Guest guest Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Hello everyone, I wish everyone, especially raw-food 'gurus', would stop calling enzymes " the life force " without qualifying it. It makes us look stupid. I don't know 100% whether enzymes in food are beneficial to us or not, but that's not the issue. The issue is badly-informed pseudo-science being taken up and paraded around by people who have no way of knowing the truth of it. As a matter of fact, the vast majority of specialists in the field agree that enzymes in food are destroyed by stomach acids. This does make sense, as hydrochloric acid will break down protiens, and enzymes are protiens. And even if this weren't the case, each enzyme is specific to catalysing one chemical reaction. So why would the enzymes in our food do any good for us, as they are each specific to a certain job within the plant we're eating? If I'm just being really ignorant here, someone please tell me, but not without providing evidence and a sound logical argument. OK, now that I've said all that, I want to put it in context by saying that I've been raw for a year. I fully believe raw food has amazing health benefits, I'm experiencing them every day. So this is not against raw food. It's against the monotonous raw-food dogma that everyone spouts without question. People are likely to think we're crazy enough as it is, without discrediting ourselves in this way. Love and light, Graeme x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 I agree but you'll never get em to stop with the enzyme thing. Its like being on a bandwagon and they need something to chatter about. Even Howells book was fraud and could never produce the report he talked about in his book. I've been eating living foods for 3 years and will attest to it as well but it's just the fact that it's a better match for us (living organic organism) than the other food. But, people always want to know the why it's better. I use the race car analogy. If you own a Ferrari and me a Volkswagen bug and we're going to race. You pour coke in your gas tank and me gas in my tank.I'm going to bet everything I own on the race.heck I'm going to bet the dirt in my yard. Gotta put the proper fuel in your body. Living body.living food.end of story! Graeme [kimonokraken] Thursday, January 27, 2005 9:19 AM rawfood [Raw Food] Enzymes are not magic Hello everyone, I wish everyone, especially raw-food 'gurus', would stop calling enzymes " the life force " without qualifying it. It makes us look stupid. I don't know 100% whether enzymes in food are beneficial to us or not, but that's not the issue. The issue is badly-informed pseudo-science being taken up and paraded around by people who have no way of knowing the truth of it. As a matter of fact, the vast majority of specialists in the field agree that enzymes in food are destroyed by stomach acids. This does make sense, as hydrochloric acid will break down protiens, and enzymes are protiens. And even if this weren't the case, each enzyme is specific to catalysing one chemical reaction. So why would the enzymes in our food do any good for us, as they are each specific to a certain job within the plant we're eating? If I'm just being really ignorant here, someone please tell me, but not without providing evidence and a sound logical argument. OK, now that I've said all that, I want to put it in context by saying that I've been raw for a year. I fully believe raw food has amazing health benefits, I'm experiencing them every day. So this is not against raw food. It's against the monotonous raw-food dogma that everyone spouts without question. People are likely to think we're crazy enough as it is, without discrediting ourselves in this way. Love and light, Graeme x _____ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Hi, Please read Enzyme Nutrition by Edward Howell. That should be enough technical referenced information for ya! enzymes " the life force " without qualifying it. Mail - You care about security. So do we. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Edward Howell's book is shaky to say the least1. Nobody can find the info (reports) he talks about in his book. There is a website out there that explains all of this. Enzymes are a moot point. Just eat the food..it works! michele bustos [ixim_mbustos] Thursday, January 27, 2005 1:03 PM rawfood Re: [Raw Food] Enzymes are not magic Hi, Please read Enzyme Nutrition by Edward Howell. That should be enough technical referenced information for ya! enzymes " the life force " without qualifying it. Mail - You care about security. So do we. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 i'm an enzyme believer. i supplemented enzymes with COOKED VEGAN food *gasp!* for years and got results. I think they are the catalyst of our metabolism-the fire of our digestion. I don't have time to research more scientific ref, but if I can find something further, I will post it! Steven <rawfasting wrote: Edward Howell's book is shaky to say the least1. Nobody can find the info (reports) he talks about in his book. There is a website out there that explains all of this. Enzymes are a moot point. Just eat the food..it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Oh yeah.enzymes will surely help when your eating cooked food. michele bustos [ixim_mbustos] Thursday, January 27, 2005 8:48 PM rawfood RE: [Raw Food] Enzymes are not magic i'm an enzyme believer. i supplemented enzymes with COOKED VEGAN food *gasp!* for years and got results. I think they are the catalyst of our metabolism-the fire of our digestion. I don't have time to research more scientific ref, but if I can find something further, I will post it! Steven <rawfasting wrote: Edward Howell's book is shaky to say the least1. Nobody can find the info (reports) he talks about in his book. There is a website out there that explains all of this. Enzymes are a moot point. Just eat the food..it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Hey there Michele, The reason that enzyme supplements help with cooked food is that they are specific digestive enzymes. Enzymes that break down fats, protiens, etc. This is not the same as the enzymes in raw food. All enzymes are not the same. There are a multitude of different enzymes, and they all do their own different and very specific tasks. Now, when food is cooked the various nutrients tend to be distorted into unnatural forms, as I'm sure you know. It would be logical to assume that this makes the work of our own body's digestive enzymes more difficult, and so supplemental digestive enzymes would help. In fact by that logic they might help raw-foodists too, but are less necessary as the nutrients in raw food are in a natural, undistorted shape. Now I know that in the second paragraph I've done some speculating, so I'm happy to accept any criticism or other thoughts. Love and Light, Graeme x P.S. You are correct in saying that enzymes are the catalyst of our metabolism. In fact you are correct in a very literal scientific sense! They are biological catalysts that provide low-energy pathways for the body's many metabolic processes, thus aiding them. And CERTAIN PARTICULAR enzymes are indeed the 'fire' of our digestion, in that sense. However I haven't seen evidence that the enzymes in the food you eat have any effect on digestion at all. The only speculation I could make is that damaged cells in a living organism tend to release compounds to break themselves down for re-absorption in to the body. These compounds would likely be enzymes. If that mechanism were proved to take place during digestion, I would happily stand corrected, and we could actually base assertions about enzymes on something REAL and VERIFIABLE for a change. Haha this PS ended up longer than the rest of the post! rawfood , michele bustos <ixim_mbustos> wrote: > i'm an enzyme believer. i supplemented enzymes with COOKED VEGAN food *gasp!* for years and got results. I think they are the catalyst of our metabolism-the fire of our digestion. I don't have time to research more scientific ref, but if I can find something further, I will post it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Hi Graeme: Good point. Perhaps the answer remains discrete. E.G.: energy is conserved (by the body) by utilizing the " newly " introduced enzymes, rather than having to construct them ad hoc (which would result in a greater expenditure of chemical energy)...? In any event, it is a valid line of inquiry--one that requires more examination and discussion. tev --- Graeme <kimonokraken wrote: > > As a matter of fact, the vast majority of > specialists in the field > agree that enzymes in food are destroyed by stomach > acids. This does > make sense, as hydrochloric acid will break down > protiens, and enzymes > are protiens. And even if this weren't the case, > each enzyme is > specific to catalysing one chemical reaction. So > why would the > enzymes in our food do any good for us, as they are > each specific to a > certain job within the plant we're eating? If I'm > just being really > ignorant here, someone please tell me, but not > without providing > evidence and a sound logical argument. ===== [...there'll be love and laughter, and peace ever after, just you wait and see... ---Vera Lynn] Mail - You care about security. So do we. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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