This is such an important topic, someone suggested that I, at least, post it as an article, in addition to being a page on the site. So… here it is!!
Enzymes. Raw Foods. Juicing. Digesting… and who cares?
Enzymes are biologically active proteins that are required for cellular activity and metabolism. In other words, we need these proteins and without them… there would be no life, i.e. we would not exist.
There are three (3) types of enzymes:
- Metabolic Enzymes– these enzymes enable us to see, hear, breath, move, think, and feel…
- Digestive Enzymes– these enzymes (proteins) are created by the body in order to breakdown the food we eat, and turn them into useable nutrients and waste.
- Food Enzymes– these are the live enzymes that are found in raw foods. Raw foods have enough enzymes to be able to digest itself.
Who cares?
Digestive enzymes, and the food enzymes found in raw foods, enable us to digest and assimilate the foods that we eat, so that the body can absorb the nutrients and get rid of the waste.
As we age, the body can become deficient in these enzymes, hence why older people have more trouble digesting foods, often becoming constipated… and why there is that on-going, not-so-funny humor around prune juice.
When we eat foods, void of food enzymes (all cooked foods, excluding lightly steamed vegetables), the body has to work extra hard to breakdown those foods in order to absorb the nutrients and excrete the waste. In this fast food nation, where there is a fried food joint and a vending machine at every corner, we are eating foods that are not only void of enzymes, but void of nutrients, altogether (sorry, there is not one redeeming quality about that deep-fried chicken tender).
There is only so much the body can do before it starts to suffer under the pressure. A good workout regimen, although beneficial in many respects, does not makeup for a poor diet or a diet void of raw enzymes. Ex: I have seen many a toned body, suffer from premature aging and wrinkles, illness and other avoidable complaints.
Raw Foods are amazing. Not only are they rich in vitamins and minerals, but they are the ultimate package deal– they are able to digest itself. When eaten in the right combination, raw foods quickly nourish and leave the body, without requiring too much energy.
It’s like a having a personal chef that picks up the food from the grocer, prepares it, and then cleans up your kitchen for you. Is that not fantastic, or what?!
Freshly pressed vegetable and fruit juice infuses our body with nutrients. Juicing separates the enzymes, vitamins, minerals and naturally energizing sugars, from the fiber. With the fiber separated, the body does not need to “stop” to digest the juice (or slow you down, as you go about your daily activities) and instead the nutrients are flooded into the colon tissue, where it can then absorbed into the bloodstream. This blood is the same blood that visits all of the organs, so imagine all of our vital organs receiving a personal dose of nourishment.
Blenders and blended smoothies are of a different species than juicers and their juices. Blenders pulverize fruits and vegetables into a creamy substance. Juicers remove fiber. Blenders squish everything together, fiber and all– and our body must digest this.
But what about the fiber? Fiber is excellent for you, but the purpose of juice is to give the digestive system a rest and infuse our body with nutrients, without slowing it down. Digestion requires energy. Smoothies and blended soups, are wonderful “meals” but they do not offer the same benefits as freshly pressed juice.
If we focus on getting enough raw foods in our diet, and eating them in combinations that “work” with the body, not against it, indigestion will be something of the past and the body will defy what society has deemed as “aging.”
Speaking of digestion… expect articles written on M-I-L-K in the days to come… Happy MLK day.
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Diary of a Nutritionist 