Enzymes...leads to a healthier and longer lifespan.

Enzymes are protein molecules that can be joined to other non-protein substances but have the unique property of influencing the speed of chemical reactions (usually speeding them up) without actually participating in the various responses. In other words, we are talking about bio-catalysts* that mainly come from cells that do not participate in the products of the reaction they catalyze.

As protein molecules, enzymes are built from amino acids. The specific sequence of amino acids in each enzyme and the bonds between them determine the enzyme's arrangement in space and, ultimately, its action.

Mostly their role is to speed up the reactions inside the cell, lowering the activation energy of the reactants without raising the temperature. After the end of the response, they have not undergone any chemical change. Instead, they remain unchanged and can catalyze the same reaction several times. Practically, an enzyme can be used not once but many times as a catalyst. For this reason, enzymes are found inside the cell in tiny quantities.

Enzymes are among the most important active molecules in the body. Each type of enzyme can only be fully developed at specific pH values and a certain temperature. It has a unique mission since it binds to a particular substrate catalyzing specific reactions.

Enzymes play an essential role in the body's defence. They regulate the balance between activation and inhibition of the immune reactions with which the body reacts to pathogens, injuries or harmful environmental influences.

They also contribute to the acceleration of chemical reactions in the human body. They bind to molecules and modify them in specific ways. Your body requires enzymes to:

• Energy produce

• The absorption of oxygen

• Fights infections

• It reduces inflammation

• Transports nutrients to cells

• Transport of toxic waste

• It breaks down fats in the blood

• Dissolves blood clots

• It makes proper regulation of hormones

• It slows down the ageing process

• DNA replication

What affects the action of enzymes?

There are a variety of factors that affect the activity of enzymes, the most basic of which are:

• Temperature (maximum activity 30 – 45° C)

• Acidity (full effect at pH 4.5 – 8)

• The concentration of the enzyme and the reacting substrate

• Free water or Water activity (high humidity favours enzyme actions)

• Presence of activators and inhibitors (some metals such as lead and mercury prevent the movement of enzymes)

The enzymes change when the temperature exceeds 48°C, so you can understand what happens when we boil our vegetables in boiling water and at 99°C or by cooking. On the other hand, scalding and steaming is a very mild form of processing vegetables or even fruits, and in general, apart from the best preparation process, it can be applied for purposes such as inactivating enzymes, softening tissues and removing the oxygen from the intercellular spaces of the plant.

By the way, frozen vegetables and fruits go through the process of scalding, which destroys some enzymes but mainly destroys microorganisms allowing a better enzyme quality in the food and a safe preservation method through refrigeration because the action of enzymes is almost completely inhibited in frozen foods.

From the beginning of life, we are given an enzyme energy account containing two types of enzyme currencies.

• Metabolic enzymes (5000)

• Digestive enzymes (20)

The more we use this bank account for digestion, the less is left for the thousands of other tasks that metabolic enzymes must perform in our bodies, such as thinking, breathing, walking, seeing, cell life, etc. It all depends on the enzymes.

In his seminal work Enzyme Nutrition, Dr Edward Howell suggests raw food alternatives such as vegetables and fruits. We don't need to become vegetarian but add at least 30% live food, giving health and longevity.

Metabolic enzymes

These are the ones that must perform tasks in the body such as breathing, thinking, speaking, and vision and in general, they are responsible for the functioning of body systems such as brain signals, distribution of hormones, the transmission of signals through nerves, liver function, pH balancer of bases in the blood, cell life, oxygen exchange and transport and in general everything between the body and its role and these functions require the specific enzymes.

The metabolic enzymes depend on the digestive enzymes because they use the nutrients broken down by the digestive enzymes. Still, under the condition that digestion takes place under normal conditions, otherwise, problems may arise which will decisively affect the health factor, such as increased toxicity in the blood or cirrhosis in the liver, chronic muscle fatigue and, in general, many dysfunctions of organs or the entire body system such as arteries, heart, kidneys, lungs, etc.

Digestive enzymes

Start from the oral cavity in the form of saliva and continue in the stomach, pancreas, liver and intestine, which enzymes have the function of separating any food we consume into valuable components for the body. No matter how difficult food is to digest, the body will have to find a way to break it down with the help of enzymes.

Some foods are easier to break down because they contain the appropriate enzymes in their structure, so their breakdown is much easier and more harmonious for the body. Still, some foods require more energy for this conversion to occur in the correct form of use by the body. In short, what a struggle.

The food we receive is divided into three categories, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. For each category, there are also the corresponding enzymes needed to separate the food and help the body break it down, and these enzymes are:

• Protease: the enzyme that breaks down protein

• Amylase: the enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates

• Lipase: the enzyme that breaks down fat into simple free fatty acids.

In addition to digestive enzymes, the body has thousands of other enzymes to meet its needs, some of them are:

• Maltase – is also found in saliva, and it breaks down maltose into glucose. Maltose is found in foods such as potatoes, pasta and beer.

• Trypsin – found in the small intestine, breaks down proteins into amino acids.

• Chymotrypsin – breaks down whole proteins and smaller oligopeptides.

• Lactase also found in the small intestine – breaks down lactose, the sugar in milk, into glucose and galactose.

• Cellulanases, hydrolyze cellulose – used in the processing of vegetables and cereals.

• Acetylcholinesterase – breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in nerves and muscles.

• Phytase – breaks down phytic acid, a sugar found in grains and seeds, into an indigestible phosphate form, releasing phosphorus for the body.

• Pectinase – breaks down pectin, the jelly-like matrix in plant cell walls, releasing juices and nutrients.

• Xylanase – breaks down hemicellulose into xylose, a simple sugar that helps feed gut bacteria.

• B-glucanase – breaks down hemicellulose into xylose, a simple sugar that helps feed gut bacteria.

The production of cellular enzymes decreases with ageing, as a result of which their activity also decreases, especially in terms of the body's defence and some normal metabolic processes, such as digestion. The solution is to increase the consumption of plant foods and fruits as well as foods with digestive enzymes, such as:

• Papaya

• Pineapple

• Seed sprouts etc

• Kefir

• Fermented foods

Tips

Even if you don't have the time to make a salad or carry fruit, the smoothie solution is the most conventional, and the combinations are endless. Add a smoothie a day, and you won't regret it!