Digestive Enzymes Can Repair Dysfunction Caused By Lyme Disease

I usually don’t write a newsletter unless I’m inspired to write about something I feel is important.  My last newsletter was VERY important, touching on an important recovery issue for people with Lyme disease.  It was about Metabolic Enzymes and their importance in beating all kinds of disorders.

Read about it here: http://dietickdie.com/metabolic-enzymes-very-imporant-in-my-recovery/

Now the second type of enzyme I need to write about is FOOD enzymes.  This is what most people think of when they think of enzymes. Enzymes are found naturally in the foods we eat. They are proteins produced by living organisms and are used as catalysts for chemical reactions in our bodies. Without the proper enzymes, many reactions cannot occur in the body.

What do enzymes do?

Enzymes are used in ALL chemical reactions in living things. These include respiration, photosynthesis, movement growth, getting rid of toxic chemicals in the liver and so on. They are found inside and outside our cells.

There are several different enzymes that work within the human body. There are three categories of enzymes: metabolic, digestive and those found in raw fruits and vegetables. Enzymes function by acting as catalysts for chemical reactions in the body, making them function in the best possible manner. Different cells require different enzymes in order to function properly.

What are food/digestive enzymes?

Enzymes that are found within the digestive system aid in the breakdown of food and absorption of nutrients from food.

How do enzymes help us beat disorders?

It is a known fact that fungal forms, parasites, and bacteria are made up of protein and the shell that protects a virus in our bodies is, in fact, a protein coating.

The enzyme protease breaks down proteins and since the invaders of our blood system are protein, ingesting protease (just one type of enzyme) would help rid the blood of invaders.

Enzymes in general deliver nutrients, carry away toxic wastes, digest food, purify the blood, deliver hormones by feeding and fortifying the endocrine system, balance cholesterol and triglyceride levels, feed the brain and cause no harm to the body. All of these factors contribute to the strengthening of the immune system.

Many people with Lyme speak of having painful gallbladders; some say that they have had to get their gallbladder removed.  Lipase is a type of enzyme that breaks down and digests fat.  Taking lipase can take the stress off the gallbladder, liver, and pancreas.

Many people who are sick also have issues with weight gain or loss.  The endocrine system is our metabolism. Once we are able to fortify the endocrine system, get the bowels working regularly, and digest our food rather than turning it into fat, we have a successful combination for losing weight. Enzymes do speed up these processes, which is important for recovering from illnesses of varying natures.

The hypothalamus directs our endocrine system and is also responsible for balancing emotions.  Ever feel like you’re going crazy because you’re sick? Your body needs glucose from the liver to support the hypothalamus.  Nutrients can only be delivered throughout the body by means of enzyme delivery, so this directly affects your ability to think clearly!

Another factor, probably less important to people who are ill, is that enzymes keep your skin looking healthy.  Enzymes will fight the aging process by increasing blood supply.

What destroys enzymes?

Enzymes are a vital component of the digestive process, essential to the body’s absorption and full use of food.  As we age we see the decline in our ability to breakdown food enzymatically. Raw foods provide essential enzymes. However, most processed foods have little of the critical enzymes left in them. Raw foods will have more enzyme activity than cooked food, because cooking destroys enzymes.  Besides processed foods and cooking, heat from illness (due to fever), from exercising really hard, and/or getting into saunas, all decrease enzymes in the body. Enzymes are very easy to destroy and heat and pH in the body are usually what destroys them.  Illness and stress also deplete enzymes! That’s why supplementing with enzymes is important.

When there aren’t enough enzymes, your body must use enzymes from your liver and pancreas, a physically demanding task. Eventually there will be a deficiency, which will inhibit your ability to effectively absorb the nutrients in the food you eat and the supplements you take.

Therefore deficiencies in metabolic enzymes, due to the need to provide digestive enzymes, can lead to impaired health.  This can have a tremendous impact on health.

How to get more enzymes

Natural enzymes can be found in foods such as papaya, avocado, grapes, kiwi, banana, pineapple, mangos, dates, raw honey, extra virgin olive oil, and other unrefined oils and sprouts. Enzymes can also be found in non-processed (cooked) dairy foods and raw fish.

Steaming foods, instead of cooking them too much, can increase the enzymes you get from your food.

Taking a good enzyme supplement is very helpful.

Who needs enzymes?

I think anyone who is ill should take enzymes. Not everyone is going to have symptoms of having low enzymes and be able to directly correlate those systems to an enzyme problem.  Enzymes just control too much!

Enzymes are also effective as treatment for people who have heartburn and issues with their digestive system, generally speaking.

Tips on using enzymes

**Enzymes are basically composed of amino acids. The co-factors are responsible for synthesizing the amino acids into the essential enzymes. Co-factors are usually minerals such as magnesium and zinc. These essential ingredients or components can be derived from food. But since our body may need more than what our diet can provide, we can take supplements that contain good amounts of amino acids and minerals.

**People who have sore areas in their stomach or esophagus should avoid taking protease which can irritate areas where the mucosal lining is missing.  The enzyme will treat the area like raw meat!  But taking a high quality aloe to clear up the problem would be a first step. Then this enzyme can be introduced.

**The best time to take enzyme supplements for digestion is after a few bites of food so they mix in and go right to work on the food in the upper stomach.

** Adding “extra enzymes” to the metabolic pool is a good idea for those who are ill. Enzymes can be taken between meals.  When taken with food, they go to work on the food. When taken in between meals they can be absorbed right into the bloodstream to work in the body.

Since one of our most basic steps to fight illness and improve health is to insure the digestive system is working correctly, a focus on getting the proper enzyme levels is crucial!

What enzymes do I take?

I take two kinds.  One is the fermented soy enzymes that help the body produce metabolic enzymes.  Read about Metabolic Enzymes Here

Those enzymes also are digest food, but I like to go a step further. I also take high quality digestive enzyme called Power Enzymes. It’s a plant base enzyme that contains, what you usually find in a full spectrum digestive enzyme:

Protease: Digests protein into amino acids.

Amylase: Digests complex carbohydrates.

Lipase: Digests fats and denatured fatty oils.

Cellulase: Digests fibers from soluble sources.

Sucrase: Digests complex sugars and starches.

Maltase: Digests disaccharides to monosaccharides.

Lactase: Digests lactose or dairy sugars.

Bromelain: Digests protein.

…but I guess what I like about it the most, the one thing that separates it from what you typically see at the store, is the use of essential oils (liquid copals), such as lemon, orange, peppermint, fennel, anise, and ginger.  I can tell from the smell and taste, that I’m taking something pretty strong.  These oils are known for assisting the digestive system and other processes in the body.

Read more about Power Enzymes and Digestive Enzymes here.

If I listened to what other sick people were saying………..

I get a lot of people (especially those in the healthcare field) say the reason I got over Lyme disease is because I’m an athlete.  I think if I weren’t an athlete and I was in a doctor’s office and my healthcare providers felt this way, I would feel doomed.

The first LLMD I went to (a VERY well known one), wrote my success off during the first visit. He told me that it was “unlikely” I would go back to professional sports. I remember the dread I felt that day and how everything was ok up until he made that statement. It was crushing.  In a nice way, he was kissing me off.

The truth is there are a lot of people out there with their own opinion on Lyme disease.  If you find yourself ill with anything, only YOUR opinion counts.  If you find “support” groups discouraging…don’t go! If you don’t like what your doctor says…leave! It’s a free country (thus far) and only the person who is ill can change his outcome.

It is kind of like having friends or family with drug problems. Only that person can make their mind up to change. You can beat them over the head with an idea, and it’s only when they accept the idea as something that is legitimate and is the truth, that they then can help themselves.  Change comes from within.

Had I really taken that doctor’s opinion seriously about my own health, I would never be where I am today. I would not be a top contender in track and field, with a new coach and a new agent.  I have resurrected myself in little over a year, from a 5 year FORCED break from Lyme disease.  Sure, I was disappointed about what has happened and the care that I never received when I was sick. I had to make my own way, but I did it and so can you.

My feelings on recovery are this: If you’re a good student, have good discipline, have the desire inside to change everything that is making you ill and have an open mind, then there is NO REASON that you can not get healthy. NONE.

See Ya Later, Tick Slayer!

Perry Fields