Continuing on with the substances our bodies need to sustain life, this month is about enzymes. Enzymes are sometimes call the staff of life, they are necessary for the body to function. Unfortunately in today's world of fast food restaurants and highly processed foods, enzymes are a thing of the past. Figure 1 Angiotensin-converting enzyme Recipe of the month: Paleo Cacao-Coconut Pudding for Two Ingredients 1 ripe avocado, 6 Tbsp. coconut milk 2 Tbsp. cacao powder 2 Tbsp. honey Optional: chopped walnuts, for topping Directions 1. Cut open the avocado and remove pit. Cut avocado into large chunks and place in blender. 2. Add cacao, honey and coconut milk. 3. Blend mixture, starting on low and then moving to high speed until smooth. Refrigerate pudding and serve cold. Top with chopped walnuts, if desired Know your Ingredients: Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Disodium Phosphate (For Thickening), Contains Less Than 2% Of Natural And Artificial Flavor, Salt, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate (For Thickening), Mono- And Diglycerides (Prevent Foaming), Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Artificial Color, BHA (Preservative).
enzyme [en zīm] any protein that acts as a catalyst, incr easing the rate at which a chemical re action occurs. The human body proba blycontains about 10,000 different enz ymes. At body temperature, very few biochemical reactions proceed at a sig nificant ratewithout the presence of an enzyme. Like all catalysts, an enzym e does not control the direction of the reaction; it increasesthe rates of the f orward and reverse reactions proportionally. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/enzyme sub strate 1 : an underlying layer: as a : SUBSTRATUM a b : the base on which an organism lives or over which it moves <the soil is the substrate of most plants> 2 : a substance acted upon (as by an enzyme) http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=student&va=substrate Enzymes are proteins that produce chemical changes by catalytic action, like the digestion process. Enzymes don't actually make anything happen that wouldn't eventually happen on its own; they simply speed up chemical processes as much as a million times. Enzymes help break down food and enable nutrients to be utilized by the body. they are also necessary for many other chemical processes that occur in the body. There are three basic types of enzymes produced in the body: Metabolic enzymes which catalyze, or spark, the reactions within the cells. The body s organs, tissues, and cells are run by metabolic enzymes. Without them our bodies would not work. Among their chores are helping to turn phosphorus into bone, attaching iron to our red blood cells, healing wounds, thinking, and triggering the heart beat.
Digestive enzymes break down foods, allowing their nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream and used in body functions. Digestive enzymes ensure getting the greatest possible nutritional value from foods. Food enzymes are enzymes supplied to us through the foods we eat. Nature has placed them there to aid in our digestion of foods. This way, we do not use as many of the body s "in-house" enzymes in the digestive process. Despite the presence of sufficient amounts of vitamins, minerals, water and proteins, life cannot be sustained without enzymes. So far, scientists have not been able to manufacture enzymes synthetically. All organs, tissues and cells are run by metabolic enzymes. These are the workers that build the body from proteins, carbohydrates and fats. If the body must produce sufficient amounts of enzymes for digestive functions, then production of enzymes for proper metabolic function may be slowed or lacking. Humbart Santillo, in his book Food Enzymes, quotes a Scottish medical journal that says it well: "Each of us, as with all living organisms, could be regarded as an orderly, integrated succession of enzyme reactions." Those who eat only cooked foods or do not eat sufficient amounts of raw enzyme containing foods should be supplementing with enzymes to reduce the undue strain on the supply of enzymes in their bodies. Cooking of foods over 118 can destroy the enzymes contained naturally in the food. Because enzymes are the only nutrients that can supply the body with energy needed for normal everyday processes, overuse and depletion of enzymes can impair the functioning capacity of the body making it susceptible to many deteriorative processes including cancer, obesity, cardiovascular disease and many other illnesses. As people age, the body's production of enzymes decreases, particularly the digestive enzymes. There can be many side effects of decreased amounts of enzymes including, constipation, diarrhea, reflux, indigestion just to name a few. When the digestive process slows, all the other metabolic processes are also slowed down, not only due to lack of
enzymes, but also due to the lack of nutrients made accessible to different parts of the body by the digestive process. One way of increasing the digestive enzymes is to chew your food. Chewing releases the amylase from the salivary glands starting the digestive process. Another simple way of increasing digestive enzymes is eating more raw foods. Heating foods above 118 kills the enzymes in the food, by eating the food in the raw state you will be ingesting the enzymes necessary to digest it at the same time you eat it. Often people go on pharmaceutical medications when they experience burning in the esophagus following eating. They are diagnosed with gerd, acid reflux, etc and prescribed medication to reduce the production of acid. There is a very quick simple test anyone can do at home to see if they are producing too much stomach acid or not enough. The next time you feel like you have indigestion or acid coming back up from the stomach, try taking 1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon of raw organic apple cider vinegar (glass bottle only) and chasing it with a glass of water. If your indigestion goes away you will know you have too little acid in your stomach and a way of increasing the acid to enhance digestion. If the apple cider vinegar causes an increase in discomfort, then you probably are producing too much acid. The second part of the test if this occurs is to mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda in a 8 ounce glass of water and drink it down. If you really do have too much acid, the baking soda will neutralize it. Either one of these old home remedies will enhance the digestive process without the side effects of the pharmaceutical drugs. If you still experience digestive discomfort supplementing with enzymes can help. Enzyme Source Place of Action Substance Digested Amylase Salivary glands Mouth Carbohydrates Amylase Carbohydrates
Disaccharides Carbohydrates Pepsins Stomach lining Stomach Trypsin Chromotrypsin Carbohypepidase Aminopepidase Intestinal Lining Lipase Fat Pancreatic Nucleic acid Nuclease Intestinal Nuclease Lactase Intestinal lining Nucleic acid Milk products Sucrase Sugars Maltase Sugars Know your Ingredients Answer: Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding & Pie Filling, 5.9 oz...