What Do Plant Enzymes Do?

Along with vitamins and minerals, enzymes occur in food that is in a natural state. All raw food contains the proper types and proportion of enzymes necessary to digest itself. This occurs in our stomach when the food is eaten or in nature as the food ripens.

The type (protein, sugar, starch, fat) and amount (caloric value) of the major components present in the food determine the type and amount of the various enzymes found in the food. For example, olives and bananas are higher in fat and lipase, while peaches are higher in carbohydrate and amylase.

Protein, carbohydrates, fat, and fiber are building blocks but they do not possess the energy (capacity to do work) necessary for biochemical reactions. Only enzymes can furnish this energy. When raw food is eaten, chewing ruptures the cell membrane and releases the indigenous food enzymes. Once liberated the enzymes begin to digest food, but their action is very limited in the foods they can work on.

Four plant enzyme groups exist:

1.       Proteases - break long protein chains into smaller amino acid chains and eventually into single amino acids

2.       Amylases - reduce polysaccharides to disaccharides: lactose, maltose, and sucrose

3.       Lipases - break triglycerides into individual fatty acids and glycerol

4.       Cellulases - digest specific carbohydrate bonds found in fiber

Besides needing a substrate to "work" on, enzymes require heat, proper pH and moisture in order to activate.

Heat: All enzymes work within limited temperature ranges. The optimal temperature range for most plant enzymes is 92˚F to 104˚F, which means that these enzymes work best at body temperature. However, enzymes cannot tolerate the high temperatures used in cooking, baking, microwaving, canning, and pasteurizing. These methods all produce heat of 118˚F or higher which destroys the enzymes.

Proper pH: Plant enzymes work in a very broad pH range, 3.0 to 9.0, which coincides very nicely with the human gastrointestinal tract. This is an important factor to remember when comparing plant enzymes with the body's own digestive enzymes or with supplemental animal enzymes, such as pancreatin. Plant enzymes work in both the stomach and intestines. Pancreatic enzymes, whether produced by the body or provided as a dietary supplement, only work in the small intestine.

Moisture: Plant enzymes must have moisture in order to perform their digestive function. Quite simply, digestion is the process of breaking molecules apart with the addition of water hydrolysis. The body satisfies this need with saliva. Conversely, plant and animal cells use the process of condensation—the removal of water—to form the long molecular chains that foods are composed of.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT SPASMODIC HEALING IS?

Question:
What is Spasmodic Healing?
Answer:
It's the lack of continuous healing from one correction to the next.
          
 
If the patient needs an alignment correction on every visit,
they are experiencing Spasmodic Healing.

The body’s natural self-healing process is interrupted when the patient
fails to maintain their alignment between corrections.

So when did they need another correction? ... Later that day ... the next day ... the next week?
Spasmodic Healing happens when the healing process is not continuous.

Obviously, if a patient requires a correction on each visit,
It's time to re-evaluate:
Are you applying your corrective procedure effectively?
New x-rays ... The correction formula may have changed.
Question the patient ... they may be causing the frequent misalingment to occur.

Restricted brain to body communication leads to the development
of acute and chronic health problems.

Continuous healing is the ultimate in Total Wellness and the Key to Optimal Health.
Holding your alignment correction -- is-- Healing!
Maintaining it -- is -- health maintenance at its Best!

A correction on every visit -- is -- akin to manipulation!

Why Food Enzymes are Important

Plant enzymes are important because they are capable of digesting food before the body’s own digestive process begins. In other words, plant enzymes can enhance the digestion of food and the delivery of nutrients to the blood even if you have a compromised digestive system. The same cannot be said of animal enzymes such as pancreatin.

Everyone agrees that proper nutrition is crucial to the maintenance of a healthy body. However, most health care practitioners overlook the true cause of many nutritional disorders. It is assumed, quite mistakenly, that digestion occurs automatically and the correction of a nutritional disorder simply requires matching the right nutritional supplement to the condition. For example, vitamin C for colds, vitamin A for viruses and herbal laxatives for constipation. While this treatment may relieve patient symptoms, the relief is only temporary because the underlying problem of faulty digestion is ignored. Health care practitioners who want to effectively manage health problems that are related to nutritional imbalances must consider each person’s ability to digest food. Unfortunately, most clinicians give little or no thought to the role of enzymes in digestion, despite overwhelming evidence of their importance.

Enzymes are present in all living animal and plant cells. They are the primary motivators of all natural biochemical processes. Life cannot exist without enzymes because they are essential components of every chemical reaction in the body. For example, they are the only substance that can digest food and make it small enough to pass through the gastrointestinal mucosa into the bloodstream. Three very broad classifications of enzymes are:

1.       Food enzymes - occur in raw food and, when present in the diet, begin the process of digestion

2.       Digestive enzymes - produced by the body to break food into particles small enough to be carried across the gut wall

3.       Metabolic enzymes - produced by the body to perform various complex biochemical reactions

In the 1930s, Edward Howell, MD, the food enzyme pioneer, found that there is a difference between plant enzymes and those that are produced by the body. He was convinced that plant enzymes in food and supplements have a different function in human digestion than that of the body’s own digestive enzymes. With this theory, he began isolating and concentrating plant enzymes from their sources. He found the difference is that food enzymes begin digesting food in the stomach and will work for at least one hour before the body’s digestive system begins to work. For this reason, enzymes should be considered essential nutrients. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and food manufacturers are removing them from food to gain shelf-life.

Dr. Howell was particularly impressed by the way the ingestion of raw food slowed the progress of chronic degenerative diseases and spent his professional life postulating and then validating his theories.

Indigestion

Indigestion is perhaps the most common ailment affecting people today. A multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry has emerged to provide over-the-counter remedies to sufferers. Why do so many people suffer from indigestion and why don’t traditional remedies for indigestion correct the problem rather than merely provide temporary relief from its symptoms? The reason is that digestion is a very complex process.

It is very difficult to know exactly which step in the digestive process is at fault. The symptoms of indigestion and other digestive problems such as heartburn, gas, bloating, nausea, and cramps are vague and there are no lab tests to define the exact problem.

Indigestion has many causes. One of the most common causes is a deficiency in stomach acid (HCl). This inability to produce adequate stomach acid is common in people over 50 years of age who are free of gastric disease. Some studies even report as high as 25-35% of the elderly have this condition.

The lack of acid (HCl) secretion in the stomach was found in 14-20% of patients in the hospital for conditions other than gastric disease or pernicious anemia. This condition is diagnosed when the pH of the gastric contents fails to drop below 6.5 following maximal stimulation. The “resting pH” of the stomach, when empty, is normally 5.0 to 6.0.

HCl is critical for proper protein digestion in the stomach because it adjusts the pH of the stomach to allow protein digestion to occur. HCl changes pepsinogen to the active proteolytic enzyme, pepsin, and maintains the highly acidic pH needed for pepsin’s activity. Stomach acid activates this enzyme, it does not destroy it.

The secretion of HCl and pepsinogen are governed by separate mechanisms. This is the reason that the pepsinogen concentration in the gastric juices of those who are lacking stomach acid is very close to normal in many cases.

Physiologists have confirmed that HCl is produced from one cell and pepsinogen is produced from another. This means that the body may be producing enough pepsinogen but it is still unable to properly digest protein because of an insufficient amount of HCl.

So, what can be done to improve digestion and relieve the symptoms that result when the body cannot produce adequate amounts of stomach acid? The answer is enzymes. Protein digestion can be improved with food enzymes that “predigest” food in the stomach. Plant enzymes are capable of digesting food before your own digestive process begins. In other words, plant enzymes can enhance the digestion of food and the delivery of nutrients to the blood even when the patient has a compromised digestive system.

We Make A Difference If We Choose

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noted a figure in the distance.  As he got closer, he realized the figure was that of a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.  Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied “throwing starfish in the ocean.  The sun is up and the tide is going out.  If I don’t throw them back they will die.”

“Son” the man said, “don’t you know there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?  You can’t possibly make a difference.”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the surf.  Then smiling at the man he said, “I made a difference for that one.”

Do you know anyone who could benefit from chiropractic care?  Help someone change their life and health by referring them to Chiropractic.  Just let us know who you would like to refer, and we will prepare a certificate and some information for them.  If you are not certain how to tell someone about Chiropractic, there are many ways that they can receive the information.  We have regularly scheduled talks, which is an excellent way to introduce someone to Chiropractic.  We also have literature, and DVD’s available.  The doctor is even available to speak with anyone that may be interested in sharing Chiropractic care.

Healthier people make a healthier world.  Change someone’s life today, tell him or her about Chiropractic!

HEARTBURN

Heartburn is a common condition that results from what is claimed to be an excess amount of acid in the stomach. Billions of dollars are spent each year on over-the-counter remedies for this condition.

Increased acid production in the stomach is usually attributed to the expansion of the stomach wall that results from eating an excessive amount of food. Symptoms of excess stomach acid are not caused by a particularly low pH of the secretions. The most common causes of heartburn are the failure to reduce the rate of secretion, which results in a large quantity of gastric juice, and a delayed emptying of the stomach.

Heartburn can also occur if the mucous lining of the stomach is not able to protect the stomach wall from the acid. The stomach needs mucus to protect itself from the acid- and protein-digesting enzymes. Two commonly used herbs that enhance the body’s ability to produce mucus and protect the gastrointestinal tract are Slippery elm and Marshmallow root.

The major goal of both prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies is to reduce or eliminate the production of hydrochloric acid and protein-digesting enzymes. These products relieve symptoms but severely compromise normal digestion and interfere with the delivery of nutrients to the body that is necessary to maintain health.

Antacids prevent digestion in the stomach and transfer the entire stress of digestion to the pancreas. Plant enzymes, on the other hand, relieve the pancreas of some of its digestive burden by reducing the amount of pancreatic secretion required. The digestion accomplished by plant enzymes occurs early enough in the digestive process to trigger a reduction in this secretion. Thus, plant enzymes have the ability to lower stomach acid secretions without compromising the digestive system.

Otitis Media

Case study and selective review of literature show positive correlation:

Resolution of Otitis Media in a Nine Month Old

Undergoing Chiropractic Care

(October 4, 2010, Bemidji, MN). A nine-month-old boy with a history of recurring ear infections who received chiropractic care during an episode of otitis media which resulted in the reduction of symptoms within a week.  Additionally, according to the case study published in The Journal of Maternal & Family, no ear infections have been reported since.

            Bemidji-based Dr. Mike Headlee, who has seen similar results in his own practice stated, “Chiropractic care has historically had favorable and lasting results for patients with otitis media. Unlike the typical allopathic method of attempting to kill the bacteria or virus, chiropractic seeks to restore normal function of the nervous system which in turn results in a stronger immune system.”

            Acute otitis media results in inflammation of the middle ear and is caused by bacteria is 70% of the cases.  The most common cause of childhood hearing loss is chronic otitis media and can result in developmental impairment affecting linguistic, behavior, motor and social skills.

            In 1990 there were more than 20 million prescriptions for otitis media-related antibacterials prescribed and 25 million visits made to office-based physicians in the United States for this condition.  Approximately 10% of infants by 3 months of age will have an episode of acute otitis media and 50% of children by 3 years of age will have had more than three episodes of acute otitis media.  The annual costs associated with management of pediatric otitis media has been estimated at $5.3 billion.

            “Prescribed treatment is typically a course of antibiotics.” Dr. Headlee related.  “Problems with antibiotic use include allergic reactions and cross-reactions, GI upset and the increased resistance of pathogens to antibiotics necessitating stronger antibiotics.”

            In this study the 9 month old patient was brought into the chiropractic clinic by his

Resolution of Otitis Media                                                      Dr. Mike Headelee

October 4, 2010                                                                          (218) 333-8811

Page 2 of 2                                                                                  mikeheadleedc@gmail.com

mother who stated he was having recurring ear infections.  She also relayed that there was a possibility of having tubes placed in his ears in the future.  The patient’s mother stated that the ear infections started after four months of vaccinations; he was four months old at the time.  The child was administered antibiotics and was afflicted with ear infections about every three weeks. 

“Within the first week of regular adjustments the child was sleeping better,” said Dr. Headlee.  An examination performed on the second week found both ears clear, with some wax, but no fluid.  The child was adjusted three times that week as well as the next and twice a week for the fourth week of care.  Both ears were clear and the patient was assessed as showing improvement. 

A re-examination performed in the fifth week of care found no infections and the mother reported his naps were longer and he was getting better quality sleep.  On the seventh week of care the patient visited his ENT and his ears were reported as clear with no need for tubes. 

            “Chiropractic literature has several studies showing the benefit of chiropractic adjustments and otitis media,” explained Dr. Headlee, “and these studies show that there is a strong correlation between the resolution of otitis media and chiropractic adjustments.  That being said, further research concerning the efficacy of chiropractic care and otitis media should be pursued.” 

            Anyone wishing more information may contact Dr. Headlee, whose office is located at 223 Third Street N.W., Bemidji, MN  56601 (telephone 218-333-8811).

ANTACIDS, LAXATIVES, and PAIN RELIEVERS

The title of this article suggests problems with digestion, elimination, and assimilation. The product names of many over-the-counter remedies in this category are instantly recognized and the combined sales of these and similar products total billions of dollars each year.

For many people these products are a way of life. They represent on-the-spot relief for problems that are covered up year after year until surgery finally removes the offending organ. Before starting down this slippery slope you must realize that the aforementioned drugstore remedies do not actually correct problems and restore normal function.

Such products are examples of the "magic bullet" theory of "sick care" which places emphasis on attempts to mask symptoms. There is no attempt to remove the cause of the symptoms and restore normal body function, as is done in healthcare. While prompt pain relief is important and necessary, it should not be a way of life.

People with such problems as indigestion, constipation, and diarrhea rarely go to a doctor before serious complications begin because it is uncommon to seek help for mild symptoms and non-life-threatening problems. In the absence of positive test results, over-the-counter remedies are used until they are replaced by more expensive prescription drugs.

Fortunately, there is a better way. Every symptom has a general physiological cause, and lifestyle changes and nutritional support for the stressed organs can correct these problems. A prudent course of action is to remove the stress by changing a few simple dietary habits and including the use of food enzyme supplements to restore normal function.

EXPLORE CHIROPRACTIC

Every day, you and I face physical, chemical and emotional stresses. The quality of our lives is based upon how well we adapt, overcome or rise above them. I evaluate, then create an individualized care plan that addresses these issues based on your age, condition, lifestyle and unique health goals. I propose that we go through, rather than around. That we use natural, rather than artificial. That we revitalize,  rather  than numb. That we release, rather than control. Want to play?

Chiropractic Defined by Reggie

The wonders of Chiropractic are so simple that they're almost not worth discussing. You could discuss the whole thing in one sentence. The correction of subluxation allows the body to work at full potential, in the same way that the subluxation, by its very presence, inhibits the function of the body. The big idea in Chiropractic is that if you have a subluxation you'd be better off without it. It is as simple as that.

Performance is always directed and controlled by body chemistry. If your chemistry is normal under the body's own innate control, then the functions of the body are as perfect as they are ever going to get. Body chemistry is controlled by the billions of cells that make the chemicals. The cells that make the chemicals are controlled by the nerve system and the nerves are protected by bone. A subluxation develops. That causes one of two problems humanity has. There are only two diseases: too much or too little. You either have too much of this chemical or too little of that one. If the chemicals are perfect and under the brain's control, then the body functions at its own maximum potential. Not necessarily perfection, but the best it's capable of doing.

Chiropractic's role should be to bring about the correction of subluxation. Actually, the chiropractor doesn't adjust but introduces a force intelligently contrived in the hope that the body will then be able to adapt that force into and adjustment. The body alone knows where the bone belongs.

Reference: Chiropractic Revealed by David K. Scheiner, D.C. http://www.chiropracticrevealed.com/