Chapter Three

Enzymes are the Missing Link

Enzymes are the life force of the cell and the driving force of energy in living foods for renewal of the human body.

in writing from the publisher, VitaeLife!, a divisions of, Vitae Health, LLC.

Chapter 3

Enzymes are the Missing Link

Enzymes are the life force of the cell and the driving force of energy in living foods for renewal of the human body.

All natural foods in their living raw state have an abundance of enzymes. Therefore, you benefit the most by eating raw foods each meal to create as many enzymes as possible. But ignorantly, we kill enzymes in raw foods:

Cooking foods over 105° F destroys all enzyme activity. Use a dehydrator with an accurate thermometer that can be set at or below 105° F.
Freezing food destroys the enzymes. This is evident after you remove a frozen vegetable from the freezer and thaw it out. Notice the texture of the flesh. It is soggy and lifeless because the enzymes have been destroyed.
Too much blending or juicing at a high centrifugal force can destroy the enzymes because of the heat created by friction. When juicing, if you can use a “triturating” juicer, the enzymes can be preserved. Triturating juicers are the most expensive type of juicers, but they offer the most benefits. These juicers turn at even slower speeds or RPM’s, resulting in even less oxidation from foam and less destruction of nutrients from the heat. A triturating juicer first chops the vegetable into small pulp-like pieces then squeezes out the juice through an auger-like press separating the juice from the pulp. This process keeps most of the live enzymes in tact. Mine is called a Champion Juicer and there are many more uses to this juicer than just for juice. (See Chapter 6)
Leaving out of the fridge previously cut fruits or vegetables exposes them to oxygen and the enzymes are destroyed. You will notice the browning color. Cover it well and refrigerate leftover raw foods. Use marinates with live raw vinegars and/or lemon juice to neutralize the effects of oxidation and to extend the storage life of vegetables and fruits. When juicing raw fruit and vegetable juices, drink as soon as possible, to avoid too much oxidation. If you must store fresh juices throughout the day, be sure to cover them tightly and store them in a refrigerated environment in order to preserve as many fresh enzymes as possible. Wheatgrass juice is an exception; after wheatgrass has been pressed, it must be used immediately. Wheatgrass cannot be saved without compromising its enzyme content and its taste.

How can you know if enzymes are fresh and viable?

Here is a simple test: If the seed can sprout and grow, then all the enzymes are intact. Enzymes in such foods will leave you feeling refreshed and satisfied. These naturally building foods will first cleanse the body or system then they will build and replenish. Remember, your body does not build upon garbage; your body first wants to rid itself of the garbage then bring itself to a state where it can truly build health. This process may make you feel the cleansing reactions of the enzymes at work. Continue drinking plenty of water to dilute the toxins and allow your body to cleanse.

Enzyme reserves and depletions

There are two types of enzymes: exogenous (found in living raw foods) and endogenous (those produced in our bodies). The more exogenous enzymes we eat the less our bodies must borrow from the stomach, gall bladder, and bones. Enzymes in raw foods aid in digestion from the moment you begin chewing that first bite of food.

Nature placed enzymes in foods to aid in the digestion process, not to force the stomach to do all of the work. At birth, we inherited an enzyme reserve that can be depleted over time by our enzyme-deficient diet of overcooked, over-processed commercial fast foods. This enzyme reserve was designed to kick in when there aren’t enough live enzymes already built into the meal. Endogenous enzymes were not meant to be used at every meal. Moreover, most of us were raised without eating ample raw foods. Remember, half of everything we eat should be living and raw. But we load our systems with burgers, fries, shakes and over processed foods. Most people have depleted their stomachs’ enzyme reserves by a young age by not including any raw living foods in each of their meals. As a result, they experience painful stomach aches, cramps, diarrhea, constipation, and myriad other digestion-related ailments. This enzyme reserve can be protected if we would eat at least 50% fresh raw foods, including vegetables, fruits and sprouted foods. Enzymes that are already present in raw foods are absorbed easily into the intestines. They are then utilized in the metabolism process, preventing more enzyme depletion and providing usable energy. This energy can be used to burn excess fat, boost your tolerance for stress, and help to heal your body systemically. (See Chapter 7)

Small price, big reward

Interestingly, you can live on a cooked-food diet for many years until cellular enzyme exhaustion occurs, which weakens the immune system, creates disease, lowers energy levels, and can cause you to be overweight. Even if we can get away with it for awhile, common sense should tell us that an everyday assault of cooked foods will catch up to us. But, if you will simply begin to add raw foods to every meal, you will feel your body rewarding you with increased energy, clarity of thought and improved health…in a short period of time!

The enzymes in raw foods will digest most of the living raw food without the help of enzymes secreted by the body, and then the body can use the resulting excess energy to upkeep non-essential organ functions such as hair, skin and nails. Additionally, the master or pituitary gland, which produces its own human growth hormone, can utilize the unused enzymes to heal itself and slow down the aging process…naturally.

How enzymes work

One of the major functions of enzymes is to digest foods and break them down into small particles that can easily pass through tiny pores of the intestines and enter the bloodstream for assimilation and for the absorption of nutrients. Chewing, or mastication, is the first stage of digestion. Thus, you should chew each bite thoroughly to aid in breaking up the food and to releases the foods’ enzymes. Some people, who are advocates of eating raw foods, erroneously think that blending up the raw greens and vegetables and drinking rather than chewing them is enough. Wrong! Even if you “chew your juice,” you cannot replace the benefit of the process of grinding and tearing with your molars, which is necessary to release salivary enzymes. Nothing can take the place of chewing properly. Ultimately, juicing is appropriate for quarterly cleansing so chew, chew, and chew your food in your everyday meals! Chew it ‘til its juice!

The enzymes break down and digest the food to small enough particles to be carried through the blood to the cells of the body to build muscles, glands, nerves and new blood cells. Enzymes also attack wastes and buildups of excessive foods, breaking them down for elimination. Enzymes neutralize and release poisons in the blood and the tissues. This process keeps the immune system strong, intact and prepared for any outside invasion.

Enzymes assist in the elimination of carbon dioxide from the lungs and the formation of urea that is eliminated as waste in urine. Enzymes initiate all cellular activity. They break down toxic substances so the body can eliminate them without damaging organ systems. Enzymes can act upon a substance, change it into a usable substance--chemical or byproduct—and yet itself remain unchanged. Enzymes are the life energy of the cell. By initiating vitality in the cell first, that vitality can then be manifest throughout the entire body.

Clearly, enzymes act intelligently. When we assist our body by feeding it healthy amounts of cellular-building foods packed with enzymes, we are giving our body’s cells high quality fuel that it needs to function at an optimum level, biologically, chemically and electrically. We experience less wear and tear on our systems; our bodies can regenerate and heal, and our aging process slows down. Replenishing and storing up our enzyme reserves produces healthier, more efficient bodies. It is most noticeable in the glowing nature of the skin. Vibrant health improves attitude resulting in a radiant lifestyle, regardless of your economic status. It is possible to feel more energy and vitality consistently everyday.

The problem with aggregation

In the study of microscopy, a drop of blood is prepared on a slide then placed under a microscope. In a live blood analysis, experts have discovered that enzyme-deficient people have fewer round, full-bodied cells which are able to absorb all of the nutrients and oxygen. If the cells lose their healthy shape and are smashed together, sometimes in chains, they can absorb very little oxygen or assimilate nutrients inadequately. This is called cellular aggregation. There are three major types aggregation: lipid (or fat) aggregation, sugar aggregation and protein aggregation.

Aggregation is dangerous. As a rule, whatever food you love and cannot live without will probably be what kills you. And that food will fall into one of these three aggregation categories: too many sugars, too many fats, or too many proteins. Think back to when you were a child: What was the food that you loved to eat and didn’t stop eating? You are probably eating that same food today, and it is causing weakness at your cellular level. In microscopy, we discover the aggregations in your live blood, usually correlate with the aggregation--impaction--that is in your large intestine.

If the impaction is great enough to prevent adequate movement of waste from the large intestine--toxins, which gather behind the impaction, in liquid form—will be absorbed through the colon wall and pumped throughout the body in the bloodstream. This process will cause your body to recycle the very waste that it can’t get rid of! You crave the foods that your body can’t release. If you have struggled with cravings, this may be an answer for you, rather than believing that you have no self control. It is difficult to fight a craving that is being pumped throughout your bloodstream. Live enzymes coupled with quarterly body cleansing can remove these blockages so you don’t experience a weight plateau. (See Chapter 4-this subject will be addressed in detail in Book 2)

Fresh, live foods replete with enzymes have the capacity to break up these aggregated substances in the large intestines, and, over time, release them from the body. Quarterly body cleansing speeds up the cleansing process and stabilizes energy levels in a matter of months as opposed to years, if the body cleanses on its own. Eventually the impactions can be fully released so the fibrous waste and the poisonous toxins can be released naturally every day, rather than being recycled and reabsorbed by the body.