Enzymes are most important in supporting the immune system and digestive system. They can protect organisms from harmful diseases and specific dangers to the health. The immune system depends heavily on enzymes to help perform its protective functions. In addition to coordinating the functions of the immune system, enzymes are required to eat, digest food, absorb nutrients, as well as breathe, smell, taste, and move. Enzymes are essential to all organ systems in the human body. Enzymes are catalysts, which accelerate chemical reactions going on in the organism. If it wasn’t for enzymes, no living organisms would be able to survive.

Most of the organized study of enzymes occurred in the 20th century. However, many nutritional experiments have been conducted earlier than the 1900s, but these experiments stimulated only basic interest about the subject. The history of enzymes and their discovery exists in four eras (Loomis, 2002).

The Naturalistic Era lasted from 400 B.C to 1750 A.D. During this period, people did know a lot about food. Early people realized that food was essential for survival, but they did not understand the values of different kinds of food. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, thought of food as a single universal nutrient. In 1747, British physician Lind made the first controlled nutritional experiment. He attempted to discover a cure for scurvy by treating twelve sailors, who were ill with the disease. Lind determined that lemon or lime juice was effective in curing this disease, while vinegar, seawater, and cider were not. Clearly, there was an unknown nutrient in the lemon and lime that did not exist in other substances (Loomis, 2002).

The Chemical-Analytical Era began in the late 1800s and ended in the early 1900s. During this period, methods were developed for determining certain elements in food such as carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen. After analyzing a wide variety of foods in order to find the different proportions of these elements, scientist Liebig hypothesized that a healthy diet should consist of protein, carbohydrates, and fat foods. In 1871, Durmas, who was a French chemist, decided to test Liebig’s hypothesis. He created synthetic milk with carbohydrates, fat, and protein, in the same proportion found in cow’s milk. After feeding several infants with the synthetic milk, the infants surprisingly died. Durmas made the conclusion that some kind of essential substance exists in the Cow’s milk. Durmas realized that natural foods were vital to promote good health (Loomis, 2002).

During the Biological Era, which lasted from 1900-1955, almost everyone knew that another nutrient besides carbohydrates, fat, and protein was essential to survival. Vitamins were discovered during this period of time and knowledge of their roles in the human body was accumulating rapidly. Scientists also began to synthesize them since they discovered the chemical structure of vitamins (Loomis, 2002).

Finally, the Cellular-Molecular Era existed from 1955 to the present time. Many technological advancements today allow scientists to study the needs of individual cells and their organelles. Scientists are now becoming able to understand the vital role enzymes play in the development and growth of cells. If the body cannot produce an essential enzyme, this can result in damage or death of cells. This process eventually results in a wide variety for illnesses and diseases (Loomis, 2002).

All enzymes are composed of two different parts: apoenzyme, which is the protein portion, and coenzyme, which enables the apoenzyme to become a functioning enzyme. The apoenzyme portion of the enzyme is made up of amino acids which are held together by peptide bonds. Twenty one different amino acids can be found in enzymes. The coenzyme is needed in order for the apoenzyme to function properly as an enzyme. The combination of the coenzyme and the substrate must be proportional. In addition, metal ions must be present in order for many enzymes for function. Magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium, and cobalt are examples of metal ions which are most commonly used by enzymes in order to activate the reaction. However, some ions of metal are inhibitors, which terminate enzymatic activity. There are two kinds of metal inhibitors: competitive and non-competitive. Competitive inhibitors combine with the reactive part of the enzyme, and prevent the substrate to have any access to that part of the enzyme, preventing the reaction to take place. Non-competitive inhibitors do not combine with the active part of the enzyme, but they slow down the conversion of a substrate to the product (Lopez, 1999).

How effective an enzyme is depends on the environment where the enzyme acts. First of all, water must be present. The temperature, substrate concentration, and the PH environment are factors of the effectiveness of an enzyme. These right conditions are found in saliva and generated by other organs in the body. When the temperature is raised by 10 degrees centigrade, the rate of a chemical reaction is doubled. However, excessively high temperatures will destroy the protein and stop the enzyme-catalyzed activity. The rate of enzyme-catalyzed reactions increase as the temperature increases, until the temperature gets too high and the protein is destroyed. The optimum temperature of an enzyme is the temperature at which an enzyme reaction occurs most rapidly (Brently, 2003).

In addition, the substrate concentration affects the rate of the reaction. As the substrate concentration in the enzyme increases, the reaction speed also increases until the enzyme is fully saturated with the enzyme and cannon hold any more. If substrate is continued to be added after the enzyme cannot handle any more, the rate if the reaction does not increase or decrease (Brently, 2003).

The PH environment also affects the rate of enzyme reactions, as certain enzymes work best in certain PH conditions. In Enzymes: The Key to Health, Howard F. Loomis (2002) wrote, “Plant enzymes work roughly in a PH range of 3.0 to 9.0. Animal (pancreatic) enzymes work only in alkaline PH ranges of 7.0 to 9.0.”(p. 71)

The most common type of enzymes ate hydrolytic digestive enzymes. Proteases hydrolyze proteins. D.A. Lopez (1999) stated: “Proteases split large polypeptides by breaking and adding a molecule of water to the protein ends and forming smaller polypeptides.”(p. 31) These enzymes are absorbed into the bloodstream where they dissolve blood clots, restoring the normal blood flow. Lipase enzymes hydrolyze fat and turn it into monoglycerides and fatty acids. This enzyme is being studied today regarding the treatment of certain types of cancer. Catalase enzymes hydrolyze hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. When cells produce energy hydrogen peroxide is produced as a waste product, and it is harmful to the human body. Catalases break down the peroxide into water and oxygen which cells can use. Therefore, this enzyme is crucial to the survival of any organism. Amylase enzymes break down starch into simple sugars. Then, it breaks down the simple sugars into glucose. This enzyme is found in saliva and helps digest food. Finally, Disaccharidase enzymes digest simple sugars such as lactose (found in dairy products), maltose (found in most grains), and sucrose (found in white sugar and flour). There are three main dissacharidase enzymes: Lactase, Maltase, and Invertase. Lactase breaks down lactose into galacose and glucose. Maltase attacks carbohydrates and changes them into simple sugars which are absorbed into the bloodstream. Finally, invertase breaks down sucrose and transforms it into glucose and fructose which is also absorbed into the blood. This enzyme is usually found in the small intestine, released by epithelial cells (Lopez, 1999).

Billions of dollars are spent each year on drugs and medication to relieve indigestion. The medicines only cover up the symptoms and do not actually help in resolving the problem (Lopez 1999). Miehlke (1999) stated: “The secret to improving digestion is that raw, uncooked fruits and vegetables contain enzymes that will digest the food in which they are contained of the conditions are right”(p.182). However, these enzymes are destroyed when the food is cooked, canned, or processed in any way.

Also, Miehlke (1999) wrote:”Temperatures above 118 degrees Fahrenheit destroy the enzymes found in food, and many man-made foods that are commonly eaten do not contain enzymes”(p. 183). Enzymes, however do not remain active forever. They age and eventually die. When the enzyme loses its ability to function, the worn-out enzyme is broken down, and a new enzyme of the same type takes its place. Some enzymes have a life of only 15 minutes while others can remain active for weeks or even months (Cichoke, 2004).

In order to achieve a longer shelf life of food, enzymes are frequently removed from our diet. Food processing industries needed biochemists to discover methods to destroy the enzymes that naturally occur in fresh fruits and vegetables. Food processing companies remove the enzymes because they will digest the food in which they are contained. Removing enzymes from food prolongs its shelf life, but enzyme-free processed foods are the main cause of enzyme deficiencies (Loomis, 2002).

If the human body is deficient of any type of enzyme, major digestive problems can occur. If food contains no enzymes, the body must exert a lot of energy in order to digest the enzyme-free foods. Thus, Cichoke (2004) stated, “Scientists are gradually becoming aware that the organs that produce digestive enzymes are not large enough are not large enough to produce all the enzymes needed to digest the average American diet”(p. 92). Major problems occur when the human body cannot digest the food that is eaten. If the enzymes found in food d part of the digestion, then the body does not have to waste energy digesting the excessive amount of food. Food allergies, gas and bloating, heartburn, constipation, or diarrhea are minor symptoms of enzyme deficiency, but many deadly diseases may result due to enzyme deficiency. (Cichoke, 2004).

In addition, enzymes can treat a wide variety of diseases with systemic enzyme therapy. In this type of therapy, enzymes are distributed throughout the body in order to restore it to normal health. A wide variety of health conditions and diseases can be treated with systemic enzyme therapy, from aging, to HIV/AID and Cancer. New discoveries are made each day on enzymes and how they can boost the immune system, healing many diseases. (Lopez, 1999)

As a person gets older, the body decreases its ability to function properly. Aging correlates directly to the body beginning to produce fewer enzymes. According to Dr. Anthony J. Cichoke (2004), “Not only does the body produce fewer enzymes with age, but the enzymes that are produced cannot do their jobs as well”(p. 79). Supplemental enzymes can help stop premature aging, since they improve how the body functions as a whole. During the 1970s, Dr. Max Wolf conducted an enzyme experiment. He instructed twenty-six men (mostly doctors) of different ages to take twenty enzyme tablets daily for the rest of their lives. Every year, these men received evaluations of their immune system and their blood chemistry. This on-going study continues to this day and its purpose was to discover whether or not enzymes were effective in preventing old age diseases, thus enabling them to live longer. Lopez (1999) stated: “Of the twenty-six men, three are dead (two from traumatic accidents and one from circulatory disease at age ninety-one). The other twenty-three men are still alive and healthy. To date, there is no evidence of any long-term side effects, no autoimmune diseases, no immune disorders, and not any chronic diseases, despite the fact that some of the men are heavy smokers, overweight, and consume a great deal of alcohol”(p. 152).

Enzymes can also be extremely effective in treating HIV/AIDS. Systemic enzyme therapy can stimulate and strengthen the immune system, and can help normalize cells that are destroyed during HIV infection. Also, enzyme therapy can detoxify the body, restore the correct PH levels, and promote the growth of healthy cells. Using supplemental digestive enzymes can decrease the need for the body to generate its own enzymes, allowing the body to use its enzymes to fight HIV/AIDS ( Miehlke, 1999).

The use of enzyme therapy to treat cancer began in the late 1900s. Dr. John Beard, a Scottish embryologist, was studying enzymes and their effect on the production and growth of cells. He understood the significance of enzymes in the growth of cells and he realized that since cancer is uncontrolled cell growth, maybe some kind of enzyme deficiency was involved. Beard took the pancreas of several newborn lambs (since young animals need the most enzymes for growth) and extracted a concentrated enzyme juice. After injecting the enzymatic juice into the tumors of his cancer patients, the enzymes inhibited the cancer cell growth. This experiment was extremely successful since he would be able to use enzymes to terminate the growth of cancer cells, while not harming and health cells. Cichoke (2004) stated “At any given moment, our healthy body has thousands of cancer cells. These cancer cells are continually recognized by our immune system and are destroyed”(p .59). However, when the immune system is weak, many cancer cells remain undestroyed. The cancerous cells then form a gluey fibrin layer which makes them undetectable by the immune system. When the human body is deficient of a certain enzyme, it enables cancer cells. Enzymes can destroy the fibrin from cancerous cells, enabling the body’s immune system to detect and destroy the harmful cancerous cells (Cichoke, 2004).

Today, enzymes are used in a wide variety of products. Doctors now use enzymes in tests that help determine the cause of an illness Enzymes are even being added to special kinds of toothpaste for more cleaning power and to skin and nail products to enhance how you look. More and more uses for these enzymes are being discovered each day (Cichoke, 2004).

In conclusion, all organisms on Earth require enzymes in order to live and maintain good health. Enzymes help perform every single function required to accomplish daily activities and to keep a living organism alive. Enzymes help perform every single function required to accomplish daily activities and to keep a living organism alive. Most importantly, enzymes help maintain a healthy immune and digestive system. They can protect organisms from harmful diseases and specific dangers to the health. The immune system depends heavily on enzymes to help perform its protective functions. In addition to coordinating the functions of the immune system, enzymes are required to eat, digest food, absorb nutrients, as well as breathe, smell, taste, and move. Enzymes are essential to the proper functioning of all organ systems in the human body. If it wasn’t for enzymes, no living organisms would be able to survive and remain healthy. Therefore, it is vital that we increase our consumption of enzymes through fresh fruits and vegetables in order to maintain our health and live longer.