Enzymes are complex protein molecules found in every cell of our bodies that facilitate specific tasks like producing energy, rebuilding cells, breaking down fats and nutrients, or exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide. "Digestive enzymes produced by the body and also found in raw fruits and vegetables like pineapples, papaya and sprouts are responsible for helping to break down food," says Eric Braverman, M.D., found of PATH Medical in New York City and author of Younger You. From the moment you smell a delicious meal, your body jumps into action, secreting enzymes (amylase, which breaks down carbohydrates and starch) into your saliva. As food moves through your body, different enzymes (protease, which helps digest proteins, lipase, which break down fat, and amylase) continue the work of digesting and preparing the food to become nutrition for your body. Maltase and sucrase, which break down food sugars; cellulose, which breaks down cellulose and lactase, which helps digest dairy products, also lend a hand.
By breaking down the food we eat into small enough bits, the enzymes allow nutrients to pass through the intestines and into the blood, where other enzymes take the nutrients and use them to build muscle, bones and blood as well as take care of other essential body functions, like respiration.
Pine Apples
But certain conditions, like lactose intolerance, have been linked to a deficiency in specific enzymes. And experts believe that our modern diet, heavy on cooked and processed foods and stimulants like caffeine and sugar, make it difficult for our digestive enzymes to do the job they're made for.
Eat your enzymes! Most of us eat cooked and processed foods at least some of the time, and processing and cooking may inactive or destroy the enzymes in our food, meaning our bodies have to create more enzymes and work harder to digest it. Adding more enzymes to our diets via the food we eat is always the best place to start. All fresh, raw fruits and vegetables contain enzymes, but papaya, pineapple and sprouts are especially potent. Adding these to your diet may help you give your digestive system a boost.
Eat Your Enzymes
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