Save Enzymes! Raw Foods Preserve these Vital Players in the Digestive Process

Chef Brooke fully understood the importance of enzymes, she was more than excited to give up the stove and oven. “Save the Enzymes!” became her battle cry. It may become yours as well when you come to understand the importance of enzymes.

The first question may be, “What exactly are food enzymes? “ Enzymes are found in all raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and act as catalysts which cause chemical reactions and help break down the foods we eat. Enzymes are essential to the body’s ability to derive nutrients through the digestive process. As soon as we put a bite of food into our mouths and start to chew, enzymes are secreted from the salivary glands to start breaking down food.

Saliva contains enzymes that break down carbohydrates (starch) into smaller molecules. This process continues along the digestive tract. In the stomach, food is broken down by a combination of acid and enzymes. In the small intestine pancreatic enzymes, and other digestive enzymes produced by the inner wall of the small intestine assist with further breakdown of food. Enzymes from the pancreas help in the digestion of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the small intestine. Without sufficient enzyme activity, the body’s capacity to digest food is vastly diminished and the body’s ability to absorb nutrients is tremendously compromised.

When we eat raw foods, we are able to take full advantage of the enzymes present in the food and our bodies are taxed less to provide additional enzymes to complete digestion. Conversely, when we eat cooked foods, enzymes are destroyed and the full burden to digest the food is placed on the body. Temperatures greater than 118 degrees destroy enzymes and render them useless. This is why years of eating a diet of cooked and processed foods leaves the body overtaxed and deficient in enzymes.

Research suggests that eating high enzyme foods is beneficial for digestion and that the body can recycle many of the enzymes in food. This means less depletion of the body’s own store of enzymes. In addition, while food provides us with energy, when we consume food that is void of enzymes, our bodies are forced to work harder to digest what we have eaten. This takes energy which could be used elsewhere in the body. When we eat raw foods, the body is not diverting as much energy to digesting food and is able to more efficiently process the food and obtain greater benefit. This manifests itself in increased energy levels, vitality and potentially slowing the aging process.

To start taking advantage of the benefits of enzymes, be conscious of incorporating as much raw food into your daily intake as possible. If it is too overwhelming to go 100% raw, find what works for you. Even if you convert to eating one meal per day raw, you will have decreased the amount of enzymes your body would have used to digest a cooked meal. Any raw fruit or vegetable is full of enzymes and is ready to eat when fully ripe. When consuming nuts and sees, soaking is recommended to activate the enzymes. So the next time you think about turning on the stove, think twice and remember to “Save the enzymes!”

You Need Good Fat to Burn Fat

Two things happened this last month that made my heart sing. When you are in the kind of business we’re in sometimes you feel as if you are forever swimming against the current. The traditional medical establishment is pretty much at odds with what we teach day in and day out. They say don’t eat fat, we say eat fat; as a matter of fact, we say eat organic butter and basically as much as you want. The list of ways we differ goes on and on.

We are constantly teaching clients to rethink their food choices and go back to the way we ate in a simpler time, before manufacturing got into the picture and big money became the FDA’s reason for pointing all of America into this direction and that, like “don’t eat saturated fat, it causes heart disease.” They neglected to tell us that the ONE study done on PURE saturated fat was on -- Yes, you guessed it -- their very own trans fat “CRISCO.” It does cause heart disease! But there were hundreds of other studies done on butter, which is NOT a purely saturated fat. Our bodies know exactly what to do with this wonderful fat. As a matter of fact, the fuel our heart uses is saturated fat! At the turn of the century there was NO -- I repeat NO -- heart disease. I could go on for hours about the horrible effects manufacturing has had on our health. I think you can tell I get a little passionate. But, let me get back to my original, heart singing story.

At the beginning of last month or thereabouts I was watching Good Morning America and one of the morning hosts was on a diet. He had been exercising and watching what he ate and as he described the food he was eating to lose weight he talked about increasing vegetables, lean meats, whole grains and his intake of good fats like butter! The other hosts all said “What!????” He said, “I know, I know, but, you need good fat to burn fat!” This said on national television. I screamed with joy.

Then last week, again on Good Morning America , a doctor was talking about diabetes and diet. I was thinking, “Here we go again.” Was I ever pleasantly surprised. She recommended a completely old school diet. Get away from all packaged foods, stay away from all artificial sweeteners! Isn’t the artificial sweetener made for the diabetic? This woman was really making a stand and on NATIONAL TELEVISION! I was so happy. My daughter was sitting next to me, we both had our jaws dropped open and we turned towards each other. We couldn’t believe that a real doctor was on national TV expressing what we talk about day in and day out. Maybe a shift is starting to happen.

We believe you should eat as close to nature as you possibly can, with the food you’re going to eat being touched by man the least amount of times possible. If you can afford to buy all organic food, that’s great. If not, here is the order of importance for buying organic for your family.

1. Butter and milk (toxins are stored in the fat)
2. Meat (best to buy grass fed, free range)
3. Vegetables and grains

The thing about spending the money on the butter, milk and meat is you can’t clean these items. A free range cow eating healthy grass will have healthy milk and butter. And they’re usually raised by healthy people, too.