cats, which were placed on controlled diets. The cats on raw food produced healthy kittens from generation to generation. Those on cooked food developed our modern ailments: heart, kidney and thyroid disease, pneumonia, paralysis, loss of teeth, difficulty in labor, diminished or perverted sexual interest, diarrhea, and irritability. Liver impairment on cooked protein was progressive, the bile in the stool becoming so toxic that even weeds refused to grow in soil fertilized by the cats’ excrement. The first generation of kittens were sick and abnormal; the second generation were often born dead or diseased; by the third generation, the mother was sterile.” (1)
To keep our enzyme supplies high and our level of energy abundant it is a good idea to eat at least one live food meal every day consisting of fresh fruits or vegetables. And if your goal is to lose unwanted pounds, there is no better way than by eating a higher percentage of living fresh foods in your diet in the form of fruits, vegetables, their juices, and the living sprouts of seeds, nuts, beans and legumes.
Dr. Gabriel Cousens reports on research done at Tufts Medical School: “ In 100 percent of the cases of obesity studied, all of the people had lipase deficiencies. The implication was that they had a decreased ability to assimilate fat properly. The fat ended up being stored as fatty tissue, rather than being broken down.” (2)
Dr. Humbart Santillo writes: “At Stanford University, investigations showed that lipase was deficient in patients who had hardening of the arteries. The more advanced the case, the more a deficiency in enzymes was found. When lipase was given to patients with slow fat metabolism and blood fat problems, there was an immediate improvement in fat metabolism. “ (3)
Did you know that the word Eskimo means “he who eats his food raw” and that Eskimos who eat as much as ten pounds of raw meat and blubber daily are neither obese, nor do they show signs of clogged arteries? That’s because they eat their meat and fish raw and these foods contain the necessary lipase in their raw state to help break down the fat, which aids in its digestion. When Eskimos switch to eating mostly cooked foods they begin to suffer the same diseases that Americans face and their longevity is also reduced.
Dr. Edward Howell, a pioneer in the study of enzymes worked at the Lindlahr Sanitarium for years and noted that it was impossible for people to gain weight on enzyme-rich life foods, regardless of the caloric content of the foods.
Laboratory animals raised on live food live almost 30 percent longer than their counterparts raised on cooked food. Imagine the possibilities if this holds true for human beings? Research has proved that you have far greater quantities of enzymes available in your youth than in your senior years. Why is it that teenagers seem to be able to eat almost anything they want without gaining weight, and without digestive problems, while those in their senior years have to be very careful of their diet and suffer from all sorts of digestive complaints? The difference is that teenagers have a full enzyme bank account and the older we get, especially after years of eating the standard American diet of cooked and processed foods, the more difficulty we have with digestion and assimilation.
The good news is that you can help your body retain its enzyme bank account and assist it in the digestion of the cooked food you eat by adding enzymes to your diet in the form of enzyme supplements. There are many full spectrum enzyme products available at health food stores and on-line. These products can be a boon to our health and longevity.
References:
Bragg, Paul and Patricia, N.D., Ph.D., Bragg Healthy Lifestyle: Vital Living to 120. Santa Barbara, CA: Health Science,
Diamond, Harvey, and Diamond, Marilyn. Fit For Life. New York; Warner Books, 1985.
Diamond, Marilyn, and Schnell, Donald Burton, D.C., Fitonics For Life, New York; Avon Books, 1996.
Walker, N.W.,D.Sci., Raw Vegetable Juices. New York, NY: Pyramid Publications, 1970.
(1) Santillo, Humbart. MH, N.D. Food Enzymes: The Missing Link to Radiant Health. Prescott, Arizona: Hohm Press, 1993 pp. 49-50.
(2) Gabriel Cousens. Conscious Eating, Santa Rosa, Calif.: Vision Books International, 1992, p. 341
(3) Santillo Food Enzymes: The Missing Link to Radiant Health, P. 28.