Enzyme Therapy

Enzyme therapy refers to the use of digestive or systemic enzymes to help restore and maintain health. Enzymes, which are energized protein molecules necessary for life, catalyze and regulate nearly all biochemical reactions that occur within the human body. There are three primary groups of enzymes — metabolic, digestive and food enzymes.

Metabolic enzymes are those enzymes that catalyze various chemical reactions within the cells such as detoxification and energy production. Digestive enzymes, on the other hand, are secreted along the gastrointestinal tract to break down food so nutrients can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Human digestive enzymes include protease, amylase, lipase and pepsin. Finally, food enzymes are naturally present in all raw foods, which contain protease, amylase, lipase and cellulase to aid in the breakdown of protein, carbohydrates, fat and fiber, respectively.

Enzymes for digestion essentially come from two sources: internally from our own digestive organs (digestive enzymes) and externally from the food we eat (food enzymes). However, food enzymes are present in raw food only. Cooking or processing food at temperatures greater than 118 degrees destroys all of its enzymes, placing the entire burden for digestion on the body. The effect of this destruction of food enzymes has been largely overlooked in allopathic medicine.

The pioneering work of Dr. Edward Howell in the 1920s and 1930s led to the current practice of enzyme supplementation (enzyme therapy). His research indicated people were suffering from various chronic diseases because the energy used in digestion left little energy for important metabolic functions. His premise was if enzymes that are lost during the cooking and processing of food could be replaced, the body would be spared some of the energy-intensive process of digestion and could devote more of its resources toward maintaining health.

Today, health care practitioners in many disciplines recommend enzyme supplements and are noticing improvements in the health of their patients and, subsequently, the profitability of their practices. In fact, almost every patient could benefit from an enzyme supplement with each meal.

In his book, “Enzyme Nutrition: The Food Enzyme Concept,” Dr. Howell states: “The length of life is inversely proportional to the rate of exhaustion of the enzyme potential of an organism. The increased use of food enzymes promotes a decreased rate of exhaustion of the enzyme potential.” Dr. Howell believed the number of enzymes the body is capable of producing is finite, and their depletion leads to chronic conditions and eventually the loss of life.

Gastrointestinal problems such as heartburn, reflux and indigestion often result from improper digestion. To ease discomfort, over-the-counter and prescription remedies only mask the problem, never addressing the root cause. What’s more, the body is unable to maintain its enzyme output as it ages, which further contributes to poor digestion and insufficient nutrient absorption. Incomplete digestion also can lead to an increase in food sensitivities, allergies and other health problems.

Thankfully, vegetarian-based digestive enzyme supplements can help reduce the enzyme-producing burden placed on the body. When taken immediately before meals or snacks, enzyme supplements help to predigest foods in the upper stomach 45 minutes to 1 hour after consumption. This, in turn, can help relieve gastrointestinal problems because food is more fully digested as it moves through the digestive process. This greater state of digestion also can increase nutrient absorption; while a reduction in the metabolic stress placed on digestive organs can boost energy for immune function, maintenance and overall health.

In addition, enzymes derived from vegetarian sources are able to begin digesting food almost immediately after entering the stomach, as the enzymes are active over a broad pH in the digestive system. In the treatment of inadequate digestion, studies have demonstrated that it takes less active units of vegetarian-based digestive enzymes to provide the same results as animal-based enzymes. Also, production of vegetarian enzymes takes place in highly controlled laboratory conditions, which protects against the inclusion of hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and other environmental contaminants.

Systemic enzyme supplements, when taken between meals, support the body’s natural inflammatory processes, boost immune function and help detoxify the blood. Absorbed intact into the bloodstream, systemic enzymes appear to help restore and maintain healthy blood and tissue functions. Systemic enzyme supplements also are referred to as proteolytic, as they make use of protease enzymes that perform their work in the physiological conditions of the blood and tissues.

Proteases act differently in body tissues than they do in the digestive tract, and the amount needed for systemic activity is often much greater than that required for digestion. Systemic enzyme supplements can contain different blends of acidic, alkaline and neutral proteases.

The inflammatory process starts when the body is assaulted in some manner. This can be tissue damage due to injury, such as twisting an ankle or being cut, or invasion by a foreign assailant, such as bacteria, viruses or — according to some sources — undigested food seeping from the digestive tract into the bloodstream. Enzymes work with the body’s innate mechanisms to promote healing and allow inflammation to progress naturally. They support the production of various cytokines, activate large proteins, such as alpha-2-macroglobulins, and slow the clotting mechanism, which promotes a healthier healing response.

(SOURCE: Enzymes, Inc.)