Enzymes-Their Ultimate Task

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Enzymes-Their Ultimate Task JoAnn Guest

Jul 12, 2002 10:30 PDT

 

The Importance of Enzymes

 

The small intestines are where the most absorption of foods takes

place.

This is where the digestive system moves into high-performance,

breaking

down foods with digestive enzymes, extracting thousands of nutrients

from the foods you eat, and sending them off to the liver for

processing, which then sends them off to millions of jobs throughout

the

body.

 

The health of the small intestine is so important to your overall

health, that naturopathic doctors estimate that some 60 percent of

patients they see with previously unidentified symptoms (i.e. those

mainstream medicine could not help) are suffering underneath all

their

other symptoms, from a dysfunctional gastrointestinal system.

 

A Tour of the Small Intestine.

 

Impossible as it may seem, you have about 22 feet of small intestine

inside you with more than 2,000 square feet of surface area—that's

about

the square footage of an average two –r three bedroom house! This

relatively huge surface area is created by villi, tiny fingerlike

protrusions in the intestine s that interface between the intestines

and

the rest of the body absorbing nutrients and sending them into the

bloodstream where they are processed by the liver. When the

intestines

are damaged the villi are damaged, paving the way for poor absorption

of

foods.

 

Unlike the stomach, which has an acidic environment, the small

intestine

has an alkaline environment, created by the secretion of bicarbonate

(like baking soda) from the pancreas. The alkalinity then stimulates

the

pancreas to secrete digestive enzymes.

 

Meanwhile, the gall bladder releases bile, which aids in the

breakdown

of fats.

The liver, the gallbladder and the pancreas play an important role in

the digestion of foods, so let's take a closer look at how they work.

 

The Liver

 

The liver is the main storage organ for fat-soluble vitamins such as

A,

D and E, and it also largely responsible for ridding the body of

toxins.

It is the largest solid organ of the body and weighs about four

pounds.

 

It is an incomparable chemical plant, It can modify almost any

chemical

structure for the body to use or eliminate. It is a powerful

detoxifying

organ breaking down a variety of toxic molecules and rendering them

harmless.

 

It is also a blood reservoir and a storage organ for those fat-

soluble

vitamins, and for digested carbohydrate (glycogen), which is released

to

sustain blood sugar levels.

 

It manufactures enzymes, cholesterol, proteins, vitamin A (from

carotene) and blood coagulation factors.

One of the prime functions of the liver is to produce bile.

 

Bile contains salts that promote efficient digestion of fats by

detergent action, emulsifying fatty materials much as soap disperses

grease when you're washing dishes.

 

The Gallbladder

 

This is a sac-like storage organ about three inches long. It holds

bile,

modifies it chemically, and concentrates it tenfold. The taste or

sometimes even the smell or sight of food may be sufficient to empty

it

out.

Constituents of gallbladder fluids sometimes crystallize and form

gallstones. One of the best ways to keep your gallbladder healthy is

to

eat plenty of fiber.

 

The Pancreas

 

The Pancreas provided important enzymes to the body. This gland is

about

six inches long and is nestled into the duodenum.

 

It secretes insulin, which ushers sugar form the blood stream into

the

cells. Insulin is secreted into the blood, not the digestive tract.

The larger part of the pancreas manufactures and secretes pancreatic

juices, which contain some of the body's most important digestive

enzymes, and bicarbonate, which neutralizes stomach acid.

 

Digestive Enzymes

 

There isn't a cell in the body that functions without the help of

enzymes.

 

Enzymes are the magic ingredient that makes all of the other

ingredients

in the body work together.

 

It is estimated that enzymes are facilitating 36 million biochemical

reactions in the human body every minute. There are thousands,

perhaps

millions, of different enzymes at work, each with it's own individual

assignment.

 

 

Without the appropriate enzyme to bind to, vitamins are just so much

organic matter, minerals are just so much inorganic matter, and

matter

itself is just another molecule.

 

Enzymes regulate all living matter, plants and animals alike.

 

Take away enzymes and you no longer have something that is living.

 

Most enzymes are extremely tiny and found in very small quantities in

the body.

They work in organs, blood and tissue. The digestive enzymes,

however,

are a different story. Although you still need a microscope to see

them,

they are much larger than most other enzymes, and are present in the

digestive system in large amounts.

 

Digestive enzymes are the catalysts in digestion and absorption,

speeding up the enhancing the breakdown of foods. In one of those

small

miracles of biochemistry, the digestive enzymes cause biological

reactions in our digestive systems without themselves being changed.

 

Food only becomes useful to the body after it has been converted to

its

parts;

 

--- starches, sugars, amino acids, fats, vitamins, minerals and

thousands of other nutrients such as phytochemicals from plants.

 

Since each digestive enzyme works with a specific type of nutrient, a

shortage or absence of even a single type of enzyme can make all the

difference between health and sickness.

 

One enzyme cannot substitute for another or do another's work.

 

Identification

 

We can also look at enzymes as the guide that shows the vitamin or

mineral of fat the way into the cell.

 

Without the introduction by the enzyme, the cell might never know the

`identity' of the nutrient.

 

Some enzyme experts believe that factors such as stress,

malnutrition,

junk foods, alcohol and cigarettes destroy and thus deplete enmesh.

 

They theorize that many digestive problems and immune disorders

happen

when we are deficient in enzymes.

 

According to Ann Louise Gittlemen, author of the book, " Guess Who

Came

to Dinner; Parasites and Your Health (Avery Publishing, 1993),

 

a lack of digestive enzymes also creates an ideal breeding ground for

parasites.

 

She explains that undigested food tends to rot and ferment in the

intestines, which is the perfect environment for parasites.

 

 

 

 

JoAnn Guest

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