Enzymes - Don’t Dine Without Them

Before you take that next bite of food, I have an important question to ask: "Are you getting enough enzymes?"

Tough question, I know. So let me help you out. Do you ever feel tired and sluggish after eating a big meal? Ever have a stomach ache? Indigestion? Constipation? If so, then you’re probably not getting a sufficient amount of enzymes.

But an enzyme deficiency is much more serious than just an upset tummy. Here, in alphabetical order, is a partial listing of illnesses and disorders attributed to a lack of enzymes in one’s diet:

Aching Feet, Acne, Allergies, Arthritis, Back Weakness, Bladder Problems, Chronic Allergies, Chronic Fatigue, Cold hands and feet, Common colds, Constipation, Cystitis, Depression, Diarrhea, Diverticulitis, Fatigue, Fungal forms, Gall Bladder Stress, Gallstones, Gingivitis, Gum Disorder, Hay Fever, Hearing Problems, Heart Problems, High Blood Pressure, Hot Flashes, Hypoglycemia, Immune Depressed Conditions, Inflammation, Insomnia, Irritable Bowel, Lipase Deficiency, Mood Swings, Neck and Shoulder aches, Parasites, PMS, Prostate Problems, Psoriasis, Sinus Infection, Skin rashes, and Urinary Weakness.

What Are Enzymes?

If you’re like most people, you haven’t a clue what enzymes are. Enzymes are highly complex protein molecules. They work together with oxygen to help us digest food. This is important because unless food is digested properly, it is not usable by the body.

Enzymes and oxygen are detroyed whenever food is cooked or highly processed. Eating cooked and/or processed foods puts a tremendous burden on your body. Instead of the necessary digestive enzymes coming directly from your food (as nature intended), your body must now call upon its stored reserves to properly digest that food. These reserves are limited. Once the body’s digestive enzymes become depleted, your body has no choice but to draw upon its reserve supply of metabolic enzymes.

So what’s the big deal? The big deal is, if these metabolic enzymes have to be used to digest your food, a series of unfortunate events are set in motion in your body’s metabolism.

First, these metabolic enzymes are now taken away from other important activities. Consequently, numerous bodily functions are disrupted. Your immune system weakens, making you more suseptable to disease. Your energy level drops. In fact, the functioning of every organ system in the body, including the brain, begins to stress out - all because enzymes have been diverted to digest food.

Bottom line, eating foods that are depleted of enzymes over-taxes you, which can ultimately lead to numerous diseases and immunity disfunctions. A diet consisting largely of processed and/or cooked foodstuffs contributes heavily to sickness and disease, not to mention premature aging and an early death!

The Benefit of Raw Food

So what’s the answer? I’m not suggesting going cold-turkey by never eating cooked foods, nor am I saying to never dine at restaurants. What I am saying is this: If the majority of your diet consists of cooked and/or processed foods and you’re not supplementing your diet with enzymes, you’re probably a heart attack waiting to happen.

Here’s the solution: Replace most of your cooked and processed foods with raw foods. The benefits of natural raw foods have been well documented. Raw foods are alive with life-enhancing phytochemicals and essential enzymes. And to be on the safe side, consider an All-Natural Whole Food Multi-Vitamin Supplement that is high in Enzymes, one that has 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins and minerals. That way, you know you’re getting the nutrients you need, plus you’re not over-taxing your body’s digestive system.

Remember: Before you take your next bite of food, "Don’t Dine Without Enzymes!"

By Tom Gruber

Tom Gruber writes on a wide range of topics and is an Independent Distributor of All-Natural Whole Food Multi-Vitamin Supplements that are high in Enzymes, containing 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins and minerals.

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I want to share some relatively new information regarding a benefit of taking probiotics: the potential impact of probiotics on diverticulitis.

Recently, there have been studies evaluating probiotics as a therapy for diverticular disease of the colon.

First, a little background information; Diverticular disease is a western world disorder of the colon or large intestines. Diverticula are outpocketing of the colon lining that protrude through the muscle wall of the colon. These developments are often the result of a diet low in fiber.

Why fiber? Fiber absorbs water, helping to make our stools larger and softer. Our western diet, lacking enough fiber, leads to smaller stools. As the colon contracts to release these stools, pressure increases on the colon wall. This increase in pressure can lead directly to the development of outpockets or sacs, prevalent primarily in the lower half of the colon (1).

As we age, the development diverticula is very common. Studies have found that by the age of 70, upwards of 60% of the population have diverticula or diverticulosis of the colon. This development generally begins after the age of 30 or 40 (1,2). 

Most people who have diverticulosis have no symptoms and are not aware they have this condition. Usually the diverticula are found during a colonoscopic exam or a barium enema x-ray.

There are, however, approximately 20% of individuals with diverticulosis who will experience an inflammatory complication called diverticulitis. This is a bacterial infection involving one or more diverticula (2).

For years it was thought that an infection occurred in a diverticulum when a plug of stool or a food particle lodged in the diverticulum. The result was inflammation of the pocket lining and an infection or an abscess developed, eventually rupturing to create a localized perforation of the colon.

Fever and pain in the lower, left abdomen can be symptomatic of acute diverticulitis. Today, a CT scan of the abdomen can usually confirm a diagnosis of diverticulitis (1,2).

Treatment of diverticulitis is dependent upon the severity of the episode. Patients are typically started on antibiotics and prescribed a restricted diet. Sometimes patients require hospitalization, IV fluids and antibiotics. In severe cases surgery may be performed.

Once an episode resolves, patients are instructed to increase the fiber in their diets and, in the past, were advised to avoid seeds, nuts and particulate foods like popcorn. Recent studies have disproved the theory that seeds can precipitate an episode of diverticulitis (3).

The new notion is with regard to the associated inflammation of the lining (colonic mucosa) that surrounds a colonic pouch or diverticulum. Colonoscopic exams have revealed this inflamed lining and biopsies disclose findings of microscopic colitis. It is believed that this low grade inflammation can progress to acute diverticulitis.

It has been proposed that the microscopic colitis around a diverticulum is due to a change in the intestinal bacteria or microflora. The alteration in the microflora results in a chronic inflammation that can lead to diverticulitis (4).

There have been several trials that have studied the benefits of adding probiotics to individuals who have had diverticulitis. The results have shown that probiotics seem to lessen recurrent episodes (4,5,6).

Further studies are being conducted to evaluate the long-term benefits of probiotics for individuals who have recurrent diverticulitis. In the meantime, it seems reasonable to add a good probiotic to a daily regimen of a high-fiber diet to prevent diverticulitis.

1) Diverticulitis: new frontiers for an old country: risk factors and pathogenesis.Korzenik JR; NDSG.J Clin Gastroenterol. 2008 Nov-Dec;42(10):1128-9.
2) Diverticular disease and diverticulitis.Sheth AA, Longo W, Floch MH.Am J Gastroenterol. 2008 Jun;103(6):1550-6. Epub 2008 May 13. Review.
3) Nut, corn, and popcorn consumption and the incidence of diverticular disease.Strate LL, Liu YL, Syngal S, Aldoori WH, Giovannucci EL.JAMA. 2008 Aug 27;300(8):907-14.
4) Probiotics and their use in diverticulitis.White JA.J Clin Gastroenterol. 2006 Aug;40 Suppl 3:S160-2. Review.
5) The effect of non-pathogenic Escheriachia coli in symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease of the colon. Rric P, Zavoral M. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2003;15:313-315
6) Mesalazine and/or Lactobacillus casei in maintaining long-term remission of symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease of the colon.Tursi A, Brandimarte G, Giorgetti GM, Elisei W.Hepatogastroenterology. 2008 May-Jun;55(84):916-20.

By: Dr. Hoberman

Lawrence J. Hoberman is board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. He currently focuses his practice in Texas on health and wellness with an emphasis on preventive medicine. 

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