By D.J. Dill
This article is an introduction to a series of articles relating to the powerful effects of digestive enzyme supplementation. Enzyme therapy is now being used to treat many ailments, including allergies, obesity, pancreatic hypertrophy, ulcers, infections, and candida, to name a few. This article relates mainly to the successful treatment of chronic inflammation with enzyme therapy.
Medical reports dating back to the 1930s, as well as Dr. Edward Howell’s book “Enzyme Nutrition, the Food Enzyme Concept” (1985), validate today’s discoveries. Medical practitioners are beginning to recognize the body’s special nutritional needs in cases of chronic inflammation.
Inflammation is a natural process of the body’s protective response to injury and/or excessive amounts of toxins at the site of an injury. This process usually exceeds what is necessary. The cause of chronic inflammation is the presence of an undigested food substance (usually protein) that is blocking the normal fluid exchange process at the site of an injury. To dissolve this blockage, relieve the symptoms, and increase the rate of healing, a specific enzymatic reaction must occur.
In realizing this information, one might wonder why undigested food particles are floating around in the body in the first place. The very presence of these undigested substances at the site of inflammation suggests that an incomplete digestion of food has occurred and that a deficiency of digestive enzymes exists within the body. The presence of certain enzymes in the body plays an extremely important role in maintaining proper health because no biochemical reaction in the body can occur without enzymes.
A person can swallow lots of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and protein supplements, but without enzymes, they don’t work. How do we determine whether we are getting enough enzymes in our diet? The presence of chronic inflammation, as well as other conditions like allergies, ulcers, chronic fatigue, cellulite deposits, obesity, high cholesterol, candida, dermatitis, psoriasis, raw vegetable intolerance, and a score of other symptoms, is indicative of a digestive enzyme deficiency.
The clinical nutrition research of digestive enzyme therapy using amylase, protease, cellulase, lipase, papain, and bromelain has repeatedly shown significant reductions in excess fluid accumulation (edema), redness, heat, swelling, and pain in the injured areas. The overall healing of bruises, sprains, strains, and contusions takes place in half the normal time in most cases when supplemental digestive enzymes are consumed.
The main reason enzyme deficiencies are so common is that enzymes are very heat-sensitive, even more so than vitamins. Enzymes are the first thing to be destroyed by cooking, pasteurization, canning, microwaving, or heating foods above 118 degrees Fahrenheit. The vast majority of the American diet includes eating these cooked and processed foods, as opposed to eating raw fruits and vegetables. Replacing the enzymes that were lost from cooking and processing foods is becoming recognized as a vital method of health maintenance.
As mentioned, protease, along with certain other enzymes, is being used to treat surgical and accident-related trauma involving soft tissue injuries because it digests (dissolves) the protein substances that are blocking the normal exchange of fluid at the injured area. Lipase is another enzyme needed to reduce inflammation because it increases the permeability of the cells, thus allowing the delivery of nutrients and the excretion of wastes.
Protease is also known to treat excess alkalinity in the body, as well as chronic infections, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, degenerative disc problems, bone spurs, and other related disorders such as sciatica and ligament problems. Oral supplementation of digestive enzymes plays a key role in successfully treating these disorders of the spine.
There are many enzyme formulas found in health-food stores. However, the amounts of effective enzymes are relatively low in comparison to a recent formulation by Dr. Robert Green and Paul Gaylon of Herbal Products and Development. Their food enzyme product, called Power Plus, has eleven potent enzymes along with synergistic mineral cofactors in amounts never seen before. This formula is four times more potent than any health food store product.
Power Plua Food Enzymes is a full-spectrum, high-potency, plant source. They are sold encapsulated, 200 veggie capsules, 500mg per capsule, a 33-day supply. Power Plus is 100% vegan and is free of preservatives, starch, wheat, and dairy. People with stomach, duodenal ulcers, or biliary stasis should consult a healthcare professional before taking this product.