image courtesy of stock.xchng user pelsen1961
Do you notice a heavy, bloated feeling when you eat? Do you frequently suffer from gas, bloating and indigestion? Here’s a tip that will help you not only eliminate digestive issues but also get way more nutrition out of your food.
Whenever possible, youʼll want to consume your vegetables raw and uncooked. Heating food above 115 degrees Fahrenheit destroys the enzymes in the plant. Enzymes break down the food inside your body and make the nutrients available to your cells.
Your body does produce enzymes on its own; however lifelong habits of eating over processed “dead” foods (like corn chips, white bread, tortillas, crackers, cookies, hydrogenated fats and oils, etc) take an enormous toll on your bodyʼs ability to produce enzymes. The older you get, the fewer enzymes you have available to help you break down food.
Lactose intolerance is, in fact, an enzyme deficiency. Lactose is a sugar in milk that requires the enzyme lactase to break it down. Most people donʼt produce lactase and, thus, are lactose intolerant.
If you find that eating raw produce is difficult at first, I suggest you supplement your meals with a few capsules of plant based digestive enzymes. You can purchase these at any health food store – just ensure that they are plant based.
In fact, if you want to boost your detoxification results, take enzymes even if produce isnʼt a problem! They will help to digest any food residue hanging out in your digestive tract and fermenting. This happens when food is incompletely broken down, causing gas, bloating and indigestion. Digestive enzymes will give you back that light, free feeling in your belly!
Sukie,
Thanks for explaining this. Over the past year, I’ve reduced my bread and carb intake, and now, when I eat them, I feel this incredible bloated sensation. Are you saying that bloating is due to digestive challenges?
Best,
Jenn
Hey Jenn,
That may actually be more of a food allergy/sensitivity issue, especially if it’s specifically grains that are causing the bloating. Enzymes may help, but if your body is having an immune response, they may not. I would experiment and see what you find out. Also, the kind of grain may be an issue, too. You might be sensitive to wheat but not rice, for example.
Hope that helps!
Sukie
I suffered from bloating for 15 years, went to all sorts of doctors and had all sorts of tests done to no avail. I discovered enzymes a few years ago and it has really helped. Not perfect as I still get occasional bloat but enzymes always help some (and often a lot). I spent a lot of money trying different ones and have found enzymes with lots of different enzymes work best. For me Rezvera or SciTrition No-Bloat work best. And like your article says plant based enzymes work best and I try to eat as much raw foods as I can to get enzymes as well (good advice for anyone).
Good and useful post. Since there are so many enzymes out there on the market (of varying quality and usefulness) why not carry and directly offer a brand that you can vouch for the quality of?