The Forgotten Hero
What is this hero? It is an enzyme, and the body produces over 5,000 different types of enzymes to perform countless numbers of jobs. These heroes are the workers of the body, the sparks of life that provide the means to a vibrant, healthy, and energized life.
We often, only associate enzymes with the digestion of food, but in reality, they are involved with everything.
When addressing any health issue, even weight loss, enzymes are rarely given a second thought. Yet, many have recovered from all kinds of health issues, and even from death’s door, by embracing a health protocol including specific enzyme supplementation.
3 Classes of Enzymes
There are three classes of enzymes:
-
Digestive – enzymes which digest our food, produced in the pancreas
-
Food – enzymes found in raw food
-
Metabolic – enzymes that run the body
-
Digestive enzymes are produced in the pancreas. When needed they are released to help with the digestion of food.
-
Food enzymes are found in raw food, and each food contains specific enzymes to break it down. Eating enzyme-rich food greatly helps with the digestion process, instead of putting the entire burden on the pancreas.
Digestive and food enzymes include protease for the breaking down of proteins into amino acids, amylase to break down carbohydrates into glucose, and lipase to break down fat into fatty acids.
-
Metabolic enzymes are the workers that run our organs and support the structure of tissue. All tissue and every organ have their own particular metabolic enzymes that do specific jobs, including the brain, heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, and so on.
Results of High and Low Enzyme Activity
As long as our enzyme potential and activity remain balanced and at high enough levels, we feel good and the body functions well. But when enzyme activity becomes compromised things begin to change.
Lack of enzymes in the food we eat puts a greater burden on the pancreas. In fact, when the pancreas is placed in a position to produce all necessary digestive enzymes it becomes overworked. It will rob metabolic enzymes away from their work assignments and divert them for the digestion of food whenever necessary. This can cause the pancreas to become enlarged. Personally, I wouldn’t want an enlarged heart or liver, so having an enlarged pancreas is probably not good either.
Over time, the lack of digestive enzyme activity can cause a percentage of food to be undigested. This undigested food runs the risk for proteins to putrefy, carbohydrates to ferment, and fats to go rancid. These can build up as plaque in the body and creates an acidic environment that becomes a home for bad bacteria, critters, parasites, and yeast and fungus. And where is this plaque deposited in the body: the intestinal tract, organs, brain, and arteries, to name a few of the most common areas.
When left in this state, numerous symptoms begin to show up: diminished energy, fatigue, weight gain, digestive and intestinal problems, leaky gut, allergies, autoimmune issues, arthritic conditions, aching joints, heart disease, cognitive decline, cancer, and more. It’s called toxemia, with chronic inflammation. There is no pretty destination for a person in this condition. Simply stated, the less enzyme activity in the body, the faster the body wastes away.
But on a positive note, I love the story of one gentleman who had cancer. He was on his death bed, down to around 80 pounds. Someone stepped in and began giving him enzymes, a lot of enzymes. His body responded. As he grew stronger, he was given fresh juices and continued with doses of enzymes. In 6 months, he fully recovered. Just one of many wonderful stories of people who got on an enzyme protocol to replenish enzyme levels and bodily functions.
The Minus Diet
Many years ago, Dr. Edward Howell coined a phrase, the minus diet. It described a diet with little or no enzymes in the food consumed.
We stated earlier that food enzymes are found in raw food. When food is heated, cooked, or processed all enzyme activity is killed. Thus, eating a diet minus of enzyme-rich food puts a greater burden on the pancreas, and can rob metabolic enzymes from various places in the body to help out with the digestion of food. One can only play this game so long before the body becomes enzyme deficient.
The answer is simple, eat more enzyme-rich food and begin supplementing with high quality, active enzymes.
Modern Day Diet
Over the past few decades, the interest in plant-based diets has skyrocketed. But eating plant-based doesn’t always equate to a high percentage of raw food though.
And for those of us who incorporate more raw food into our diets, we have another issue in today’s modern world. Today, organic farmers around the world are not taking care of the soil. Demand for product, time crunches, lack of manpower, and money have caused many growers to not rotate crops, not add compost back to the soil as they should, or allow the ground to lie fallow once every 7 years. As a result, organic produce can be as much as 30-80% less enzyme active than forty or fifty years ago.
If one eats the standard American diet, high in meat, dairy, cooked, and processed food, and has done this for years, their internal environment has been greatly deprived of enzymes. They will age faster and the risk of disease increases. Their bodies, and many of its functions, are likely out of balance. The sooner a body is deprived of enzyme activity, the sooner that person notices signs of aging. And never forget, undigested food can easily putrefy, ferment, and/or become rancid, and be deposited as plaque buildup.
The solution is simple. When eating any meal, including raw food, add enzymes. And when eating cooked, or processed food, take higher doses. By doing this, you are adding life back into your food and meals, and allowing the body to do its job better.
How to Repair and Heal Faster
One of the keys to repairing and healing is to have a high level of metabolic enzyme activity throughout the body.
Supplementing with a strong, active metabolic complex, in between meals on an empty stomach, supports metabolic functions throughout the body. One’s brain, heart, arteries, and all its organs do a happy dance as their enzyme labor shortage is addressed with more enzymes.
Understanding that continually supplying the body with good protein that is easily digested and assimilated, along with vitamins and minerals, allows the workers of the body to convert these materials into blood, nerves, organs, and tissue. These workers are the metabolic enzymes. Only these types of enzymes know how to structure vitamins, minerals, and proteins into the tissues of the body.
If a person’s enzyme power continually diverts its workers’ attention to digestion, a person is inviting disease. To simplify this, imagine trying to paint your entire living room with a pint of paint. You won’t be able to spread enough paint around to cover all the walls. You will lack the paint required to complete the job. The same principle applies to the enzymes in the body. If there are fewer workers in the body trying to keep up with repair, then healing becomes harder to achieve.
In addition, metabolic enzymes will go into the body and gobble up undigested proteins, carbs, and fats. In other words, go after plaque buildup. And they support the regeneration of cells.
I trust now you are developing greater respect for these unsung heroes, enzymes!
My Personal Choice
When it comes to the food I eat and the products I use, I am very particular. Actually, I’m just being proactive when it comes to my personal health, including the enzymes I choose to take. The ones I recommend and use are of the highest quality and highly active. And they contain NO binders, toxic fillers, excipients, chemicals or solvents, preservatives, heavy metals, stimulants, gluten, GMO’s, soy, lactose, microbes, fungi, artificial sweeteners, sugar, or animal derivatives.
My two favorite enzyme products, one I take with meals to assist in the breakdown and digestion of food, and the other, a metabolic enzyme complex taken in between meals on empty stomach: Click Here to Learn More and How to Order

David Cooley
Certified Health Consultant
Author
Over 34 years ago, God placed in David a passion for natural health and the prevention of disease. Today, as a certified health consultant, and for the last 34 years, he has lived a natural food lifestyle and discovered simple, key components for living a life of health and vitality.
One of the early things David realized is that disease was NOT the result of a drug deficiency. And that our dietary choices and lifestyle habits greatly affect our cellular structures and gene expression. As a result, we are either aging too fast and breaking down, or we are repairing, building up, and staying strong and fit.
David believes there is nothing more important than to live within God’s blueprint for one’s life … physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Each of us has been given specific gifts, talents, and purposes that are to be lived out on a foundation of faith in Him and His Word.
“Often our health is put on the back burner of life until an unwanted and unnecessary diagnosis or health issue arises. Then we are forced to pay attention. But how we approach those health issues determines whether we overcome them, accept and live with them, or die prematurely with them.”
To learn more about David, go to Image What Could Be.
Information and material found on this website are for informational purposes only, and not intended to provide medical or legal advice, nor should it be construed as such. In regards to any health information, it is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professionals, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information provided on this site for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information available on this site is for general informational, entertainment and educational purposes only. Products, or information, are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professionals before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, beginning any diet program or exercise program, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read on this website. The author of this site is not responsible for any adverse effects that may occur from the application of the information on this site and encourages you to make your own healthcare decisions, based on your own research and in partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.