Enzymes are present in every cell of every living entity, from simple single cellular organisms to highly complex multi-cellular organisms, including human beings. For most people under the age of 25, enzymes are efficiently produced by the body to maintain optimal health. As we age, our body's production of enzymes decreases. This reduction of enzyme levels may reduce the efficiency of our normal body functions. Enzymes are a critical element of our daily lives. They perform functions ranging from assisting in digesting the food we eat, to providing therapeutic agents that contribute to the care of our health!
Enzyme Therapy is utilizing enzyme supplementation to increase the enzymes throughout your body, to assist in restoring the body to health. The benefits of enzymes can be seen and felt in many different ways. Many people use enzyme supplements for joint pain relief, fibromyalgia, uterine fibroids and circulatory health...while digestive enzymes can be used to break down food nutrients, as a gas or bloating remedy, and much more!
Enzymes can perform these functions because they are:
Proteins: Enzymes, like other proteins, consist of long chains of amino acids held together by peptide bonds. Enzymes perform the vital function of controlling the metabolic processes in which nutrients are converted into energy and fresh cell material. For example, in the digestive tract, enzymes like pepsin, trypsin, lipase, and amylase break down food compounds into simpler compounds that are then converted into energy for the body.
Specific: Each enzyme catalyzes a specific chemical reaction. Essentially, each enzyme breaks down or synthesizes one particular compound, or can even be limited to specific bonds in the compound they react in. For example, pectinase can only degrade pectin, not starch or cellulose.
Bio-Catalysts: Enzymes are substances that accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed in the process. Industrial enzymes are most frequently applied to biochemical reactions in which high molecular weight substances, like starches, proteins, celluloses, etc., require hydrolytic decomposition. In nature, enzymes control the build-up and decomposition of essential matter in vegetable and animal organisms.
Efficient: Enzymes are efficient catalysts. For instance, one catalase enzyme molecule can catalyze the breakdown of five million molecules of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen in just one minute. The enzyme catalase is found in the liver and red blood cells in large quantities.
MAJOR TYPES OF ENZYMES
What is a digestive enzyme? Digestive enzymes breaks down the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in food during the digestive process allowing the body to better utilize the food you eat.
What is a proteolytic enzyme? The proteolytic enzyme digests protein, and prepares it for absorption. Some examples of proteolytic enzymes are protease, serrapeptase, bromelain, and papain.
What is a lipase enzyme? Lipase enzymes digest fat.
What is an amylase enzyme? Amylase enzymes digest carbohydrates.
Hear how systemic enzymes work throughout your body to help make a healthier you!
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MAJOR SOURCES OF ENZYMES
Plant Enzymes: These enzymes are derived from a variety of plants and are effective within a broad pH range. Papain, bromelain, ficin have predominantly proteolytic activity, but amylolytic enzymes of cereals, soybean lipoxygenase, and specialized enzymes from citrus fruits also fall in this category.
Animal Enzymes: Derived from animal glands, this category includes the pancreatic enzymes, trypsin, lipase, rennet, and other enzymes like pepsin. These enzymes are actively limited to a very narrow pH range, are very specific in action, and may have a delayed effect.
Microbial Enzymes: These fungal and bacterial enzymes are derived from microorganisms through a process of fermentation. Enzymes amylase, diastase, etc., begin working immediately under broad pH range.
Approximately eighty percent of all industrial enzymes are hydrolic in nature and used for depolymerization (the breaking down of complex molecules into simpler molecules) of natural substances. Of these enzymes, sixty percent are proteolytic enzymes used by the detergent, dairy and leather industries. Thirty percent are carbohydrases used in the baking, distilling, brewing, starch, and textile industries. This leaves lipases and highly specialized enzymes for use in pharmaceutical, analytical, and developmental industries.
ENZYME SELECTION
Generally, the following factors are considered when selecting an enzyme for a particular process:
Specificity: It is of prime importance to understand that enzymes are very specific in their action, which depends upon the source and type of enzyme. One enzyme can act on many molecules but on only one specific substrate to give one particular result. This can be an advantage used to obtain precise reaction products.
pH: Each enzyme type has an optimal pH range in which it is most effective. A broader pH range provides a greater margin to operate within. A narrow pH range is useful when a very specific action is required.
Temperature: In enzyme processes, the general rule is that the temperature quotient is between 1.8 and 2.0. The reaction rate generally increases or decreases by this order for each shift of 10°C. By using high temperatures, the reaction may be of short duration and hygienic conditions may be maintained more easily. The enzyme's performance increases with a rise in temperature until heat inactivation takes place.
ENZYME SIDE EFFECTS
Enzymes use a lock and key mechanism to emulsify and release dead, dying and toxic materials from the body. When this process takes place, the only way to cleanse the body is to release this debris back into the bloodstream so that it may be processed by the liver and kidneys, and then finally released through urination or a bowel movement.
We refer to this process as Enzymatic Detoxification, which can sometimes be uncomfortable. Symptoms such as headache, fatigue, upset stomach and diarrhea may occur. If at any point you start to feel ill, you may be detoxifying too quickly. Decreasing your usage for a more gradual and comfortable detoxification period is therefore recommended.
It may take several days to completely cleanse the body of unwanted debris. We recommend drinking plenty of water during detoxification to allow the body to dilute the toxins that are being expelled. Enzymatic detoxification is only temporary, and in some of the most extreme cases will not last for more than a period of 14 days.
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