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wholehealth4life.ca |
Enzymes are what makes things live. Enzymes
are the spark plugs for all cellular activity; the catalysts for chemical
reactions necessary for life. Without enzymes present during cellular
activity, the reactions necessary for normal function would be too slow to
sustain life. They are also necessary for proper digestion.
Enzymes break down carbohydrates to starches and starches to simple
sugars. Raw fruits and vegetables
– the ‘living’ foods, are our sources of enzymes. When
you see a fruit wilted and turning brown it is because of the loss of enzymes.
This is also noticeable in people who eat a healthy diet and usually look
younger than those who consume a lot of processed/fast foods.
Including
fruit and vegetables with every meal provides your body with the enzymes needed
to break down and properly digest the rest of your meal. If you do not eat foods
with live active enzymes (fresh fruit and vegetables), then your body
redistributes its own supply to the digestive system every time you eat, leaving
all other cellular functions deprived. Enzymes
speed up the body’s metabolism at the cellular level, if there are not enough
enzymes available then everything slows down.
The amount of cellular activity is the equivalent of the amount of
calories burned. When you hear of a
person with a high metabolism it does not just refer to the activity of their
stomach. So, including enzyme rich
foods with every meal allows all other cellular activity to continue maintaining
your metabolism, keeping you slim and your energy levels high.
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Are you in the
Red
or
the Black? Think
of your body as a bank account. Those
of you who eat processed, nutrient deprived foods everyday will have what’s
called a nutrient debt; your body expends more nutrients that it receives and
eventually runs out of energy and the ability to stave off illness. I
call this the ‘Credit Card’ diet – eventually you’re going to have to
pay for it. Many people feel that if
they eat 50% healthy then it’s OK to eat 50% junk.
I call this the ‘living pay cheque to pay cheque’ diet.
This diet only provides enough energy and reserve for normal function.
The problem with both of these diets is that when illness does arrive you have no
reserve to fight it off. Most people
prefer to have a reserve fund in their bank accounts; when you eat all healthy
foods to reach vitality you can stave off future illness all together. |
Take
the time each day to include vegetables and fruit in
your daily diet. Start by adding vegetables. The reason
we add the vegetables first is to adjust our taste buds to the less sweet
flavors of the two. Most vegetables
in particular are considered ‘free’ calories when your diet requires you to
count calories. Fruits on the other
hand are generally quite high in sugar and should be used minimally in
comparison to vegetables.
The
best way to eat vegetables is either raw or slightly steamed or in a salad.
Over cooking vegetables will only destroy the enzymes that you are trying
to obtain. However, if you have severe
digestive problems, steaming or boiling your vegetables would be beneficial.
Cooking your vegetables will help break down the integrity of the
cellular walls which makes it easier for complete digestion and absorption of
nutrients. The only fall back is
that you do lose nutrients and enzymes the longer they are cooked.
Hint: Buy a large tupperware container with sections that can hold a variety of pre-diced vegetables and store in the refrigerator for easy snacks.