posted by admin on Mar 7
Linda Fortune
Author of Regal: An Intimate View of One Magnificent Feline
What are enzymes?
Tip 13: Learn how to get enzymes into your diet.
Welcome back!
We will continue on with our discussion of enzymes. What are enzymes anyway and why are they so important to health?
Enzymes are those substances produced in the body or are additionally brought into the body through living foods that make life possible and maintain health. Enzymes are needed for every chemical reaction and digestive action that takes place in the body. And, this is true for humans and animals alike. Our bodies cannot utilize minerals, vitamins, or hormones without enzymes. And, as Dr. Edward Howell states in Enzyme Nutrition, enzymes are “the manual workers that build our body from proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.” We need enzymes to live and to maintain health.
With enzymes being so important for both humans and animals alike, how can we get more enzymes into our bodies as we age? It is important to understand the concept that when we are born, we have, as it were, a full ‘bank account’ of enzymes. Also, our bodies naturally continue to produce enzymes up into our late twenties as well as absorbing them from fresh vegetables and fruits. Then as we age, our bodies produce fewer and fewer enzymes. We further reduce our ‘bank account’ of enzymes in our bodies as we utilize enzymes to digest the processed foods we eat. Thus, it is paramount to replenish enzymes back into our bodies. To do that, we need to eat a selection of raw vegetables and fruits which are naturally filled with living enzymes. Fresh, raw vegetables and fruits are absolutely vital to our health.
Regarding our animal friends, if we better understand their digestive needs, we can give them foods which are most appropriate. Kymythy R. Schultze’s Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats: The Ultimate Diet is a wonderful book that addresses animal systems, what they need, and how to feed them naturally. Cats, for example, have a digestive system that is geared for raw foods. Mice and birds, of course, would be their natural source of enzymes if they have access to the outdoors. Since many of us have indoor cats and generally tend to buy processed pet foods, we need to support our felines by bringing them the best possible foods. We could either choose to make our own pet meals as suggested in Kymythy’s book which would focus on fresh and raw ingredients or we can pick those pet foods which are of high quality and natural ingredients. These need to be composed of animal products, not animal by-products, and which also include a mix of vegetables.
There is one other avenue for adding enzymes into our or our animal’s bodies. I will address this in my next blog.
Next entry: Tip 14 and Supplemental digestive enzymes.
Blessings, Linda