Enzymes, pH and Antioxidants
Enzymes
Enzymes function as powerful biochemical catalysts for hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that occur throughout the body. We need enzymes for digestion, nutrient absorption, for supporting body tissue and for the production of energy at the cellular level. Enzymes are critical for most of the metabolic activities taking place in our bodies from moment to moment.
The three primary digestive enzymes are protease from the pancreas, which digests proteins, lipase from the liver, which digests fats (lipids), and salivary amylase which digests carbohydrates. Our enzyme-producing organs need to function throughout our lifetime; however, our enzyme potential can become compromised and can wear down due to poor dietary habits.
When our diets are mainly based on a cooked food style menu, the liver, pancreas, stomach and intestines must generate all the requisite digestive enzymes needed for digestion. This creates digestive exhaustion over time. In addition, the rate of digestion for cooked foods is longer which also can create toxic fermentations for the body to eliminate in addition to the digested foods themselves.
Enzyme deficient diets manifest symptoms such as:
Fatigue, nervousness, gastro-intestinal discomfort, recurrent infections, skin eruptions, hormonal disturbances, headaches, arthritis, body pain, allergies, asthma, eye, ear, nose and throat disorders, cardiac irregularities ,and pathological changes in the breasts
All of these conditions have been shown to respond to dietary therapy directed at eliminating bowel toxemia.
Enzymes function as powerful biochemical catalysts for hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that occur throughout the body. We need enzymes for digestion, nutrient absorption, for supporting body tissue and for the production of energy at the cellular level. Enzymes are critical for most of the metabolic activities taking place in our bodies from moment to moment.
The three primary digestive enzymes are protease from the pancreas, which digests proteins, lipase from the liver, which digests fats (lipids), and salivary amylase which digests carbohydrates. Our enzyme-producing organs need to function throughout our lifetime; however, our enzyme potential can become compromised and can wear down due to poor dietary habits.
When our diets are mainly based on a cooked food style menu, the liver, pancreas, stomach and intestines must generate all the requisite digestive enzymes needed for digestion. This creates digestive exhaustion over time. In addition, the rate of digestion for cooked foods is longer which also can create toxic fermentations for the body to eliminate in addition to the digested foods themselves.
Enzyme deficient diets manifest symptoms such as:
Fatigue, nervousness, gastro-intestinal discomfort, recurrent infections, skin eruptions, hormonal disturbances, headaches, arthritis, body pain, allergies, asthma, eye, ear, nose and throat disorders, cardiac irregularities ,and pathological changes in the breasts
All of these conditions have been shown to respond to dietary therapy directed at eliminating bowel toxemia.
pH
In chemistry, pH, or potential hydrogen refers to a measurement of acidity or basicity of a solution. A solution can be any fluid such as our body fluids (blood, urine, saliva) or a beverage (coffee, tea, wine, water).
The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 with neutral being 7. The acidic range goes from 0 to 7 and alkaline from 7 to 14. Our ideal body pH needs to stay between 7.32 and 7.42.
In our body, acidic cellular ratios affect the ability of the cells to transport oxygen throughout the body. This is called acidosis and is the basic foundation for all disease in the body. Acidosis directly affects healthy body function. The three main contributing factors involved with creating and acidic environment are diet, negative emotions and the pollution in our environment.
Symptoms of Acidosis:
Kidney stones, Headache, Irregular breathing
Dry skin, Lack of energy, Nausea, Vomiting
Diarrhea, Loss of appetite, Insomnia
Weak, easily broken fingernails
What is your pH?
The best way to do this is to test your urine. It is really easy to do. You will need to get some pH test strips and moisten them with your urine. The strips will immediately show a color which corresponds to a pH.
The first urine you excrete when you wake up or during the night might have a pH 5 or even under. When we sleep, our body voids acidity, but later in the morning and during the day our urine should have a pH between 7 and 7.5. This means that the body is functioning within a healthy range.
It is also possible to have acidic urine after an intense physical exercise since during the effort our body releases important amounts of lactic acid, or after being seated too long in a room. A walk outside usually brings back our urine pH between the healthy range. While we are walking in a well-oxygenated area, our body burns the acids and excretes them via our lungs.
The best way to maintain a healthy pH balance in the body is through exercise and to include more alkaline foods like vegetable juices in the diet.
The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 with neutral being 7. The acidic range goes from 0 to 7 and alkaline from 7 to 14. Our ideal body pH needs to stay between 7.32 and 7.42.
In our body, acidic cellular ratios affect the ability of the cells to transport oxygen throughout the body. This is called acidosis and is the basic foundation for all disease in the body. Acidosis directly affects healthy body function. The three main contributing factors involved with creating and acidic environment are diet, negative emotions and the pollution in our environment.
Symptoms of Acidosis:
Kidney stones, Headache, Irregular breathing
Dry skin, Lack of energy, Nausea, Vomiting
Diarrhea, Loss of appetite, Insomnia
Weak, easily broken fingernails
What is your pH?
The best way to do this is to test your urine. It is really easy to do. You will need to get some pH test strips and moisten them with your urine. The strips will immediately show a color which corresponds to a pH.
The first urine you excrete when you wake up or during the night might have a pH 5 or even under. When we sleep, our body voids acidity, but later in the morning and during the day our urine should have a pH between 7 and 7.5. This means that the body is functioning within a healthy range.
It is also possible to have acidic urine after an intense physical exercise since during the effort our body releases important amounts of lactic acid, or after being seated too long in a room. A walk outside usually brings back our urine pH between the healthy range. While we are walking in a well-oxygenated area, our body burns the acids and excretes them via our lungs.
The best way to maintain a healthy pH balance in the body is through exercise and to include more alkaline foods like vegetable juices in the diet.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are compounds that protect cells against the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species in the body. When molecules in the body oxidize, they can create free-radicals, or cellular bi-products. It is very normal to have these free-radicals in the body. They are produced through regular bodily processes, like breaking down the food we eat, but are also created through the consumption of pharmaceuticals, exposure to pollutants, over exposure to the sun and smoking. In excess, free-radicals can cause damage to our cellular structures. Oxidative damage has been associated with muscle and tissue degeneration, heart disease, diabetes and cancer, as well as many other health problems. Antioxidants stop this cellular chain reaction of oxidation by neutralizing these free-radicals.
Glutathione
The most well known antioxidants are vitamins C and E which are important for good health because they neutralize free-radicals, which can build up in cells and cause damage. However, glutathione exists within all the cells, and is in a prime position to neutralize free-radicals. The strong antioxidant effect of glutathione helps keep cells running smoothly. and also helps the liver remove chemicals that are foreign to the body, such as drugs and pollutants.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
ALA is a powerful antioxidant that helps destroy more free-radicals than any other antioxidant, and enhances the effects of other antioxidants.
ALA is helpful in the treatment of Peripheral Neuropathy which can be caused by injury, nutritional deficiencies, chemotherapy, diabetes, Lyme disease, alcoholism, shingles, thyroid disease, and kidney failure. Symptoms can include pain, burning, numbness, tingling, weakness, and itching.
Foods such as spinach, broccoli, peas, Brewer's yeast, brussel sprouts, rice bran, and organ meats contain ALA.
Alpha lipoic acid is thought to work as an antioxidant in both water and fatty tissue, enabling it to enter all parts of the nerve cell and protect it from damage. Recommended daily dosage: 600 mg
Selenium
A mineral which helps to protect cells from free-radicals, it supports thyroid function and reduces joint inflammation.
Excellent sources include mushrooms, cod, shrimp, snapper, tuna, halibut, salmon and liver.
Glutathione
The most well known antioxidants are vitamins C and E which are important for good health because they neutralize free-radicals, which can build up in cells and cause damage. However, glutathione exists within all the cells, and is in a prime position to neutralize free-radicals. The strong antioxidant effect of glutathione helps keep cells running smoothly. and also helps the liver remove chemicals that are foreign to the body, such as drugs and pollutants.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
ALA is a powerful antioxidant that helps destroy more free-radicals than any other antioxidant, and enhances the effects of other antioxidants.
ALA is helpful in the treatment of Peripheral Neuropathy which can be caused by injury, nutritional deficiencies, chemotherapy, diabetes, Lyme disease, alcoholism, shingles, thyroid disease, and kidney failure. Symptoms can include pain, burning, numbness, tingling, weakness, and itching.
Foods such as spinach, broccoli, peas, Brewer's yeast, brussel sprouts, rice bran, and organ meats contain ALA.
Alpha lipoic acid is thought to work as an antioxidant in both water and fatty tissue, enabling it to enter all parts of the nerve cell and protect it from damage. Recommended daily dosage: 600 mg
Selenium
A mineral which helps to protect cells from free-radicals, it supports thyroid function and reduces joint inflammation.
Excellent sources include mushrooms, cod, shrimp, snapper, tuna, halibut, salmon and liver.
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