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Digestive Enzyme Facts

By Ben Mester

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 05Nov2010
Word count: 568
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Digestive enzymes are proteins that assist in the breakdown of complex chemicals so that they can be absorbed by the body. Most people don't realize just how amazing proteins are, how varied they are in composition and what they're like. Here are a few astounding facts about proteins. The first comes from the book "The Hidden Face of God:"

"Each of your seventy five trillion cells is incredibly producing two thousand proteins each second...It makes our heads spin and it should."

2000 every second in every cell! That's pretty amazing, especially when you consider how a protein is made and what shape they take. Proteins are basically just strings of amino acids that our bodies link together and twist into a specific shape. The picture to the right shows you an example. The shape of the protein is very important and proteins are very delicate substances. Heating them up beyond 120 degrees Fahrenheit can cause them to quickly break down, making them useless. Why is that?

When something is heated, it undergoes a physical change, not a chemical change. When you heat a protein, it still retains the same chemical makeup of amino acids, but the shape is changed, and is generally rendered useless. The protein is broken down into its amino acid constituents and reabsorbed. If you study proteins in any detail, you start to see how amazing they really are. The shapes and complexities of the different proteins and how they're used by the body is pretty incredible. And it's all made possible by linking the different 20 essential amino acids together one after another in a chain and then twisting the whole chain into a specific shape.

That begs another question. Does the body make its own digestive enzymes? The answer is yes. Like you discovered earlier, each cell in your body is producing an average of 2000 proteins a second. It sounds utterly impossible but it's true. Some of those proteins are muscle proteins, other are digestive enzymes and so forth. Protein is used extensively throughout the body. But as we age, there is generally a decline in the amount of digestive enzymes the body produces, which is why many people turn to digestive enzyme supplements.

But the best way to get your digestive enzymes is to eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables. In fact, a good trick is to make a fruit shake with fruits and some real yogurt that has lots of probiotic bacteria in it that will also support the digestive system. Some brands of yogurt actually have active probiotic bacteria still alive in the yogurt, which is a great thing, because these bacteria live inside the digestive tract and help people digest and absorb food. So making a fruit shake in the morning with yogurt is a really great way to get both digestive enzymes and probiotic, digestion supporting bacteria.

From everything I've read, the digestive tract really is the battleground where the battle for health and wellness is often fought. Having an efficient, healthy digestive tract will allow you to eat less and absorb more nutrients, keeping all of the other systems of your body fully supplied with the building blocks they need. Having an inefficient digestive tract means you'll have to eat more to get the same benefit, meaning more calories you have to work through and burn to keep from gaining weight. So I think the choice is clear.

I hope you now have a greater respect for digestive enzymes and their role in the body. For more information on the subject, check out my other articles on Best Digestive Enzymes and Digestive Enzymes Supplement.

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