As the term implies, digestive enzymes are important for optimal digestion and nutrient colon absorption. But did you know that their functions and benefits do not end there? Enzymes are necessary for most cellular functions and biological processes in our bodies system.
Enzymes - proteins composed of amino acids - are concealed by your body to catalyze functions that normally would not occur at normal body temperature, making them vital to good health and longevity.
Each organ has its own set of enzymes, and each bacteria has a different function. They act like specialized elite soldiers to cut to fit specific locks. In this analogy, the locks are organic reactions.
Types of Enzymes And Their Functions
- Digestive Enzymes, involved in digestion; the breaking down of foods into nutrients and removal of waste products. Digestive enzymes are extra-cellular, meaning they're found outside your cells.
- Metabolic Enzymes, tangled in energy production and detoxification. Metabolic enzymes are intra-cellular, meaning inside your cells, where they help the cell carry out a diversity of functions related to its imitation and replenishment.
- Food-Based Enzymes, contained in raw, uncooked, natural foods, and/or supplements. Dietary enzyme supplements are consequential either from plants or animals.
Enzymes and Coenzymes Play Important Roles in Health
As important as they are, enzymes do not also work alone. They rely on other elements to accomplish their expertise, such as certain vitamins and minerals. These elements are called coenzymes. One of the most well-known coenzymes is coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10, found in the mitochondria of your cells where it is involved in making ATP, a principal energy source.
However, while your body produces its own enzymes, this ability begins to decline as early as late 20s. The situation is deteriorating if you eat primarily processed foods, as viable enzymes are only found in fresh foods. This is yet another reason that diet has such a huge impact on disease risk, as enzyme inequity or deficiency can significantly raise your risk of cancer and auto-immune diseases.
Cancer Fighting Benefits of Pancreatic Enzymes
A large portion of our digestion occurs in your duodenum, the early part of your small intestine. Your pancreas secretes digestive liquid in response to food in your stomach. These digestive juices contain the eight distinct enzymes responsible for breaking down carbs, protein, fats, and other nutrients.
Use of Systemic Enzymes May Improve Your Health
Besides gastrointestinal enzyme supplementation, oral enzymes can be used systemically too. This requires taking enzymes on an empty stomach between meals so they can be absorbed through your gut into your veins, where your cells can use them metabolically to clear away debris and amassed metabolic buildups.
Systemic oral enzymes have been used to treat complications ranging from sports injuries to common arthritis to heart disease and deadliest cancer, particularly in European countries. But most of the research has been published in non-English language journals.
This systemic use of enzymes is still in its infancy in the U.S. Keep in mind that for enzymes to be used systemically, they must be swallowed on an empty stomach. Or else, your body will use them for processing your food, instead of being engrossed into the blood and doing their work there.
