Enzymes are active protein molecules that play the essential role of catalysts at the origin of all chemical reactions in the body.

There are more than 15,000 enzymatic reactions in the human body.

They are present in every cell and have the power to speed up a chemical reaction.

They therefore act in many areas, such as digestion, but also in the brain, producing the energy the cell needs and regenerating tissues and organs.

They sustain life. Enzymes are also involved in protein anabolism, nerve and cell transmission, hormone response and excretory functions.

The enzyme reaction is not unique and isolated. To be optimally activated, enzymes need enzyme cofactors, which are micronutrients provided by a healthy diet.

These micronutrients are the minerals, vitamins and trace elements that enable the enzyme reaction to be activated at all levels.

These essential micronutrients, provided by a healthy diet and/or supplemented with selected supplements, allow enzymes to fulfil their role as catalysts or accelerators of chemical reactions in the body.

Micronutrients and enzymes are inextricably linked.

This balance is fragile and the risk of chemical chelation caused by an unhealthy lifestyle (refined and inadequate foods, various environmental oils, food additives and other preservatives that act as chemical creams, etc.) is now common.

Enzymes fall into 2 main categories

Metabolic enzymes

They are responsible for the repair, formation and function of every cell in every tissue in our body.

They speed up the processes that take place in the cell: energy or detoxification.

They are therefore essential for the functioning of all tissues and organs.

They are also active in the blood and contribute to the phenomena of anabolism and catabolism.

Each tissue has its own set of enzymes.

Enzymes are essential for signalling mechanisms and the regulation of cellular processes, often through kinase and phosphatase activity.

They are also involved in the generation of movement, such as myosin, which hydrolyses ATP (adenosine triphosphate: a molecule used to store and transport energy) during muscle formation and allows the transport of molecules throughout the cell by acting on the cytoskeleton.

For information, enzymes that act inside cells (intracellular), such as cytochromes or transaminases, should not be confused with digestive enzymes that act outside cells (extracellular).

Many enzyme names end in -ase (depending on the substance they act on).

For example:

• Lactase is used to digest lactose (milk sugar).
• Cellulase makes cellulose (fibre) from plant cells usable for humans
• Saccharase extracts sucrose
• Bromelain from pineapple and papain from papaya aid digestion.

Digestive enzymes

They are secreted throughout the digestive tract.

The digestive system needs to produce enough enzymes to allow optimal absorption of food.

This production takes place in the salivary glands, pancreas, stomach and intestines.

The role of the enzymes is to catalyse the breakdown reactions of the substances in the food.

Each enzyme has a specific function.

By the way, each enzyme has a name that ends in 'ase', which refers to its work in the body, e.g. protease is associated with the stomach and pancreas, amylase with the mouth, etc.

We recognise three main digestive enzymes:

• Protease: is the enzyme responsible for digesting protein. Its deficiency can increase susceptibility to certain diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis.
• Lipase: is secreted by the pancreas and is responsible for breaking down fat molecules into a more absorbable form. In the case of pancreatic insufficiency, a dietary supplement based on lipase is required. It should be noted that a deficiency of lipase can lead to increased cholesterol levels in the blood, increased sugar in the urine, a tendency to diabetes and difficulty in losing weight.
• Amylase: is found in humans in saliva and in the liver and converts complex carbohydrates such as starch into simpler compounds such as glucose. It is also involved in anti-inflammatory reactions or when histamine is released. The enzymatic reaction of amylase begins in the mouth with ptyalin, which starts the digestion of carbohydrates. It ends in the small intestine with amylopsin, which is secreted by the pancreas. Deficiencies are common with a high carbohydrate diet and lead to depression, fatigue, allergies, cold hands and feet, inflammation, etc.

It is important to know that enzymes are very sensitive to food intake and heat, and are therefore destroyed during cooking, which is why it is important to eat a varied and sometimes raw diet.

The role of enzymes

The role of enzymes is not limited to digestion.

They are involved in immunological processes, they power our thinking, our breathing, our sexual activity, in short, everything that makes up life.

Thousands of different metabolic enzymes are involved in every element of the functioning of our heart, lungs, liver, arteries, blood, muscles, every organ and tissue.

And if the external supply of digestive enzymes is not adapted to the body's needs, the production of metabolic enzymes is also disturbed.

Digestive organs such as the pancreas and liver produce some of the body's digestive enzymes, but the rest must come from raw foods such as fruit and vegetables, sprouted seeds or nuts.

Eating unprocessed foods in their natural form is therefore essential.

The proteolytic enzymes (proteases, bromelain, papain, etc.), in addition to digesting proteins, are absorbed and have an anti-inflammatory effect, but also:

• Reduce platelet aggregation
• Have fibrinolytic activity (fibrin is a blood protein that helps form clots)
• Modulate cytokines (messengers of inflammation) and immunity
• Help debride skin wounds (remove dead tissue)
• Improve the absorption of certain drugs
• Have a mucolytic effect
• Aid digestion
• Improve wound healing
• Improve circulation and the cardiovascular system

Who needs enzymes most?

• People who are sensitive and tired at the digestive level due to abuse and accumulation of toxins.
• People who are tired and stressed after the age of 60
• People with digestive disorders of absorption and assimilation and who suffer from candidiasis
• People who have abused an acidic diet for a long time
• Those who regularly use tobacco and/or alcohol
• People who are overexposed to the sun have also accumulated excessive deficiencies of enzymes and free radicals, which contribute to premature ageing of tissues (these people are advised to supplement with SOD or superoxide dismutase, a metabolic enzyme that protects cells from the effects of free radicals).

Proteolytic or fibrinolytic enzymes are of great interest in oncology: they can weaken tumours by digesting the network of proteins called fibrins that cancer cells have produced to prevent the immune system from attacking them.

They can help relieve digestive symptoms associated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, such as fatigue, nausea and weight loss.

Enzymotherapy can be used at all stages of cancer, always under medical supervision.

Where can you find enzymes in food?

In general, a raw diet contains all the enzymes present in the plant or vegetable:

• Raw vegetables, because the enzymes are destroyed by heat (+ 118° C).
• Fruits (grapes, figs, avocado, dates, papaya, pineapple, kiwi, mango, banana, coconut), but also seeds, nuts, legumes, seaweed, etc.
• Fermented foods: kefir, miso, sauerkraut, kombucha, sourdough, etc.

These are bacteria (lactobacilli) that allow food to ferment. Fermented foods are not only rich in bacteria, but also in enzymes. This contributes greatly to optimal digestion, but also to gut health.

Other enzyme-rich foods include extra virgin olive oil (lipase) and raw honey.

Enzymes can be supplied by specific or complex food supplements based on systemic or digestive enzymes.

These supplements are all the more useful because modern foods are increasingly deficient in enzymes.

And perhaps because the pancreas produces fewer digestive enzymes with age.

The most common enzyme supplements contain at least papain, extracted from papaya, and bromelain, extracted from pineapple.

These are proteolytic enzymes that are particularly useful for swallowing problems, heartburn and pancreatic insufficiency.