Raw Food and Food-borne Digestive Enzymes

Vitamin and mineral values of foods before cooking and after cooking should be as close as possible.

Enzymes are protein-based structures secreted in our body and perform catalysis. Approximately 75,000 enzymes are known, but very few have been discovered in detail. Enzymes are very important for vital activities. Each enzyme species has a key effect in different biochemical reactions.

We can say that enzymes have tasks such as energy production, oxygen absorption, infection-fighting, wound repair, fat burning, removing toxic wastes from the body and regulating hormones. Enzymes are not used in biochemical reactions, they accelerate reactions. Enzymes reduce the energy required for the reaction, and in some cases the reaction cannot take place without enzymes. However, enzymes cannot work on their own and they require vitamins and minerals to carry out their tasks, these are called “coenzymes”.
There are 3 main types of enzymes:
1-Metabolic enzymes (regulates intracellular metabolism),
2-Digestive enzymes (digestion, transportation ve absorption of nutrients)
3-Food-borne enzymes (helping digestive enzymes, especially in raw foods)
If we look at few digestive enzymes; protease: breaks down proteins, amylase: breaks down carbohydrates, lipase: breaks down fats, cellulase: breaks down cellulose, maltase: converts broken down carbohydrates as maltose into glucose, and sucrase: plays a role in the digestion of sugar types.

Let’s see how some digestive enzymes work in order. Firstly, digestion begins in the mouth. The amylase enzyme in our saliva begins to digest carbohydrates. When food pass through the stomach, the protease enzyme begins to digest proteins, and when the food passes into the small intestine, the lipase enzyme begins to digest fats. Amylase, finally, completes carbohydrate digestion. The digestion and absorption of 90% of the nutrient realize in the small intestine. There are some external factors that disrupt this beautiful system. For example, over-consumption of processed, high-sugar foods or use of large amounts of antibiotics are among the factors affecting our body’s enzyme production negatively.

Amino acids combine by forming a molecular ring and creates enzymes. The diversity of amino acids and their different chains, allow for the formation of different enzymes and their ability to function differently. The enzyme cannot function when the ring is broken for any reason.
The lack of enzymes in the body means insufficient digestion and inadequate absorption. Although this deficiency appears to be covered by enzymes from nutrients, they become inactive at an average of 48°C. In addition to heat, another factor that affects enzymes is pH. Each enzyme works at a different pH value. So they stop working properly quick.

In case of enzyme deficiency, it causes problems such as constipation, stomach gas, heartburn, bloating. Consuming and chewing raw foods can increase our use of food-borne enzymes. Sprouted seeds are the best food-borne enzyme sources. Other sources: Papaya, pineapple, mango, kiwi, grape, avocado, bee’s pollen, daily dairy products, natural extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil.

In the “raw food” lifestyle, “food dehydrator” is the only accepted cooking method. In this system, which aims to eliminate the moisture in the foods and extend the storage time, the temperature can rise up to 48°C. Even if the enzyme in the nutrients does not deteriorate, there are contradictory views about the inactivation of the enzyme by the nutrients when it comes to stomach acid. In this case, the utilization of the enzymes of the food is at a minimum level.
My opinion: If you don’t have digestive problems in the stomach and intestine organs, especially in detox periods, you can benefit from the high antioxidant properties of raw vegetables and fruits. We can use some digestive enzymes in the consumption of raw vegetables and fruits, but we think that it is not necessary to adjust our total diet accordingly unless we boil the vegetables for a long time.
The main issue is to avoid packaged foods, simple carbohydrates (bakery and sugary foods) that will reduce the production of our digestive enzymes.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/21/enzymes-special-report.aspx
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/healthy-food-the-cold-truth-about-raw-food-diets.html