Pine Apples

Most raw food, like our bodies, is very perishable. When raw foods are exposed to temperatures above 116 degrees, they start to rapidly break down, just as our bodies would if we had a fever that high. One of the constituents of foods which can break down are enzymes. Enzymes help us digest our food. Enzymes are proteins though, and they have a very specific 3-dimensional structure in space. Once they are heated much above 118 degrees, this structure can change.

Once enzymes are exposed to heat, they are no longer able to provide the function for which they were designed. Cooked foods contribute to chronic illness, because their enzyme content is damaged and thus requires us to make our own enzymes to process the food. The digestion of cooked food uses valuable metabolic enzymes in order to help digest your food. Digestion of cooked food demands much more energy than the digestion of raw food. In general, raw food is much more easily digested that it passes through the digestive tract in 1/2 to 1/3 of the time it takes for cooked food.

Eating enzyme-dead foods places a burden on your pancreas and other organs and overworks them, which eventually exhausts these organs. Many people gradually impair their pancreas and progressively lose the ability to digest their food after a lifetime of ingesting processed foods.

Lack of digestive enzymes can be a factor in food allergies. Symptoms of digestive enzymes depletion are bloating, belching, gas, bowel disorders, abdominal cramping, heartburn and food allergies.

Digestive enzymes are proteins specially tailored to break down foods into nutrients that your body can then readily digest. The human body produces some 22 different digestive enzymes. Many more are found in the fruits, vegetables, meats, grains, and other foods.

When you eat a meal, digestive enzymes that are released from your salivary glands, stomach, and small intestine immediately get to work to speed up the digestive process. Each enzyme acts on a specific type of food.

Bromelain

Derived from the stems of pineapple, it is known for its healing and anti-inflammatory properties. This natural digestive enzyme may also be helpful as a diet aid. Pineapples have had a long tradition as a medicinal plant among the natives of South and Central America.

DGL (Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice Root)

A natural antacid, where the glycirrhizinic acid component of the root has been removed. DGL may stimulate our bodies defense mechanisms resulting in improved quality of mucous, lengthening of intestinal cell life and enhanced microcirculation in the gastrointestinal lining.

Papaya

A tropical fruit containing active enzymes that help improve digestive and metabolic functions. Derived from the fruit, inner bark and stems, Papaya Enzymes contain a high concentration of papain, a protein-digesting enzyme that quickly metabolizes the protein in foods.

About The Author
Chester Ku-Lea is a health nutrition consultant and is the owner of www.AstroNutrition.com - a provider of premium health nutrition and sports supplements.

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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.

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