Digestive Rescue for the Holidays

By Lilian Dirito
Wellness Consultant

Thanksgiving is here and so are the wonderful meals around this holiday.  Digestive problems for everyone are more common during these holidays. Problems such as gas, bloating, headache, nausea, intestinal cramps and diarrhea can accompany such occasions.  There are a few things you can do to help digest this amazing treats. According to Steve Horne, there is one particular element missing in our diets is contributing to this problems, enzymes.
Horne explains that Enzymes are a very important part of digestion. Enzymes are proteins that act as a catalyst in chemical reactions. Because of the low temperatures in the body, we would starve to death waiting for our food to digest if we didn’t have enzymes to speed up the chemical reactions that would cause digestion. Raw, whole foods come with the food enzymes specifically made for their own digestion. Enzymes in raw foods are released when we are chewing. In the mouth these enzymes start to breakdown protein, carbohydrates and fats. Then they travel to the upper part of the stomach and cardia. Here the enzymes continue to digest the raw food for 30 to 60 minutes. Then the food travels to the lower stomach where the food enzymes are inhibited and the body supplies digestive enzymes such as those made by the stomach, pancreas and small intestines to continue breaking down the food. Some of the enzymes from the food are later activated in the intestines.
Food Enzymes, Proactazyme, Hi Lipase, Protease Plus and  Papaya Mint are great choices to support the digestion. The more you eat the more enzymes you need.  As explained above, the body produces its own enzymes, however as we grow older this production diminishes and we need to supply them to the body through our food and supplementation . Enzymes are vital for digestion, and yet they are missing in our diets today. Enzymes are easily destroyed by the way we prepare our foods. Enzymes only survive at temperatures below 118F. Baking are barbecuing usually occurs at temperatures of 350F or higher. Canned foods must be heated to high temperatures to sanitize and preserve the food. Processed and refined food are usually subject to too much air, heat or light which kills the enzymes present. According to Steve Horne people who have diets low in enzymes also have low levels of energy. Studies show that the more enzymes that are available in the body the more energy the person will have. Enzymes help store sugar in the muscles providing energy and the quick reactions needed to contract muscles. Enzymes also provide the energy necessary to help send nerve signals. Half of the energy generated by the body is used to digest food. With enzymes present in the diet, less energy is needed to digest food and more is available for other needs.
Food Enzymes help to digest protein, carbohydrates and fat. They are in convenient single packages that you can carry with you wherever you go. Papaya Mint comes in a chewable form, they are refreshing dinner mints and digestive helpers, easy to take on the go as well. Papaya mint can be used before, during or after meals. For more information call Nature’s Remedy in Ellicottville.