When it comes to gut health, everyone knows how important prebiotics and probiotics are. What about enzymes, though? Why are they so little talked about? Their importance has always been greatly underestimated.
Enzymes is a term you've probably heard of, but not everyone understands how important they are to the body.
Why are enzymes so important to us?
Our biological life depends on enzymes. Without enzymes we can't digest food or breathe, without them our heart won't contract once, our brain's thought processes won't work. Enzymes are involved in pregnancy and childbirth, reduce inflammation, improve the immune system, and are involved in DNA synthesis and intracellular digestion. We are made up of cells, each of which is alive 24 hours a day thanks to enzymes. It's fair to say that our lives are driven by enzymatic reactions.
How do enzymes work?
Enzymes are protein structures made up of chains of amino acids. They are involved in breaking down what is needed and destroying what is not. Each enzyme, like a key, opens only its own lock.
There are three main categories of enzymes.
Metabolic enzymes
There are about 1,300 different enzymes in each cell of the body that help us see, hear, breathe, and move… Metabolic enzymes need vitamins and minerals to function optimally, so it's important that the body is not deficient to maintain balance. And this is where nutrition plays a crucial role.
Digestive enzymes
When we eat a certain food, we have to convert it into a form available to our body. And enzymes act as catalysts in this process. Different groups of enzymes work at each stage of digestion.
Let's take a look at the main ones:
- Amylase: breaks down complex carbohydrates to simple sugars. It is produced by the salivary gland. Thanks to her, in the oral cavity begins the primary process of fermentation, the breakdown of food. Therefore, proper digestion begins with a thorough chewing of food.
The longer you chew, the longer your life will be!
- Protease: is responsible for breaking down proteins and is produced by the stomach, pancreas and intestines. The ability of this group of enzymes to break down proteins that cause inflammation has attracted particular medical attention. In addition, protease plays a role in many processes, including cell division, blood clotting and the immune system.
- Lipase: is synthesized by the pancreas for the duodenum and small intestine, where it breaks down fats to glycerol and higher fatty acids. When lipase is deficient, fats are not completely broken down and reach the large intestine in the form of large droplets, causing irritation of its walls, irritable bowel syndrome is formed.
Food enzymes
These enzymes help the digestive process and must come from natural sources: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, germs, plants. If these are cooked above 40 degrees, the enzymes are inactivated, as they are most sensitive to high temperatures.
Each of us has inherited from our parents an optimal level of enzymes before the age of 20, which continually decreases with each passing year. Studies show that a 70-year-old person has 30 times fewer digestive enzymes than a 30-year-old.
This explains the fact that older people are increasingly experiencing digestive problems, and thus many other ailments, which is a consequence of the fact that the human body is a single entity and our organs are interconnected and interdependent. Moreover, non-recommended food combinations impede digestion and overload the body's enzyme resources. In this sense, eating foods rich in enzymes can greatly improve digestion in many people.
To find out whichplant foods are the most enzyme-rich and which, on the contrary, impair fermentation, keep an eye on my next articles.
Take care of your Gut Heroes, that is, take care of your health!