You can eat the most nutritious foods and take the best nutritional supplements but if you do not digest and absorb what you consume you will not realize the full health benefits. Have you ever really thought about what happens to the food you eat?

Few of us realize the vitally important process that begins with that first bite of food. Digestive enzymes in your saliva begin breaking down the starches as you chew your food. When you eat raw food, chewing releases the enzymes in the food for use in digestion. After it is swallowed, food passes into the upper part of the stomach where it sits for nearly an hour waiting for your body to produce enough acidity and enzymes to begin protein digestion. It is during this time that food enzymes do their best work breaking down the complex food molecules of protein, carbohydrates, fat and fiber.

It is important to realize that food enzymes can have a significant portion of your food digested before your body’s digestive enzymes are called into action. Once your stomach finishes its digestive function, the partially digested food moves into your small intestines. This is where enzymes primarily secreted by your pancreas continue the digestion of protein and carbohydrates and begin the breakdown of fats. Food enzymes are temporarily inactivated in the lower, more acidic part of the stomach but return to work in the intestines, mixing with the body’s own digestive enzymes to complete the job of digestion.

Digestive enzymes release valuable nutrients from your food which are absorbed into the blood and used by your body to build and repair vital organs and tissue, to produce energy and to maintain a strong immune defense. The process of digestion seems so simple but consider the consequences if the enzymes at any one stage of digestion cannot handle their job. You will not receive all the nutrition needed to build and maintain a strong, healthy body. Every bite of raw food provides your body with enzymes.

Since an entire diet of raw food alone is hard to obtain, simply taking a vegetarian enyzme supplement will assit your body in digestion and alleviate many digestive complaints like bloating, fullness, heartburn, and reflux. Click here for information on superior quality digestive enzyme supplements.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 17th, 2006 at 1:13 pm and is filed under Enzymes Inc..

Tags: Health, Digestion, Nutrition, Vegetarian+Enzyme+Supplements