I am new to this idea of Raw Foods and I am trying to find out more information on it. One of the things I was wondering is what are the living enzymes? Since enzymes are really just a type of protein do they have any specific names of the living enzymes? I have taken some courses in Health and it seems that most all dietary proteins have been discovered and named, but I am not sure which ones are being talked about when the words "living enzymes" are used in context of the ones that are destroyed with heating but that are also essential to our bodies. Could someone please help me out with this? Thank you very much, I would really appreciate any insight you might be able to give me.

It appears that no one is able to tell me what "living enzymes" are. Is it really better to eat raw then?

One of the main arguments for eating raw is that there are enzymes in the food that we eat that are "necessary" for proper digestion. According to the raw theory these enzymes are denatured when heated to a temperature above 116 degrees fahrenheit. Aren't these same enzymes also denatured in the stomach's acidic environment? The truth is that they are and therefore are no longer beneficial as functional enzymes. Once in the small intestine, peptidases, the body's enzymes for breaking down proteins, including enzymes, cuts these denatured enzymes up into smaller pieces for absorption by intestinal epithelial cells. Therefore, it seems to me that this theory of "living enzymes" helping in digestion is erroneous. If I am wrong, please respond to this message and tell me where I can find the evidence to prove the theory of "living enzymes" in raw food, and their actual benefit to the diet.

gsw75 Wrote:
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> It appears that no one is able to tell me what
> "living enzymes" are. Is it really better to eat
> raw then?


Because you posted this in the Meeting Place forum where people want to meet. It's not on topic or an active forum.

Post in the main and you'll get replies.

Thank you for the advise. I will try that out. Sorry for using up the space on this list.