Enzyme Nutrition 101
By Garden of Life
Health Writers, Edited by Christine Dreher, CCN, CCH
 Enzymes
may be the forgotten digestive aid. Present in all live foods and
secreted by the pancreas, enzymes assist the body in breaking down
food and allowing you to properly utilize the nutrients contained in
your food. Without enzymes, your foods would be lifeless. Without
enzymes produced by the body, you couldn’t live. It’s difficult to
understate the importance of enzymes.
Digestive enzymes break down food so that our bodies
can use the nutrients contained within that food. When food is
swallowed, it moves to the stomach and then to the small intestine,
followed by the large intestine. At each step along the way, specific
enzymes break down different types of food. For example, an enzyme
designed to digest protein has no effect on starch, and an enzyme
active in the mouth may not be active in the stomach. Ideally, though,
these enzymes work together, digesting food and delivering nutrients
to cells to maintain their health.
 Most
raw foods contain the very enzymes that your body needs to digest a
particular food. Broccoli contains cellulase to help break down the
cellulose cell walls of the plant fiber. Raw dairy products contain
lactase, which can aid your body in breaking down lactose—the sugar
contained in dairy products. Those are a few of the many examples
found in nature.
It’s no secret that over the past century, our diets
have changed. Enzyme-rich raw and fermented foods, once staples in the
diet, have been largely replaced by packaged and processed foods of
convenience. Cooking, heating and processing the food we eat destroys
the enzymes contained within. The burden then falls on our body to
provide all of the enzymes necessary to maximize the nutrition of the
food you eat.
 Eating
a diet complete with raw foods is the perfect place to start.
Supplementing with
Vitamin Code Raw Vitamins and
Perfect Food Raw Green Super Food can also help provide raw
nutrients and enzymes that may be missing from your diet. Vitamin Code
formulas are uncooked, untreated, minimally processed, and contain
live enzymes and probiotics – delivering to you the ultimate in raw,
whole food nutrition. The following articles provide more information
on the value of raw foods and supplements.
“Raw is Good for Your Health, Are Your Vitamins Raw?”
“Is Your MultiVitamin Raw?”
Also, a broad spectrum, plant-based enzyme product
whenever the food you eat is not raw can also aid digestion.
OmegaZyme Ultra by Garden of Life was designed to provide for
the nutritional enzyme gap that is created by a lack of raw and
fermented foods in the diet. It contains 21 different enzymes to break
down proteins, fats, carbohydrates and even the hardest to digest
foods like dairy, nuts, seeds and beans.
There is no one “Super Enzyme.” Instead, enzymes
follow a “lock and key” model.
Different enzymes produced by the body or contained in the food will
break down specific nutrients like proteins, fats, carbohydrates and
sugars. Omega Zyme Ultra contains potent enzymes that support the
digestion of a multitude of nutrients in the gastrointestinal tract,
including:
- Protease blend of 5 proteolytic enzymes
aids digestion & utilization of dietary proteins
- Amylase digests starch
- Lipase digests fats
- Glucoamylase breaks down starch-like
carbohydrates
- Malt Diastase (maltase) digests maltose
based carbohydrates or malt found in grains
- Invertase (sucrase) is an enzyme that
breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose
- Alpha-Galactosidase helps digestion of
difficult-to-digest foods such as beans, legumes & cruciferous
vegetables
- Lactase digests the milk sugar lactose
- Cellulase digests fiber cellulose into
smaller units
- Xylanase breaks down xylose, also called
wood sugar
- Pectinase breaks down carbohydrates such
as pectin, found in the pulp of many fruits
- Hemicellulase breaks down carbohydrates
widely present in plant foods
- Phytase breaks down phytic acid present in
many difficult-to-digest grains and beans
- Beta-Glucanase breaks down bulky beta-glucan
molecules into smaller units
- Bromelain, derived from pineapple, breaks
down a broad variety of proteins
- Papain, derived from papaya, also digests
proteins into peptides and amino acids
 The
enzymes in
OmegaZyme Ultra weren’t chosen just for their ability to break
down a broad spectrum of nutrients, but also for their ability to
actually work with the body’s digestive process. Throughout the
digestive system, pH levels vary. Enzymes that can thrive in a low pH
environment are rendered helpless in a high pH environment and vice
versa. The blend of enzymes in OmegaZyme Ultra are specially
formulated to function across the full spectrum of pH levels found in
the gastrointestinal tract, enabling the enzymes to survive high
stomach acidity and be delivered to the small intestine in their
intact and biologically active form for maximum digestive benefit.
While
OmegaZyme Ultra digestive enzymes contain 21 different
enzymes, it also contains the highest levels of every important
enzyme. Enzymes are measured on several different scales by their
activity level. The comprehensive OmegaZyme Ultra formula delivers the
highest activity per serving of a broader range of enzymes available
today. Just like its name indicates, OmegaZyme Ultra is the final word
in enzyme supplementation.
Click here for more information on the OmegaZyme Ultra by Garden of
Life.
Click here for more information on the Vitamin Code Raw Vitamin
Formulas.
Click here for more information on the Perfect Food Raw by Garden of
Life.
Read the Article:
Raw Interview with Jordan Rubin,
“Raw Truth” Author
by Health Experts at Healthy Living Magazine & Christine Dreher, CCN,
CCH
The statements in this article have not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information
contained here is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent
any disease. Suggestions and ideas presented in this document are for
information only and should not be interpreted as medical advice,
meant for diagnosing illness, or for prescriptive purposes. Readers
are encouraged to consult their health care provider before beginning
any cleanse, diet, detoxification program, or any supplement regimen.
The information in this document is not to be used to replace the
services or instructions of a physician or qualified health care
practitioner. |
