Enzymes were mentioned many times by the speakers as being helpful for maintaining a good environment for gut health. Enzymes have now been around for a good 10 years in this field, we can now assume that this is not a passing fad.

Can’t end this blog without giving my new friend Ty a big “Thanks!” for the cool Indiana Jones key ring. Ty helped pass the time in the booth by entertaining me with his diary and neat drawings. Thanks to his mom Michelle for letting him hang out with me!

DAN! was our last big conference appearance for the year, but I have trips planned for Omaha on Nov. 3 and El Dorado Hills, CA on Nov. 18. Check our calendar for more information.

Ah, the magical 118 number! When Edwin 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 was not a precise science back then.

Actually, most plant-based enzymes are extremely hardy in regards to enduring high temps. Papain is probably the champ, as it is able to withstand temperatures as high as 190 degrees F for several minutes without being denatured. Most of the enzymes used in supplements are assayed for activity at temps ranging from 110 to 140 F. Enzyme assays are usually performed under conditions considered optimal for maximum activity, so obviously these temps are nowhere near the danger zone for these hardy proteins.

The notion that one temperature (118 F in this case) applies to all enzymes as the point of thermal inactivation is also not true. Resistance to heat varies with every protein, some are extremely sensitive, others are not. All plant-derived enzymes should be able to accommodate temps of 125 F with no problem.

Let’s put the above information to practical use. Summer temperatures are often a concern to customers when it comes to shipping enzymes. However, this is not a problem as the packaging and bottle should provide adequate shielding from direct heating. The worse scenario would be a package of enzymes left in a hot metal mailbox, but even this would have little effect on the enzyme activity.

Since we are discussing temperature: The best way to prolong the shelf life of your enzymes is to keep it in the bottle in the freezer. Don’t put it in the refrigerator for prolonged periods. Refrigerators have high humidity levels, freezers do not. Humidity is the worst enemy of enzyme activity, so take care to keep them in a dry place. Enzymes love the cold, so the colder the better. This is especially helpful for the chewable tablets as it keeps the tablets from getting soft (though this has no effect on the activity) which sometimes occur if a bottle is not completely emptied in a month or so.

Another comment bears repeating, though it may seem obvious. Don’t cook the enzymes. Wait until any cooked food has cooled before adding or mixing enzymes. The rule of thumb is if it’s cool enough to put into your mouth, it’s cool enough to add enzymes.

Just remember: Enzymes are cool!

My slave keeps a lot of white bottles around. I see them when I jump up on their eating place (while they are not here, of course) and like to knock them onto the floor, just to see the stupid dogs chase them around.

The chief slave talks about "enzymes" a lot, I deduced that they are what he takes with his meals, why he does, I have no idea. I do know that when I go outside to snack on lizards and bugs, he does not appreciate me regurging my meal into his house shoes. Oh, the yelling and chasing that ensues, such great fun! When he catches me though, my fiendish slave slathers an oily substance onto my handsome paws, forcing me to cleanse them with my lovely pink tongue. It tastes like chicken, so not too bad. In the past, this has done nothing but annoy me, however, lately I’ve noticed something different. First though, a little background.

I, being a superior species of cat, spend a great deal of time grooming my lovely hairy self. This causes a lot of hair to be swallowed, which does not bother me, but for some reason really irritates my slaves. I guess it is because I want to show them my collection of hair balls, which I usually dispense on the family room carpet and they ungraciously pick up and throw in the trash! I overheard the chief slave discussing a "remedy" for the situation, and he subsequently opened one of the bottles marked "Peptizyde". A little pill rolled out and I saw him open it and put the powder into the oily stuff. Sensing that I was once again going to be put through the trauma of having nasty material placed onto my beautiful being, I ran for my hiding place. The other slave, however, caught me and despite my protests, allowed the chief slave to put the altered coating on me. After rewarding the insubordinate human with a swift swipe of my deadly claws, I retired to my hiding place and began the tedious task of removing said material. Afterwards, I wanted to show my "appreciation" to my despotic slaves by yacking a slimy hairball onto their sleeping place, but try as I may, nothing came forth. I also noticed the powdery substance was in my food bowl, but I’m powerless to resist the eating of food, whatever else may be on it. I actually liked the taste, however.

Strangely, I have not been able to produce my fabulous hairballs since. I heard my slave crowing to some other pink-fleshed creatures that he had "fixed" my "problem" by adding enzymes to my food. He said it would break down the hair in my stomach. Shocking! Another demonstration of the humans lack of artistic comprehension!

Well, I tire of this conversation and it is well past my fifth nap of the day.

Til next I grab the mouse, adieu!

Major T. Cat, Esq.

Now that’s interesting. Enzymes are proteins, and any protein, even an enzyme, will eventually be broken down by the body’s own set of protease enzymes. No protein taken orally will survive intact for long (though plant enzymes are more resistant), even those that do get absorbed into the circulation. Our bodies would much rather use ingested proteins as raw materials to build its own proteins, when and where they are needed.

Another question: How would one know that the ingested enzyme is being stored? And why in the liver? And how would the liver know when we "needed" the enzyme? The liver is an organ of detoxification and produces many of its own enzymes to metabolize drugs and remove toxins (which is why I don’t eat livers, yuck!). It does not store anything.

But yet I keep seeing that statement on this company’s website, and it annoys me. They should know better. It could be that they subscribe to the unproven and debunked theory of enzyme conservation and mutation, whereby it is thought that a deficiency of enzymes in one part of the body can result in the recruitment of other enzymes in the body to compensate. But that is another myth to be scorned upon at a later date.

Bottom line: Enzymes taken orally do NOT get stored anywhere in the body. The vast bulk of the enzyme will remain in the gut, loyally accompanying and breaking down the food it was eaten with until it is inactivated or pooped out. And this is a good thing, we would not want the enzymes we eat, which are in active form, to be stored as they are foreign to the cells of our organs . In other words, the organs would not know what to do with the enzymes except tear them up or activate the immune system and remove them which is what eventually happens to any ingested enzyme/protein absorbed into the circulation.

More debunking to come…

It was during those vacations we first encountered fireflies: those magical flying lanterns! Ever the scientist, even at 14, I was fascinated that a small insect could produce light. How could it do that and not get hot like a light bulb?

Fast forward to 1981. I’m a graduate student at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and starting work on a doctoral thesis. One of the first things I learn is how to determine the activity of an enzyme known as phosphodiesterase or PDE. The assay used an extract of firefly lanterns (containing luciferin and the enzyme luciferase) to produce a small amount of light that was then measured with a luminometer. Combining the luciferin-luciferase extract with ATP (the energy source for many cellular functions) and the PDE enzyme resulted in obtaining PDE activity by measuring the amount of light produced from the firefly lantern extract. On a historical note, the extract was obtained from Sigma Chemical company in Saint Louis, MO. It was one of the first products made by the company back in the 1940’s. People, including children, were paid to collect the fireflies from Forest Park near the Central West End of Saint Louis. Even today, Sigma will pay about a penny per firefly!

As a child I didn’t imagine ever finding out how fireflies worked. As an adult, I sit on my deck in the summer evenings and watch the flying lights.

I know how they light up now.

But the wonder remains.

Why enzymes?

1. Enzymes make sense. The typical Western diet leaves much to be desired. Enzymes can insure that we are getting all the nutrition available from whatever we eat. For those on restrictive diets, enzymes can many times offer a more convenient and preferable alternative.

2. Enzymes are safe. Enzymes are proteins, just like those found in vegetables. They just happen to have special properties in that they break down other proteins, carbohydrates, starches, and fats. They are not toxic at any dose. Their effects are due to the products of their reactions, that is, producing sugar from carbs, or fatty acids from triglycerides, amino acids from proteins.

3. Enzymes are predictable. Enzymes have been studied and characterized for decades. We know what they do and how they do it. That’s more than can be said for most botanicals and herbal products.

4. Enzymes are cost-effective. Compared to some of the diets that enzymes provide an alternative to, enzymes are a huge money-saver.

5. Enzymes are the future. Do a web search on "Enzymes" and you will be amazed at the applications in which enzymes are used. It would be wise to educate yourself on enzymes. They may be the next household word.

"Why enzymes?", indeed.