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What is an Enzyme?

According to the American Pocket Medical Dictionary, (Nineteenth Edition), "enzyme" is defined as an organic compound, frequently a protein, which is able to accelerate or to produce by catalytic action some change in a substrate for which it is often specific.

Humans, animals and plants are composed of cells with different activities, both inside and outside the cell membrane. All these activities need the presence of enzymes in order to function. Without enzymes, there will be no cellular activities.A cell without cellular activities is considered dead.

Enzymes, like vitamins and essential minerals, are vital to all living things. It is just like a car with an intact engine battery and a full tank of gasoline, but no engine oil. The car with such configuration cannot run if there is no engine oil for lubrication. The engine oil therefore, plays a similar important role in a functioning car as the enzymes contribute to the integrity of a living cell.

We have different enzymes in different systems. Those that are concerned with digestion are known as digestive enzymes which are secreted by special glands or mucosal cells along the digestive pathway. Their chief function is to metabolize the ingested food so that its components can be absorbed and utilized by our body. This whole process of digestion, absorption and utilization is known as "assimilation".

Food enzymes are digestive enzymes present in food or food supplements. Their sources can be animal (eg. uncooked meat) or vegetable in origin. In medical terms, digestive enzymes secreted by our digestive system inside our body are "endogenous". Those taken as food or food supplements (food enzymes) are "exogenous". Some common characteristics of these digestive enzymes are:

1. they function best at certain pH and temperature,

2. they are easily destroyed by high temperature, such as cooking and food processing, and

3. once destroyed, they must be replaced.

Digestive enzymes into four main groups:

• Carbohydrase enzymes digest carbohydrates which might be simple monosaccharides (glucose, fructose and galactose), dissaccharides (sucrose, lactose and maltose) or complex polysaccharides (starch and fibers). The end products are monosaccharides.
• Protease enzymes digest proteins which are then broken down to proteases, peptones, polypeptides, dipeptides and finally the end products, amino acids.
• Lipase enzymes digest fats, which are composed of neutral fat (triglycerides), phospholipids and cholesterols. The main end products of the digestion of fats are fatty acids and glycerides which are not water soluble. It is only with the aid of the bile acids that the majority of the fat is absorbed through the intestinal epithelial cells into the lymphatic system via the lacteals of the villi. About 10% of the fatty acids are absorbed into the portal blood and carried to the liver for further metabolism. Chylomicrons are small particles of fat formed in the blood during digestion of fat. They are covered with a protein coat which makes them hydrophilic (soluble), allowing a certain degree of suspension stability in the fluid medium (blood).
• Cellulase enzymes digest cellulose which is a complex carbohydrate forming the framework of plant structures (fibers). It plays no significant role in human beings and is not found in the endogenous secretion of the human digestive enzymes. It may be an essential enzyme in herbivorous animals.

**When a baby is born, each one is given a limited supply of digestive enzymes at birth. This supply has to last a lifetime. The faster you use up your enzyme supply, the shorter your life will be.

Your Enzyme Bank Account.

We are born with a limited supply of enzymes at birth. To put it in banker's language, each of us has a fixed amount of capital (enzymes). Our balance in the bank will depend on the number of deposits and withdrawals.

We credit our account by continuously ingesting raw food and food enzyme supplements. We debit our account by draining away our precious enzymes when we routinely consume cooked or processed foods. If the withdrawals are greater than the deposits, we eventually come to a negative balance.

Dr. Howell stated clearly in his book called Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity, "When we eat cooked, enzyme-free food, the body is forced to produce enzymes needed for digestion.

This depletes the body's limited enzyme capacity. This 'stealing' of enzymes from other parts of the body sets up a competition for enzymes among the various organ systems and tissues of the human body. The resulting metabolic dislocations may be the direct cause of ... many chronic incurable diseases."

Digestive enzymes are significant because digestion of food is impossible without them. In a young and healthy person, there may be an adequate supply of digestive enzymes to handle the whole process of digestion.

In addition to the enzymes manufactured within the body, enzymes are also obtained through foods. Raw foods are full of live enzymes, but these are highly sensitive to heat and therefore destroyed by processing and cooking. Conventional wisdom uses digestive enzymes as a replacement supplement. It also advocates the ingestion of raw fruits and vegetables which have a high content of vitamins and food enzymes.

Dr. Howell's use of Food Enzymes suggests that the supply of human enzymes is limited at birth. The faster we consume our enzymes, the shorter will be our life span. Raw food is a good source of food enzymes. Ingestion of raw food or enzyme supplements will lessen the work of our digestive system so that more energy is reserved for other metabolic activities.

Thus ingestion of Raw juices and foods, refills our depleted Enzymal bank account, and gives us a longer, healthier life. So we can say that Juicing for life is Anti-Ageing.

A kind of Nutritional therapy called The Gerson Therapy, seeks to regenerate the body to health, supporting each important metabolic requirement by flooding the body with nutrients from almost 20 pounds of organically grown fruits and vegetables daily. Most is used to make fresh raw juice, one glass every hour, 13 times per day. Raw and cooked solid foods are generously consumed as well. Oxygenation is usually more than doubled, as oxygen deficiency in the blood contributes to many degenerative diseases. The metabolism is also stimulated through the addition of thyroid, potassium and other supplements, and by avoiding heavy animal fats, excess protein, sodium and other toxins.

Degenerative diseases render the body increasingly unable to excrete waste materials adequately, commonly resulting in liver and kidney failure.

To prevent this, the Gerson Therapy uses intensive detoxification to eliminate wastes, regenerate the liver, reactivate the immune system and restore the body's essential defenses - enzyme, mineral and hormone systems.

With generous, high-quality, enzyme packed juices and raw foods full of nutrition, increased oxygen availability, detoxification, and improved metabolism, the cells - and the body - can regenerate, become healthy and prevent future illness.

Juicing is an essential component of the Gerson Therapy. To ensure reliable results, you will need to purchase an appropriate juicer. Dr. Gerson's research indicates that cancer patients must have a two- stage juicer with a separate grinder and hydraulic press. One-step juicers generally do not produce the same quality of enzyme, mineral or micronutrient content, and some patients have failed to experience results simply by using the wrong juicer. To our knowledge, the only companies which manufacture the grinder-press-type juicer are Norwalk and K & K.Centrifugal-type juicers are not recommended are not acceptable for cancer patients. They do not get the most enzymes out of the foods being processes, and leave many behind. Other non-centrifugal juicers may be used for health maintenance or non-cancer diagnoses.

The Gerson diet is naturally high in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, micro-nutrients, extremely low in sodium and fats, and rich in fluids. In the Gerson regimen, there are certain basic amounts of nutrients needed to effectively replace those that life has depleted.

To follow this regimen at home, it is recommended that you ingest the following daily:

• Thirteen glasses of fresh, raw carrot/apple and green-leaf juices prepared hourly from fresh, organic fruits and vegetables.
• Three full vegetarian meals, freshly prepared from organically grown fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A typical meal will include salad, cooked vegetables, baked potatoes, vegetable soup and juice.
• Fresh fruit and fresh fruit dessert available at all hours for snacking, in addition to the regular diet.

So you see, a proper heavy duty juicer is imperative for the type of enzymal replacement therapy as described by Gerson.

Recommended Juicers:

Welles Juicer Press: Juice pressing heals disease through regeneration of the cells. Immunity comes from the soils. Pressing vegetable juices releases the immune regenerative forces of the land.

Samson 6 in 1:
Not used as a juicer but as a grinder only; plus the Wells Juicer Press (see above). Provides more fiber, enzymes, vitamins, and trace minerals than Conventional centrifugal-type juicer. Darker, richer colored juice, Sweeter, richer, more full-bodied flavor

Omega 8001 Nutricenter:
This single gear, masticating juice extractor is an appliance that will serve all of your juicing needs and much more. The Omega Model 8001 Nutrition Center excels at all of its functions. This single gear machine turns at a slow 80 RPM's to ensure that nothing is lost through heated elements in your juice. Price: $258.95 Used with the K & K Press as listed above.

References:

Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity, Omangod Press (1980)

Enzyme Nutrition, Avery Publishing Group Inc. (1985)

Chiles, V., Canadian Self-Medication. First Edition, Canadian Pharmaceutical Association 1980.

Howell, E., Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity, Omangod Press. Page xiii, 1980

Skadhange, E., (Editor, Intestinal Absorption and Secretion, MTP Press Limited, 1984

Howell, E., Enzyme Nutrition, Avery Publishing Group Inc., 1985

Kromhout, D. et al, The Inverse Relation Between Fish Consumption and 20-Year Mortality From Coronary Heart Disease, New Engl. J. of Med. Vol, 312: 1205-1209, 1985

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