While many people are concerned about the calories, fats and overall calories they consume, few pay attention to their enzyme consumption. Enzymes are specialized proteins -- or chains of amino acids -- that trigger particular biochemical reactions within living organisms. While some food enzymes are beneficial for triggering reactions within the body after consumption, others are beneficial for causing reactions in the foods themselves, prior to consumption.
Background
According to the nutrition resource The World's Healthiest Foods, there are over 2,500 enzymes that exist naturally within organisms, including plants, fungi and animals. The human body secretes the majority of the enzymes it needs from internal organs, specifically the pancreas. However, some food sources can also provide the body with the same essential enzymes. These enzymes include proteases, which aid in digestion, and catalase, which has antioxidant properties.
Digestion
Plant-based foods, particularly vegetables, contain several of the enzymes that the body uses for digestion. These include lipases, which help break down fats; amylases, like saccharidase and cellulase, which help break down carbohydrates; and proteolytic enzymes, like peptidase and protease, while help break down proteins. As the University of Michigan Health System states, all three types of digestive enzymes have specific pH and temperature levels at which they function optimally within the body.
Antioxidant
Some plants, particularly the young sprouts of plants like beans, contain food enzymes that prevent molecules from oxidizing. These enzymes are known as antioxidants and their primary benefit is preventing free radicals, or highly reactive molecules, from causing tissue damage or deterioration within the body. Some examples include catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase.
Anti-inflammatory
According to the University of Michigan Health System, the proteolytic enzyme bromelain, in addition to aiding in protein digestion, can help treat a variety of health conditions. Most notably, bromelain can help battle inflammation, a condition wherein tissues in the body become swollen, hot and painful. The best natural source of bromelain is pineapple stems.
Food Processing
Enzymes have been used in food processing since 1874. The University of Texas notes that the Danish scientist Christian Hansen extracted the enzyme rennin -- also known as chymosin -- from the stomach of a bovine calf. He then used the extracted enzyme in the manufacture of cheese. Today, food manufacturers commonly use hydrolytic enzymes to process cornstarch into fructose syrup and glucose syrup.
Tips
Some enzymes within fruits and vegetables are responsible for triggering the ripening process. After this process is over, the enzymes lose their potency. According to the University of Georgia, while placing food items in the freezer can help decrease the activity of enzymes, preserving those enzymes for longer, eventually they will react and disappear. To obtain optimal quantities of enzymes in your meals, stick with raw fruits and vegetables. Boiling, frying and otherwise cooking plants can eliminate their enzymes.
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