Its all about enzymes!
Enzymes are organic compounds that I like to call our body’s spark plugs.
Enzymes help us digest our food and fight off disease.
Our immune system relies on enzymes to function.
Enzymes can, and do become depleted.
In fact, when we’re deficient in enzymes to help break down our food, our body can actually rob the immune system of enzymes to aid in the digestive process.
That means that eating enzyme-depleted food puts a huge burden on our digestive organs and it can lead to a weakened immune system and allergies.
Some of the symptoms of enzyme deficiency are gas, bloating, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, allergies, catching everything that goes by…
How are enzymes destroyed?
Cooking, heat treating, pasteurization, milling, refining, canning, irradiation, adding chemicals such as preservatives, flavoring agents, artificial colors, pesticides, herbicides… all severely deplete or inhibit enzyme activity.
For example, seeds that have been cooked or boiled will never sprout. That’s because the enzymes have been destroyed.
The solution:
1) Chew your food.
We naturally have enzymes present in our saliva. Careful chewing makes good use of these enzymes and helps lighten the load on digestion.
2) Incorporate a little more raw food
Make sure you have a little bit of raw with every meal. I’m not saying that you need to eat salad all day every day. Just consider a small raw garnish, side salad, or have a piece of (alive) fresh fruit instead of that (dead) cookie.
3) Incorporate fermented foods
Fermentation is a natural method of preservation that brings along a lot of enzymes,
Kefir, a fermented milk, is considered to be one of the richest sources of enzymes.
Some other examples of fermented foods are good quality yogurt, sauerkraut, raw apple cider vinegar, kimchi, miso, kombucha…
4) Get more sprouts into your diet
A little goes a long way. Throw some sprouts into your salads, on sandwiches or into smoothies
5) Select raw, unpasteurized honey
6) Select raw unpasteurized dairy whenever possible
Many clients that cannot tolerate conventional cow dairy, do fine with cow cheese that is made with raw milk.
7) Consider supplementing with plant enzymes if you struggle with digestion.
You’ll want to look for ingredients such as protease, amylase and lipase on the ingredient list. Your local health food store will be able to help you.
There are no magic bullets or quick fixes when it comes to healthy weight management or prevention. It’s all of the little changes that add up.
Reach out if you’re ready to take the reins.