This article is going to be a bit more technical than the others, so if you haven’t had biology or physiology in a while, this will be a great refresher. It’s about enzymes and how they can help you live a longer and healthier life. Before we dive into the deep end, let’s first define what enzymes are and what they do.
Enzymes are the biomolecules responsible for catalyzing the various chemical reactions that occur throughout the body. Responsible for metabolic activities both at the chemical and biological levels, they are the body’s labor force. Enzymes help regulate metabolism, aid in digestion, help repair tissues, help fight disease, and perform thousands of little tasks that keep us living healthy and productive lives. There is just one problem. According to the Food Enzyme Concept, enzymes are in short supply.
The Food Enzyme Concept is a theory that states that we are each born with a finite amount of endogenous (meaning they are produced by the body) enzymes that are meant to last us throughout our entire lives. The length of our lives is thus determined by how fast we use up the limited enzyme supply.
The Food Enzyme Concept also states there are three types of enzymes: metabolic enzymes, which help run our bodies; digestive enzymes, which help digest our food; and food enzymes that come from raw food, which help preserve our own bodies’ enzymes. According to the Food Enzyme Concept, when eating raw food the enzymes present in the food help aid in digestion. Thus the pancreas (the organ responsible for producing enzymes) in the body has to produce significantly fewer enzymes to break down the food. The same can not be said when eating cooked food.
Unfortunately, the heat used in cooking destroys the enzymes that are already present in the food and forces the pancreas to compensate by producing more enzymes to aid in digestion. The amount of enzymes needed is also dependent on what type of food it is and also on how it was cooked. For example, fried foods need more enzymes to be broken down than steamed foods.
If your pancreas needs to constantly mobilize most of its enzymes for digestion, which is what happens if you constantly eat cooked food, then your body will have less enzymes available to use for its other metabolic activities. These include maintenance, repair, fighting disease, etc. While young, this will not be a problem since the body has not had too much wear on it and also because the supply of enzymes you have is plentiful.
However, if you keep eating enzyme devoid foods, then over time the damage adds up and signs of disease can manifest themselves. The diseases can range from chemical imbalances to the dreaded cancer. An example in support of this theory is the loss of appetite when you become afflicted with a serious disease. The loss of appetite is your body’s way of letting you know that it does not have the ability to both digest food and try to fight off disease. Thus it assigns the priority to the metabolic enzymes over the digestive enzymes.
To see how this plays out in the real world, we look to the 10 year landmark study done by Doctor Francis M. Potteger Jr and Avlin Ford. The experiment involved 900 cats (600 of which had medical histories) that were split into two groups. Both groups were exposed to the same conditions except that one group of cats was fed raw milk, raw meat, and cod liver oil, while the other group had that same milk pasteurized, that same meat but cooked, and that same cod liver oil.
The results of the study were that the raw food cats remained healthy throughout the experiment. The cats were resistant to infections, fleas, and parasites. Their furs remained healthy and shinny. They also had no changes in skeletal tissues and had no trouble giving birth or nursing their young. They had no mental disorders and a majority of them were friendly.
Meanwhile,the cooked food cats were not resistant to infections, fleas, or parasites. Some cats had unfavorable changes in skeletal tissue and a few had trouble reproducing after the third generation. Some lost fur, while others suffered from heart problems, nearsightedness, arthritis, and inflammation of the joins. They also showed more irritability than the raw food cats, and had unpredictable mental states.
Although similar studies have not been conducted in humans, the Food Enzyme Concept is solidly based on the scientific research gathered from tests done with animals. If you are interested in reading more about the Food Enzyme Concept, you can check out Dr. Edward Howell’s book, Enzyme Nutrition: The Food Enzyme Concept.
Looking back on my experience with the raw food diet, I noticed I felt more alive when I ate raw. I just had more energy and positive emotions when I ate 100% raw meals. Having returned to a 30% cooked food diet, I can definitely feel the difference. The cooked meals slow me down. I feel somewhat fatigued after I eat them. I’ve also lost some of the clarity and mental tranquility I had gained while being 100% raw. I’m not always in the Zen state anymore. Although I plan on returning to 100% raw foods some time in the future, I’m not able to eat 100% raw presently.
Having read Dr. Eward Howell’s Enzyme Nutrition, I strongly believe his theory is valid. I felt a huge difference between eating 100% raw and the Standard American Diet. I strongly believe the differences were due to the enzymes present in the live foods. By eating live foods with enzymes present in them, I depleted less of my own enzyme resources. My body had more energy and needed less rest – I felt revitalized as a result. For me, the Food Enzyme Concept Theory is as valid as Newton’s Theory of Gravity.
I have just read “Fit For Life” and they mention the importance of enzymes and Potteger’s experiment. I have to agree with you that after eating a 100% raw diet, the cooked diet seems to be missing something.
I like the way you write! Nice blog.