Many people know that enzymes are important components of food. Not so many people are aware that enzymes are crucial for nearly all life processes, and their influence goes far beyond food and digestion.
But first, what are enzymes, and what do they do?
Every cell in your body gets a lot of work done, and enzymes are how they do it. Enzymes are specific types of protein that cause all of the cell’s and body’s biochemical reactions to actually happen. Everything that your body does – processing food and getting nutrients to cells, detoxification, muscle function, immune system function, healing – depends on enzymes.
Where do enzymes come from?
Enzymes are found in raw food, specifically that which isn’t heated over about 118 degrees F. Enzymes are used to produce certain kinds of food, such as the enzymes that convert milk to cheese and yogurt, and so these foods are also enzyme sources. Enzymes, mostly from food sources, can also be provided through supplementation.
What kinds of enzymes are there?
There are over 2000 kinds of enzymes in the body. There are three main categories of enzymes: metabolic, food, and digestive. Metabolic enzymes are produced by the body and run all bodily functions. Digestive enzymes are produced by the body, most notably the pancreas, and aid in digestion and absorption of nutrients. Food enzymes come from food and supplements.
Food enzymes are named for the food component that they help digest. Protease (pronounced pro-tee-ace) digests protein, lipase digests fat, lactase digests milk sugar, amylase helps to digest carbohydrate, cellulase breaks down fiber, and so on. The word ending -ase means that it’s an enzyme.
The connection between temperature and enzymes
The connection between temperature and enzyme activity has been well documented. As temperature rises, enzyme activity also rises, until it reaches a certain temperature point where activity stops.
What does this have to do with you? For one thing, body temperature has a huge influence on how well your body functions. If your thyroid gland is underactive (hypothyroidism), your body temperature will be lower than optimal, and your body’s functions proceed more slowly. A hypothyroid person will usually have low energy and will tend to be overweight, since their body doesn’t burn food for fuel as effectively.
At the other end of the temperature scale, there’s a reason you run a fever when you’re sick or fighting infection. Your body knows that your immune system can work harder and faster if your body temperature is higher. For this reason, it’s usually best not to fight a fever when you have a cold or flu, even though you won’t feel very good. However, if your fever goes too high – over 105 – that temperature can inactivate enzymes such as those that run the brain’s functioning, and that’s the main danger of an uncontrolled high temperature.
Sauna detoxification of chemicals makes use of the relationship between heat and enzymes as well. Yes, you sweat out some of the toxins, but the sauna also raises the body temperature so the body’s own detoxification systems can work more quickly.
You didn’t know all this was about enzymes, did you?
Because enzymes are so temperature sensitive, they are found in raw food – vegetables, sprouts, even meat. Heating food over about 118 degrees F will kill the enzymes. Yes, your body will make enzymes sufficient to maintain life even if you never eat salad, but your health will likely not be optimal.
When enzyme supplements are useful
If you have health challenges, you might need even more enzymes than what you can get from raw food. In these cases, enzyme supplementation would often be recommended. Such supplementation can help with digestion and absorption of nutrients that are so crucial in healing, detoxification of substances that can be impacting your health, and support for your immune system so it can fight microorganisms. In fact, enzymes can directly kill harmful microorganisms by essentially digesting them in the stomach and digestive tract.
You need more than just the enzymes themselves. Certain vitamins and minerals are cofactors or coenzymes; they help the enzymes do their jobs. You may have heard of the supplement Coenzyme Q10, Co-Q10 for short. Its job is to help enzymes work better, which in turn helps your body to work better.
When should you take enzyme supplements?
The timing of taking enzyme supplements has to do with the purpose you want them to serve. If you mostly want to optimize food digestion, take them with meals. If your focus is on helping body processes other than digestion, take them apart from food. Enzyme supplementation is an important part of CAM’s detoxification diet, and the protocol calls for taking them multiple times per day, both with and apart from food.
What kinds of supplemental enzymes should you take?
Usually a mix of enzymes is best. As with all supplements, enzyme supplements vary in quality. For best results, see a CAM practitioner to help determine what supplements, including enzymes, would be useful for you, and what types and brands of enzymes would be best for you.
