Enzymes for
Energy, Weight Loss
The
pancreas is the body’s master gland for producing digestive enzymes.
But as people age, its production of enzymes decreases. Raw foods contain
certain enzymes, but cooking destroys them. Canned food is also enzyme
deficient.
What happens when we are enzyme deficient? Well,
for one thing, people gain weight because they need to eat more food
to receive enough nutrients. That’s why one of the wonderful “side effects”
from enzyme supplementation is usually weight loss.
We also become more energetic because of better
utilization of the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in our foods.
In his book Enzymes: Nature’s Energizer
(Keats Publishing 1997), Dr. Anthony Cichoke, the nation’s premiere
enzyme authority, notes some foods such as fresh pineapple “can actually
aid your digestion because of the enzymes they contain.”
He also notes that we would all experience better
digestion if we started each meal with a fresh vegetable salad, only
steamed our vegetables and used salt sparingly. When we eat meat, which
is harder on the body to digest, we should include enzyme-rich foods
such as raw sauerkraut, fresh herbs, garlic and
onions, says Dr. Cichoke.
“The Japanese eat raw fish and seafood and
cook their vegetables only briefly,” he adds. They also consume soy
sauce which Dr. Cichoke calls “the world’s oldest enzyme agent,” but
if you consume soy sauce, the low-sodium kind is preferable.
Dr. Cichoke, however, strongly recommends use of
digestive enzyme supplements containing the major enzymes required by
the body for optimum health. NZ Gestion™ from Whitewing
Labs provides the major enzymes to break down foods so that their constituents
can be reassembled by the body into other necessary enzymes.
A Closer Look at the
Formula
NZ
Gestion is a comprehensive enzyme formula.
It contains the following plant-derived enzymes:
Amylase helps the body to digest starch, glycogen
and other complex sugars.
Lipase splits fats into fatty acids and
glycerol and enhances pancreatic and lipolytic activity in formulas containing
pancreatin.
Lactase helps to digest milk sugar.
Bromelain, derived from the stem of the
pineapple, is useful for digesting proteins.
Papain, from papaya, also helps digest
proteins.
Please be advised that NZ Gestion is superior
to products containing pork-based enzymes. Animal “enzyme preparations
can sometimes be less effective than plant-derived enzymes because they’re
not as active over as broad a pH range,” says Frances Albrecht, M.S.,
an instructor at Bastyr University, Bothell Washington.
How NZ Gestion
Helps in Weight Loss
Why
do people overeat? The brain synthesizes chemical messengers known as
neurotransmitters, which act upon the hypothalamus in the brain and confer
a feeling of satiety. But without adequate nutrient absorption, these
neurotransmitters may not be produced in adequate amounts.
In a 1988 report in the International Journal
of Pancreatology, it was shown that obese individuals had very low
serum amylase levels. What’s more, according to Japanese research, serum
levels of amylase and trypsin are much higher in lean persons than those
who are obese.
The neurotransmitters that signal the hypothalamus
and help us to stop eating depend upon enzymes to break down proteins
into amino acids, certain of which the brain makes into neurotransmitters.
A key amino acid in this regard is tryptophan.
“When tryptophan enters the brain at an accelerated
rate, serotonin is synthesized,” says Dr. Cichoke. “Research has shown
that serotonin can suppress carbohydrate consumption in rats and obese
humans. Conversely, low serotonin levels encourage a person to eat more
carbohydrates and less protein. If a faulty equalizing system is present,
the person might crave carbohydrates.”
Dr. Cichoke
adds that although no cure for obesity has been found, scientists now
know that in enzyme deficiency, some of the most common symptoms are chronic
fatigue, premature aging, and weight gain.
“Research strongly suggests that if we were to adjust
our eating habits to consume the optimum diet, accenting proteins, vitamins,
minerals and enzymes in their correct biological proportions, our life
spans and vitality would skyrocket.”
The ‘E Factor’ Diet
Works
When
diets don’t work, proteolytic enzyme therapy should be added. In fact,
enzymes may make weight loss easy: people simply don’t want or need to
eat more when their absorption and utilization of nutrients is improved.
If you’re caught on the antacid treadmill, you might
want to try NZ Gestion instead. Other benefits that accrue to users
of NZ Gestion include soothing an irritable bowel, less flatulence,
reduced risk of ulcers, and overall relief of dyspepsia.
For all of these reasons and more, I like to see my
patients use a quality a digestive enzyme supplement. NZ Gestion
also provides peppermint leaf and ginger root for their stomach settling
benefits
