Food Enzymes
Raw food is packaged with an abundance of all the right enzymes in the right proportions required to digest it. Raw foods contain an abundance of food enzymes which correspond to the nutritional highlights of that item. For example, dairy foods, oils, seeds and nuts, which are high in fat content, also contain high concentrations of lipase. Carbohydrates, such as grains, contain high concentrations of amylase and lesser quantities of lipase and protease. Meats are high in protease with some lipase. Fruits and vegetables contain amylase and high amounts of cellulase in order to break down plant fibers. All raw food has the correct and balanced amounts of food enzymes required for human digestion. Nature has provided these enzymes within the food in order to aid and ensure complete decomposition whether it is through human consumption or natural decay.
In a banana for example, the carbohydrate in a green banana is in the form of starch. This starch is converted, in the process of ripening at room temperature, by the amylase present in the banana. The amylase in banana works well on banana but not as well on other starches. The amylase converts the starch into sugar, this sugar is in the form of glucose, a monosaccharide. Glucose needs no further digestion and is easily assimilated by the body. This is called predigestion. When food enzymes have done their job, less digestive enzymes are needed in the digestion process and therefore more enzymes are available for metabolic processes.
The fermentation of milk into yogurt is another example of predigestion. Because yogurt is a predigested food it is easier to digest than milk. Two important things have changed in predigested foods. The food is broken down into simpler components and the enzyme content generally increases significantly, both of which require less production of endogenous enzymes and require less work for the body to digest,therefore conserving enzymes produced by the body.
Food enzymes bind with specific coenzymes in order to activate them. The coenzyme for protease is calcium, lipase requires chloride and amylase and cellulase bind with phosphorus. These coenzymes must be present in order for these food enzymes to be activated. Nature generally provides the correct and balanced proportion in order to ensure complete digestion. Since most of us cook our food, which destroys the food's enzymes, it is beneficial to supplement with digestive enzyme supplements.
