can affect the rate of this action or reaction. In a healthy body, enzymes can
be used over and over again.
It is important to note that the pH of the body, as well as dehydration
(water levels), radiation, toxicity and body temperatures can impair, destroy
or stimulate enzyme factors. This can lead to hypo- or hyperactivity of
tissues, lack of proper digestion, poor nerve response and breathing issues,
just to name a few conditions.
Enzymes have a consciousness all their own, as each living thing does.
Each has a specific job to do and knows it. Some speed things up and others
slow things down. It does not matter what the process is; an enzyme must be
present.
There are basically two types of enzymes in humans. First, our systemic
enzymes, which are responsible for running the machinery (e.g., immune,
kidney, bowel, nerve functions). There are hundreds of enzymes used in
metabolism (running the body) and cellular growth and repair, including
DNA replication. Blood clotting, oxygen exchange and the transport of
carbon dioxide, all require enzymes. Cellular respiration (the way cells eat
and excrete) is as vital a process for cells, as it is for the body as a whole;
both respiration processes need enzyme action.
Second, our digestive enzymes are used to break down the structures we
consume into building materials. Cells cannot eat structures; they need
building materials. In constructing a house, a builder will often tear down a
structure to get whatever materials he can save, and then use those materials
to create a new structure. Our body has to do the same thing. It needs to
break down the “structures” we eat into the simplest of compounds or
elements for building, repairing, or for fuel. Enzymes are needed in this entire
process.
Digestive enzymes are called hydrolytic enzymes because they bond
(catalyze) water molecules to larger food particles, to split them into smaller
compounds or elements. We have digestive enzymes starting in the mouth,
such as amylase and ptyalin, which break down sugars and starches. We also
have digestive enzymes in the stomach. These enzymes are called inactive
enzymes or pro-enzymes because they must be activated before they can
catalyze or affect a change. Pepsinogen is an example of a proenzyme that is
changed into pepsin by the action of HCL (hydrochloric acid). Pepsin is
acidic in nature and is designed primarily for initial protein breakdown.
The stomach chyme, enriched with proenzymes (although some are