Enzyme Rich Superfoods
What exactly are enzymes and what do they do for your health? This expert breaks down the basics and then gives some pointers on enzyme-rich foods and how they can help improve your health!
Enzyme Rich Foods: The Breakdown
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word, enzyme? For some, enzymes are just one of the many components your body needs to function properly.
However, enzymes are more than just a “tool.” In fact, they are crucial to your health.
Here are important things you should know about enzymes and what they can do to your health.
What are Enzymes?
Enzymes are complex proteins causing specific chemical changes in your body. They are composed of amino acids and secreted by your body to help in all body functions. In fact, enzymes are in every cell and every organ in your body, including:
- Intestinal fluids
- Blood
- Mouth, particularly saliva
- Stomach
How Enzymes Are Classified?
Since there are 3,000 identified enzymes and 50,000 more waiting for their discovery, experts classified enzymes into three basic categories.
- Digestive – this type of enzyme breaks down food into smaller parts and is absorbed, transported, and used by every cell in your body. They are also extra-cellular or found outside the cells.
- Metabolic – this type of enzyme helps the cell carry out various functions related to replenishment and reproduction. They are intra-cellular or found inside the cells.
- Food-based – this type of enzyme comes from food. Examples of high-enzyme foods are kimchi, apricots, avocados, bananas, and pineapple. In pineapple, you can already get the bromelain enzyme.
Why Are Enzymes Necessary to your Body?
You already know that your body needs an ample supply of enzymes to function properly. The question is how?
- To produce energy
- To fight infection and aid in wound healing
- To bring nutrients to the cells for proper function
- To reduce inflammation
- To ensure proper regulation of hormones
- To break down fats in the blood, thereby regulating cholesterol levels
- To slow down the aging process
- To dissolve clots in the blood
Enzyme Deficiency Results
Do you often experience tummy trouble?
The milk tea you had in the morning or the sandwich you ate for lunch could be the culprit for your tummy ache. However, tummy trouble goes beyond the food. Believe it or not, insufficient enzyme production is one of the root causes of digestion issues.
Diets consisting of processed, sugary, and cooked foods, combined with the overuse of pharmaceutical drugs deplete your body’s ability to create enzymes proper for digestion.
Enzyme deficiency leads to poor nutrient absorption and poor digestion. If left untreated, this results in gastrointestinal conditions such as:
- Bloating
- Cramping
- Constipation
- Acid reflux
- Heartburn
- Flatulence and belching
Aside from digestive enzymes, lack or limited metabolic enzymes could also affect the way your body functions. Your blood needs metabolic enzymes to break down protein-based foreign bodies, which cleanses your blood.
Cleansed blood helps against chronic inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.
The function of Digestive Enzymes
One of the crucial enzymes your body needs is digestive enzymes. Digestive enzymes break down food ingredients and convert them into usable nutrients.
- Amylase – to digest carbohydrates
- Cellulase – to break down fiber
- Lactase – to digest milk sugar or lactose in dairy products
- Lipase – to digest fat
- Maltase – to convert complex sugar from grains into glucose
- Phytase – to help with overall digestion
- Protease – to digest protein
- Sucrase – to digest sugar
Aside from breaking down food and ensuring that your body gets enough supply of nutrients, digestive enzymes like the bromelain enzymes are also vital for proper immune support. The immune system starts at the gut.
The functional digestive enzymes are, the better your immune system will be.
Enzyme Rich Foods to Boost Enzyme Levels Naturally
Enzymes are important and needed by your body. To ensure that you are getting enough enzymes, here are some of the tricks you can do:
- Increase intake of raw enzyme-rich foods. Consequently, don’t heat the food more than 118 degrees Fahrenheit to keep the nutrients intact.
- Go for high enzyme-rich foods such as avocado, raw honey, banana, papaya, kiwi, mango, coconut oil, and grapes. Adding pineapples to your meals is another way to boost enzymes because of their bromelain enzyme content.
- Chew your food carefully and thoroughly.
- Avoid chewing gum. This sends a message to your body to pump digestive enzymes, thereby wasting those resources when your body needs them.
- Reduce physical and environmental stress.
- Use antibiotics and other prescription medications only when necessary and required by your doctor.
Wrap-Up
The bottom line is enzymes play a vital role in your body.
Stick to raw, fresh, and organic food and stick to a healthier lifestyle to encourage enzymes in your body.
- The Best Digestive Enzyme-Rich Foods & Their Benefits - November 30, 2015