Enzymes: Life’s Catalyst

Most of us are aware that we need energy to survive, and that we get this energy from a variety of sources. A primary source of our energy comes from food. We eat, drink, and sleep in order to maintain energy needed for life. But all of these things are useless unless we can convert them into a usable form for the body.

Carbohydrates from food means nothing until it is broken down and its vital energy is released or stored. On its own, the body can absorb certain nutrients, but most reactions occur at a pace too slow to sustain life. And yet, chemical reactions are taking place in our body every second. Only one type of substance is needed to get this energy and speed up the reactions. It is called “enzymes.”

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are a chemical substance, generally a protein produced by the cell in a living organism, that function as a catalyst for specific biochemical reactions.

Proteins are a group of large organic compounds that consist of large molecules composed of one or more long chains of amino acids. They are an essential part of all living organisms and are necessary for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. The sequence of amino acids determines the protein’s unique structure and function.

A catalyst is a “substance that increases the rate of a reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change” (Paperback Oxford Canadian Dictionary: Second Edition; 141). Enzymes, then, help speed up the reactions and processes in living organisms, such as respiration and digestion. Without enzymes, most of these processes would occur too slow for survival.

How do enzymes work?

For a reaction to occur, two molecules need to collide with each other. “They must collide in the right direction (orientation) and with sufficient energy. Sufficient energy means that between them they have enough energy to overcome the energy barrier to reaction. This is called “activation energy” (1). The speed of the activity level in the enzymes is regulated to increase or slow down depending on the conditions in the cell and body.

Enzymes do not live or die. When the biochemical reaction is over, the product leaves the enzyme and the enzyme repeats the same reaction with another molecule. If given the right conditions, the process will continue for as long as needed. Otherwise, the enzyme will eventually be dissolved, usually by other enzymes.

Each enzyme has a unique and specific function. In other words, “every function or substrate in an organism has its own unique enzyme. The substrate which is to be transformed, fits the enzyme like a key in a lock. Only when the right enzyme finds the right substrate can biochemical reactions occur” (2). The “substrate” refers to the reacting molecule that binds to the enzyme.

Enzymes also have an “activation site,” which is the part of the molecule that has a specific shape and functional groups to bind to the substrate molecules. If the shape of the enzyme changes, then the activation site may no longer work. When the structure and function has been disrupted, it is known as “denaturation;” and the enzyme is considered to have been “denatured.” This can be caused by changing factors such as pH, temperature, and ionic strength.

What are the different types of enzymes?

Enzymes are generally classified and named according to the nature of the chemical reactions they catalyze. There are six main groups of catalyzed reaction types (3), including:

Oxidoreductases: The transfer of hydrogen and oxygen atoms or electrons from one substrate to another.
Transferases: The transfer of a specific group, such as phosphate or methyl, from one substrate to another.
Hydrolases: The hydrolysis of a substrate.
Lyases: The non hydrolytic removal of a group or addition of a group to a substrate.
Ligases: The joining of two molecules by the formation of new bonds.
Isomerases: The changes of the molecular form of the substrate.

The human body makes a variety of enzymes for its various functions, including digestion and respiration. There are two broad classifications of enzymes:

Digestive enzymes, which are produced internally to break down food into particles small enough to be carried across the gut wall.
Metabolic enzymes, which are produced in the pancreas, stomach, and salivary glands and are present in all raw food to perform various complex biochemical reactions, including those related to breathing, thinking, talking, moving, and immunity.

Enzymes obtained from food are known as dietary or food enzymes. The digestive process alone has many different enzymes to help break down different types of food at each stage; beginning with the mouth, where the process of chewing helps the food mix with the enzyme rich saliva.

We also have enzymes that use small molecules to build up large complex ones, such as in the case of DNA, and enzymes that help break down toxic substances. There are even enzymes that regulate the activity of other enzymes.

What happens if you don’t have enough enzymes?

All the nutrients in the food would be useless without enzymes. Our body would be unable to break the food down and convert it to energy; or the process would occur too slowly for survival. Their function is so vital that without them life could not be supported.

Most reactions do not take place spontaneously, so enzymes work in an organized and orchestrated fashion to help different chemical reactions to take place constantly. If any enzymes are missing or unable to perform their reaction, it can have a number of effects on the body.

For instance, enzymes in the saliva help break down food before it reaches the stomach. This is known as the “pre-digestion process.” If the digestive enzymes in the mouth become denatured or insufficient, then less food is digested before it reaches the stomach. The stomach then has to work harder to try to digest the food.

“Each of your cells produces roughly 3,000 different enzymes, and alterations or absence of a single one of these enzymes can have potentially-life-threatening effects” (4).

What causes enzyme deficiency?

Many people in today’s society are experiencing a deficiency in the body’s ability to produce enzymes. Some causes for this enzyme deficiency include:

Pollution in air and water
Chemicals such as those found in pesticides
Genetic modification or engineering
Pollutants such as heavy metals in dental fillings
Microwaving and high temperature cooking
Chronic stress
Gulping down food without chewing

All of these affect how well our enzymes are able to function, or how much strain is put on them. Meats and processed and fast foods require excessive amounts of enzymes to digest. That, in addition to the environmental pollution, puts a strain on our bodies. It works harder to break down food, remove toxins, and rebuild and replace lost enzymes. The amount of enzymes our body needs to maintain health eventually exceeds its capacity to produce more.

The body also releases more stomach acid and produces more digestive enzymes to compensate. The food becomes harder for the body to digest due to fewer enzymes that are able to be produced in relation to the amount of food. The food sits in the stomach, where bacteria builds. Improperly digested food particles in the blood also distract protectors and repairers away from doing their job.

Studies have shown that diabetics have lower enzyme activity. This would be due to the insulin disruption affecting the pancreas’ ability to produce enzymes. High glucose levels will impair enzyme secretion, as will insulin injections.

How can you prevent enzyme deficiency?

Enzyme supplementation could be beneficial as is eating a good diet so the body can more easily produce more enzymes.

It is possible to get enzymes from food, particularly fermented foods. Most raw plant based foods contain enzymes that aid in their digestion. This means that many of these foods will actually help digest themselves, thereby reducing effort from the body.

High temperatures change the structure of these enzymes, making them inactive. For this reason, it is recommended to eat more raw foods. If we eat raw plant foods and chew them well, the enzymes will mix in the saliva. The food then enters the stomach suffused with digestive enzymes.

“These enzymes then ‘predigest’ your food for about an hour – actually breaking down as much as 75% of your meal” (5).

Foods such as cruciferous vegetables and nuts contain enzyme inhibitors that must be deactivated by soaking or lightly steaming. It is important to keep in mind how different foods and enzymes work together.

An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that interacts with enzymes and interferes with its activity. It can slow down the reaction or stop it, and the results can be permanent or temporary. Enzyme inhibitors can prevent food from digesting properly and can disrupt the body’s ability to heal and repair itself. Toxins, such as those found on unsoaked nuts, and medications are types of inhibitors.

There are also substances called activators that can boost enzyme activity and make them work on more substrates than normal. These types generally come from diet or internal sources. In addition, some digestive enzymes can speed up the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream.

Fiber can “get in the way” of some of the digestive enzymes and help slow them down. This is beneficial as it decreases the rate at which the body will absorb sugar into the bloodstream, which helps prevent spiking, or the rapid and high rising, of blood sugar levels. Constant spiking or fluctuations of blood sugar levels is hard on the pancreas and heart and is linked with insulin resistance and diabetes. A gradual and lower rise in blood sugar levels puts less strain on the body.

The pH environment is highly variable in the human digestive tract, ranging from highly acidic in areas such as the stomach, to fairly alkaline in areas such as the small intestine. Many people believe that enzymes from food cannot survive in the high acid environment.

However, some enzymes thrive in that type of environment (pepsin and acid stable protease), and many other enzymes are not destroyed by stomach acid; they merely become inactive until the pH of the environment is once again made more alkaline.

“[D]igestive enzymes in food and seeds are dormant, waiting for the right time (determined by moisture, temperature, and exposure to day/night cycles) to activate” (6).

Plant and microbial enzymes in particular are more stable in the body’s extreme digestive conditions. They have a broader pH range than animal enzymes, and can work throughout the digestive tract.

Takeaway

Enzyme deficiency is a leading cause of many of today’s diseases. It can cause allergies, fatigue, bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, abdominal pain, heartburn, headaches, mood swings, poor immune function, skin rashes, acne, eczema, brain fog, joint and myofascial pain and a number of other biological conditions.

When we have an abundance of enzymes, however, and they are functioning properly, the body can continue to restore, repair, and strengthen itself, protecting itself against disease and aging.

It is vital that we replenish our stock of enzymes so that our bodies can continue to function. The steps toward doing that are fairly simple: we must consume raw, soaked, or lightly steamed vegetables. We need to chew slowly and savor food in its true state. We can learn to experience, or digest, more of life by focusing on taking the time to digest our food.

A reduction of enzyme production means that an enzyme supplement can be necessary for optimal health. Taking enzyme supplements makes it easier for the body in digesting food meaning that it can instead redirect this energy into healing. Enzyme supplements do not just benefit those that have reduced enzymes but can help for optimal health in general.

As in the case of enzymes, we can help the “reactions” of our lives by taking the appropriate actions and giving our body what it needs to perform at its best. By changing our health, we are changing more than our health – we are changing our lives.