For over 20 years, I have studied metaphysics, nutrition, herbal remedies, alternative therapies and psychology, but like so many other people, I did not consistently apply this knowledge to my own life. I was like the cobbler's son who had no shoes.
Then in 1990, I had an accident that left me in a cast for almost a year. For the first time in my life, I was helpless-under the total control of the medical profession. Throughout my treatment, I literally had more than 1000 X-rays and was given very potent painkiller and cortisone injections. I suffered pain-induced depressions and was given anti-depressants, which did nothing.
At this point I was fed-up; Except for the benefits of the cast, nothing worked. I decided to follow that had been in front of me all along: alternative-healing therapies. I formulated my own herbal remedies that worked on pain. I began meditating, used color and aroma therapies and various electric devices (such as a T.E.N.S. machine). I finally began to heal.
Already a vegetarian, I had heard of the benefit of a raw food diet. I took classes and, once again, began to research this field. The benefits of a raw food diet are derived from the enzymes they contain. We need enzymes to sustain quality life. When we cook about 115 degrees, 100% of the enzymes are killed.
After I was adopting this raw food diet for a week, something amazing began to happen. My energy level went up, mental clarity developed, I lost weight, chronic fatigue disappeared and my depression was a thing of the past. I felt as if I had been released from prison!
However, the rigor of eating a raw food diet became too much, and I slowly slipped back into my old habits. Then I was introduced to enzyme supplements. Bingo! I found what I was missing! After just two months on these enzyme supplements, I began to have benefits that I described above.
What are enzymes? They are protein molecules that have specific jobs to do within the system. Without them we could not live. There are many different types of food enzymes in our system, but the major classifications are:
1. Lipase: Break down fat.
2. Protease (proteolytic enzymes): break down proteins.
3. Cellulase: breaks down cellulose
4. Amylase: break down starch.
We are born with a capability to produce enough enzymes to sustain life not, quality life, just life. When we do not eat enough raw foods, the body begins to manufacture the enzymes it needs, but at a price. Most people get sleepy after eating a cooked meal, because the body needs to produce enzymes to metabolize the food and to carry nutrients to the cells, and even more enzymes to carry waste from the cell and eliminate this waste from the body.
If enzymes are so important, why isn't there more information on them? For over 100 years, enzymes have been recognized for their important role in digestion, but unfortunately that was as far as it went. Recently, research has discovered that digestion is a minor part of the role enzymes play. Serious research has been under way since 1968. Since that time 1,300 enzymes have been identified, and 98 of these enzymes have been found to work exclusively on the arteries.
-Unknown Author
