How Do You Know If You Need Enzymes?

Science continues to catalog new enzymes, at this time there are more than 13,000+ different enzymes known in the human body.

If you consume a food you should  be able to digest it, but if you develop gas, bloating or diarrhea or even constipation, there is a very strong possibility that your body is producing insufficient enzymes to break down those particular foods. It could be but the food has lost its naturally occurring enzymes to help you digest it. God gave us food with enzymes and if we eat it raw.Hear destroys enzymes. An Apple fresh off the tree has enzymes a baked apple does not.

Throughout my more than 53 years in the Natural Wellness field, I have heard countless people tell me that they believed they were allergic to a particular food because they had one or more of the symptoms mentioned above. Upon investigation, in the vast majority of cases, they were simply lacking the necessary enzymes to digest those foods correctly.

Generally, when someone mentions enzymes, the first thing that comes to mind for the average person is digestive enzymes. Yet there are 3 major types of enzymes.

- Digestive enzymes

- Metabolic enzymes

- Food enzymes. 

Within these 3 types of enzymes, there are nearly 13,000 different kinds of enzymes, each carrying out specific tasks for good health and function. But we’re going to stick with discussing digestive enzymes here.

The three main types of digestive enzymes commonly known to consumers are lipase for digesting fats, amylase for digesting starches and carbohydrates, and protease for digesting proteins.

Additionally, many consumers are aware of an enzyme necessary to break down one of the sugars found in dairy products. The sugar is called lactose and the enzyme to break it down is called lactase. Individuals who have problems with this are classified as being lactose intolerant. This is common in many genetic groups and extremely rare in others. Lactose intolerance is most common to the Chinese and least common to Norwegians. Why? It is because of the traditional diet of those groups given centuries of adaptation to the diet. 

Among most genetic groups, lactose intolerance is rare and true allergies to dairy are even rarer. The first intelligent step, if you suspect an allergy of any kind to any food, is to avoid that food until a doctor who specializes in allergies (an allergist) confirms the allergy or gives you the all clear.

If you’re told by your allergist that you are not allergic to a particular food and you wish to consume it, then the answer could be simple; get the digestive enzymes you need.

To keep your body functioning at its best, choose healthy foods that are low glycemic and take the best dietary supplements to make up for what may be missing in your diet.