Download Enzymes - Pet Health Store

When considering an enzyme supplement,
it is important to purchase one with known
efficacy. Since there is no correlation between
an enzyme’s weight and its activity, selecting
a supplement in which the activity levels are
listed is preferable. There are many assays
used to detect enzyme activity. However,
two independent scientific organizations
have attempted to standardize ingredients
used in foods (and dietary supplements) and
pharmaceuticals. The Food Chemicals Codex
(FCC) focuses on food grade ingredients used
in foods, food packaging or as food processing
aids. The United States Pharmacopoeia and
National Formulary (USP/NF or USP) is directed
toward ingredients used in pharmaceuticals. The
FCC methods are the most widely recognized
assays for microbial and plant based enzymes
used in dietary supplements. Animal derived
enzymes are more commonly assayed by the
USP methodology.
If enzymes are so important, why isn’t this
information disseminated more? This is an oftenneglected part of nutritional advice for us, and our
pets. We encourage you to do your own research
(use the world wide web; also, contact us here at
PetHealthStore), and speak to a veterinarian who
is knowledgeable regarding the role of nutrition
in optimizing health. Information empowers us
to make our best decisions. The importance of
enzymes in diet cannot be underestimated in
their relevance to our pet’s long-term health.
MaximiZe health with diet
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Enzymes
The Key to Your Pet’s
Health
Learn more about your pet’s health online
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Maximize Health With Diet
• Why Good-Better-Best?-- A Healthiest Food Guide
• Health + Value -- Healthy Foods on a Budget
• Let Food Be Thy Medicine
• More & Better - Human-Grade Pet Foods
• Enzymes - The key to Your Pet’s Health
• To Supplement or Not to Supplement
• Safely Transitioning Foods
• The Obesity Epidemic
• Food Allergies in Dogs
Preventative Care
• Food Safety & Mycotoxins
• It’s Flea & Tick Season
• Cats and Plants
• Dogs and Dangerous Foods
Important Pet Issues
• Choosing a Veterinarian
• Travel With and Without Your Pet
• Adopt or Foster - A Guide
• Cat Comfort
• So You Have a New Dog/Puppy
• So You Have a New Cat/Kitten
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The Key to Your Pet’s Health
Enzymes are one of the biochemical miracles
of the body. Digestive enzymes act as catalysts
to break down food nutrients into fine enough
molecules to be absorbed into the blood
stream and sent to all the body’s cells. Without
them neither we, nor our pets, could survive.
Vitamins, minerals and hormones could not
do any work without enzymes. Digestive
enzymes are produced in the digestive organs,
particularly the Pancreas and the Liver, and are
present in raw meat, vegetables, and fruit.
Enzymes are an integral part of the digestive
process. From the time food enters the mouth,
enzymes are at work breaking the food down
into smaller and smaller units until it can be
absorbed through the intestinal wall. These
enzymes come from two sources, those
found in the food itself, and those produced
in the body. (In the absence of food enzymes,
an enzyme supplement is an efficacious
alternative).
All raw food naturally contains the proper
types and proportions of enzymes necessary
to assist in the process of decomposition. In
addition, when raw food is eaten, chewing
ruptures the cell membranes and releases
these indigenous food enzymes, many of which
survive and contribute to the digestive process.
These enzymes include protease, which
breaks long protein chains (polypeptides) into
smaller amino acid chains and eventually into
single amino acids; amylase that reduces
large carbohydrates (starches and other
polysaccharides) to disaccharides including
sucrose, lactose, and maltose; lipase that
digests fats (triglycerides) into free fatty acids
and glycerol; and cellulase, which breaks the
bonds found in fiber.
Most pet foods are devoid
of enzymes.
Cooking temperatures above 118 degrees kills
the enzyme component of foods. This creates
increased demand on the body to produce
digestive enzymes, and it does not fully
succeed. This problem exacerbates itself as
a dog or cat ages and its enzyme production
decreases. If we, or our pets, are not eating
optimal diets, and we rarely are, we are not
maximizing our constitutional strength and our
immune systems. This results in less than less
than optimal health, making us more subject
to disease, allergies, and premature ageing.
The only way to get more enzymes into our
pets’ bodies is to feed them raw foods (as,
for example, the Frozen and Freeze-dried
diets), or to supplement with a good Enzyme
supplement. (Adding fresh fruits (i.e. apples) or
vegetables (i.e. carrots) to their meals will add
considerable enzymes to help break down the
nutrients of the meal.
The Enzymes involved in the digestive process
are protein molecules that act as catalysts.
They initiate or speed up a reaction. When
food is ingested, enzymes are released in
the mouth (ptyalin) that aid in breaking open
carbohydrate cell walls. As the food progresses
through the digestive tract, other enzymes
are released. The ultimate breakdown of
food occurs in the small intestine assisted
by the release of pancreatic enzymes. Raw
food contains its own enzymes, which help
to facilitate this process. However, if food is
cooked or processed, these “food” enzymes
are inactivated, and therefore the burden of
digestion is left to the body’s own enzymes,
mostly those produced by the pancreas.
Incompletely digested food is passed into the
colon taking vital nutrients with it. Enzymes are
an integral part of the digestive process. From
the time food enters the mouth, enzymes are at
work breaking the food down into smaller and
smaller units until it can be absorbed through
the intestinal wall. These enzymes come from
two sources, those found in the food itself, and
those produced in the body.
The Importance of
Enzyme Supplements
The enzymes most often utilized in dietary
supplements function in the same way as
the enzymes found naturally in food and as
digestive enzymes in the human body. There
are supplemental enzymes available that are
capable of breaking down almost any food.
Although salivary enzymes accomplish a
significant amount of digestion, their activity is
limited to a pH level above 5.0. Supplemental
microbial enzymes, and some plant enzymes,
are active in the pH range of 3.0 to 9.0
and can facilitate the hydrolysis of a much
larger amount of protein, carbohydrates and
fat before Hydrochloric Acid is secreted in
sufficient amounts to neutralize their activity.
Obviously, these enzymes can contribute
significantly in improving food nutrient
utilization.
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