Frecs

Someone asked me to review this website: enzymes and give my thoughts/opinions. They thought it might be of interest to the community so asked that I post it here. My thoughts are inserted in bold.

The length of life is inversely proportional to the rate of exhaustion of the enzyme potential of an organism. The increased use of food enzymes promotes a decreased rate of exhaustion of the enzyme potential.
Dr. Edward Howell

Sorry, but Dr. Howell is wrong. Since his day (he was born in 1898), we have learned more about enzymes and digestion and there is no scientific basis for this statement. There is no such thing as exhausting one’s “enzyme potential”. It is true that some people have a genetic inability to produce particular enzymes. Lactase is a common example. Lactase is the enzyme that helps facilitate the biochemical breakdown of lactose, the sugar in milk. Another common condition is PKU, the lack of a particular protease which results in the inability to handle certain amino acids. These are not cases of enzyme exhaustion!

Enzymes are natural protein substances found in all living things. They are involved in nearly every biochemical reaction that occurs in the body. Vitamins, minerals and hormones require enzymes in order to carry out their jobs. Without enzymes, it would be impossible for the cells and tissues to perform all their essential functions; [this is true.] if they are not present in the food, the body must make up the difference. As a result, the risk of acute and chronic disease increases dramatically. [this is not true] Each one of us and our animals is given a limited supply of bodily enzyme energy at birth. [this is not true] This supply, like the energy supply in your new battery, has to last a lifetime. The faster you use up your supply, the shorter your life. [this is not true] Throughout life we must make regular deposits to this enzyme bank account. [this is not true]

There simply is no scientific validation for Dr. Howell’s theories. Enzymes are proteins made up of the same thing every other protein is made of: amino acids. Our bodies make proteins including enzymes as required and they don’t “exhaust” some predetermined or premade storehouse.

Veterinarians and physicians around the world use enzymes. With the use of enzymes we see improvements in a wide variety of ailments..asthma, food and inhaled allergies, diarrhea, gastritis, constipation, colitis, obesity, poor weight gain, excessive shedding, arthritis, bladder problems, oily/dry hair coat, multiple skin problems and liver problems to name a few.

Well, sure, vets and doctors prescribe enzymes in cases where a patient is unable to produce their own. To suggest that enzymes are the cause of various and sundry ailments is just unscientific nonsense and the equivalent of the proverbial snake oil salesman.

Life could not exist without enzymes. True, but life could also not exist without air and water, either. There are two types of enzymes: metabolic and digestive. Digestive enzymes convert the food we eat into chemical structures [no, they assist in those processes] that can pass through the cell membranes of the cells lining the digestive tract and into the bloodstream. Food must be digested so that it can ultimately pass through the cell membranes. Lipase is a fat-digesting enzyme, helping to reduce fats into fatty acids. Amylase helps change carbohydrates (grains) into simple sugars, Protease converts protein into amino acids and Lactase handles the dairy products. True. Hundreds of metabolic enzymes aid in converting the prepared food into new muscle, flesh, bone, nerves and glands. Working with the liver they help store excess food for future energy and building needs. They also assist the kidneys, lungs, liver, skin and colon in their important eliminative tasks. Certainly true. Enzymes play critical roles in many many biological processes. The pancreas is the biggest factory devoted to turning out digestive enzymes. The pancreas receives enzyme precursors from body cells or the bloodstream and supplies the finishing touches. How often have we heard of dogs with pancreatitis? Could this be a lack of enzymes? NO! That is such a giant leap and simply not based on current scientific information. In fact, pancreatitis is caused first by consumption of excessive fat. Then, an immune response takes over and gets out of hand. Thus, the digestive/dietary deficiency is more likely probiotics than enzymes. Probiotics is the term used to cover all gut flora—those microbes that inhabit the digestive tract. The beneficial ones play many important roles including a critical part in the functioning of our immune system. Antibiotics indiscriminately kill gut flora—the good with the bad.

Changing metabolic enzymes into digestive enzymes means extra work for the pancreas, but when it confiscates metabolic enzymes it punishes the whole body by depriving it of the mechanics every organ and cell needs to carry on their processes and functions. Nonsense.

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