24 March 2011

The Keys that Unlock The Doors

Enzymes are specialized proteins that help with digestion of the foods that we eat. While we will not even try to address all of the types of proteins that our bodies use, this class of proteins help to lead us into the topic of digestion and diet that we will talk about later.

The first enzymes that your body produces are in your mouth. This enzyme, called amylase, helps in the digestion of carbohydrates. It is important to chew your food well so that the saliva and amylase in your mouth can mix well with the food that you eat to begin the digestion process. People who eat too quickly send incompletely digested food to other carbohydrate digesting enzymes lower in the digestive tract, leading to gas and discomfort after meals.

Enzymes tend to be specific for the type of food they are meant to digest (break down). They work much like a lock-and-key mechanism, where a certain type of food (protein, fat or carbohydrate) is shaped a certain way, and the enzyme has a complimentary shape on it. This catalyzes (speeds up) a chemical reaction in your body, allowing you to extract the energy from the food you eat and use the bits of the broken down food to build the body parts you need.

Different enzymes play different roles throughout your digestive tract. Some are in the stomach, where much of the protein is digested. Some are in the small intestine, where much of the fat is digested. In your large intestine, where water is re-absorbed, there are happy little friendly micro gardens who help to break down the complex carbohydrates that are not already digested, like those often found in beans and cabbage.

Most people have a complete compliment of all the enzymes they need to provide everything they require to be healthy (note the exception of essential fatty acids and essential amino acids). However, some people are missing certain enzymes, either by inheritance or by chance genetic mutation. These people must be put on special diets to avoid certain foods (or include certain foods) to be healthy. This shows how critical enzymes are to our every day health.

Another group of people who must be on special diets due to altered enzymes are those who have had surgery to some part of their digestive tract. Anyone who has had bariatric surgery knows that certain vitamins must be injected after surgery because they can no longer be extracted from their food through digestion.

Enzyme production increases in your body naturally when you are hungry, or when you smell something good, or around your normal eating time, or when something that normally stimulates you to eat happens (remember Pavlov's dogs?). Start eating, and enzyme production steps up as your body detects what sort of food you're eating. Drink too much while you're eating, and you will dilute the enzymes in your system and interfere with digestion; some people advise not to drink while you're eating. I say, drink in moderation and try to stay naturally hydrated (and don't eat bad cooking).

If you eat a balanced diet, and you have no genetic reason not to, your body will produce all the enzymes you need to stay healthy and give your body everything it needs.

As always, should you have any questions, please ask.

Always,

Dr. P.

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