Archive for the ‘Enzymes’ Category

Food intake, considered a pleasure by most, also represents a health hazard in situations where metabolism is altered or if food proteins are recognized as harmful by the immune system.   In the latter case, IgG, IgE and IgA antibodies are produced by the immune system in response to the food “attack”.  The number of food-allergic patients is […] Continue Reading…

As if new parents didn't have enough to worry about their newborns... A new study published in the journal Neuropeptides appeared to implicate low levels of DPP IV, an enzyme found in the gut and other tissues, with onset of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.  DPP IV breaks down certain peptides known as exorphins that have opiate-like properties.  Exorphins are similar […] Continue Reading…

I appreciate any positive attention the Main Stream Media gives to the autism issue.  However, I wish they would get their facts straight.  A review of the different "treatments" for autism indicated that secretin came closest to having some kind of result, but was still considered not effective. Whatever the results, secretin is not an enzyme, it is a hormone […] Continue Reading…

2011 will mark the 10thanniversary of Houston Enzymes. We started with Peptizyde and HN-Zyme Prime and sold our first product in April of 2001.  It is hard to believe how far we have come since those days, and how quickly the years passed. Every year of business has been better than the previous and we take that as a vote […] Continue Reading…

My anatomy professor in college amazed us naive students one day by drinking a glass of diluted hydrochloric acid (HCl).  We thought it was a death-defying stunt until he told us the amount of acid in the glass was less than the acid content of our stomach.Americans continue to be fascinated by the whole issue of stomach acid.  From […] Continue Reading…

Over the past year, reports have surfaced indicating that gray hair may be caused by an accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in hair shafts.  This appears to be a result caused by deficiencies in certain metabolic enzymes such as catalase, methionine sulfoxide reductase, and tyrosinase.It didn't take long for some dietary supplement companies to take this information and provide a […] Continue Reading…

Enzyme Myth #3: All Enzymes Are Destroyed by Stomach Acid. This myth states that taking enzyme supplements is a waste of time and money because the enzymes, being proteins, are denatured (destroyed) by the acid in the stomach. I actually once believed this statement because it was taught to me in medical school.  Not til I was challenged to verify the […] Continue Reading…

Question: Are enzymes inactivated at temperatures higher than 118 Fahrenheit? Ah, the magical 118 number! When Edward Howell wrote his book on enzymes, he concluded that at above 118 degrees Fahrenheit, all enzyme activity would cease. Remember, this was someone who wrote the bulk of his material between 1930 and 1950. Determining enzyme activity and temperature profiles […] Continue Reading…

I see a lot of ads for enzymes on the Internet, many of them making absurd claims or just downright lying. But some of the "major" enzyme sellers have dubious information on their sites. I came across an interesting one that stated: "When taken between meals, it (the enzyme) will be stored in […] Continue Reading…

I spent the first 14 years of my life in Southeastern New Mexico: dry desert country. Our summer vacations, however, were spent in southern Missouri where my grandparents lived. We loved it there. Moisture, rivers, grass, forests: it was heaven to me and my siblings and is why I live in the Ozarks today. It was during […] Continue Reading…