Digestive Enzymes....

[kbpaul]

What do you know about them? Have you ever taken them? What kind of results did you get?
Thx......Paul

[RezH]

Not sure what you mean by "results". Digestive enzymes are normally used if you have problems digesting certain kinds of food, i.e. milk. I take one before my evening meal. Keeps you from getting indigestion.

[sicklameandlazy]

A lot of benefits in terms of being able to digest and absorb your food better and get more nutrition. Check out "Garden of life Primal Defense ultra probiotics".

[kbpaul]

RezH, The reason i was asking about results was because i was talking with a co-worker who claims after a couple of weeks of taking digestive enzymes, his lower stomach looked less bloated and more flat.

[Semonides]

unlike the other contributors to the thread, I tried them for a month and did not see any change.

For me, if I eat processed food, then I get some bloat. My solution: do not eat crap and save the $40.

Also, self-diagnosing is a no-win situation. The sweet creator gave us all the enzymes we need. If your enzymes are not working, you should go to a doctor and get some definite accessments of your problems. Otherwise you are just popping some expensive pills, hoping for the best, and then subjectively eye-balling your stomach and saying I "think" my stomach looks flater, or I "seem" to be less bloated.

[Secrets Of Longevity]

If you're eating mostly cooked foods, enzymes are a must. All raw foods contain roughly 50% of the enzymes in them to digest them (this helps the food break down in the wild if it is not eaten). If you cook a food (heating it over 105-118 degrees Fahrenheit) you destroy all the enzymes in it. Your body now has to use metabolic enzymes from it's reserves and turn them into digestive enzymes to break down the food. Metabolic enzymes are used by your body for virtually every bodily process known. There is a limited supply of these and when they are used up... you die.

If you instead consume a certain portion, or all of your food raw, you saving taxing your body a great deal. Raw food digests much easier (when you've conditioned yourself to it) and provides enzymes for your body to digest with, thus saving some of your metabolic enzymes for other uses, such as living a long and healthy life!

Supplemental enzymes are one of the most underestimated supplements. Check out "Enzyme Nutrition" by Dr. Howell for more info.

[mc]

Originally Posted by Secrets Of Longevity

If you're eating mostly cooked foods, enzymes are a must. .

er
based on what?

a lot of times cooked foods are way more easy to get far more of the value of the nutrients from the food - not only cooked but mashed. Carrots are an example.

So if you have a source or so to support this claim, i'd be keen to read it. by sources i mean research sources.


thanks

mc

[Hidden Dragon]

Originally Posted by Secrets Of Longevity

Your body now has to use metabolic enzymes from it's reserves and turn them into digestive enzymes to break down the food. Metabolic enzymes are used by your body for virtually every bodily process known. There is a limited supply of these and when they are used up... you die.

Maybe learning a bit more will help you...

You make enzymes from protein, your body is constantly making them, you don't run out, you don't have a limited amount, your body makes what it needs.

That said, eating large cooked meals does stress your body to make lots of digestive enzymes. Eating a salad and then your meal is a great way to get enzymes before your cooked meal without pills.

[Secrets Of Longevity]

Obviously plenty of people eat cooked food without supplemental enzymes and are doing OK, perhaps "a must" is not the right wording. I am assuming people are looking for maximum health and strength results in these forums so the word "must" was in reference to achieving the optimal results.

The pioneering work of Dr. Edward Howell demonstrated the role enzymes play in the diet. Yes, the body makes enzymes out of proteins but that in and of itself requires enzyme activity. On average, in the long run enzyme activity in the body reduces with age unless there is supplementation through raw foods or some other natural supplement. Here are parts of his book. This is what is understood and taught by the top health centers in the world such as the Hippocrates Health Inst. and the Tree Of Life Inst.

Enzyme supplementation is a debated issue in the world of nutrition, but I personally choose to listen to the groups that have the most success in treating diseases as well as helping athlete's attain peak performance. My own personal experience in seeing the changes my own live blood cell analysis had over the course of a 3 week period was astounding. Undigested proteins and other food particles were cleared up from supplemental enzymes as well as a raw food diet.

I think engaging engaging in the topic of raw food is going off topic however (in response to the comment about cooked or mashed food).

[mc]

Pioneering about Howell may be right, but that's pretty dated work to base assertions about food needs. A lot has happened in the 30 years since he published on this topic.

TO bring us up to date, here's a recent discussion of many popular Howell based claims around digestive enzyme supplementation at b2d.

food for thought,
mc