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Making Salad the Star<br />
organic, place eggs at the <strong>to</strong>p of the list. Most health food s<strong>to</strong>res sell organic, free-range eggs—and many<br />
regular grocery s<strong>to</strong>res also sell them now.<br />
Why Are Enzymes So Important?<br />
If you read my Web site and blog, you know that I believe the #1 deficit in the American diet, and the root<br />
cause of all disease, is that we are not getting enzymes in our food. Our ances<strong>to</strong>rs got plenty of enzymes, as do<br />
indigenous peoples around the world who eat close <strong>to</strong> the land. The peoples of the world who are free of<br />
cancer, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and au<strong>to</strong>immune diseases are people who don’t cook most of their<br />
food. Ironically, the legacy of affluence is that most of us now eat cooked, processed, refined foods as the bulk<br />
of every meal and snack.<br />
The body has a limited capacity <strong>to</strong> produce digestive enzymes, the catalysts in the digestive process. Most<br />
experts estimate that our bodies have about 30 years’ worth of ability <strong>to</strong> produce enzymes. So, if we eat a diet<br />
of dead foods (cooked and/or processed), our body is taxed, and we use up enzymatic potential that cannot be<br />
replaced.<br />
Every bodily system is affected by enzyme depletion. Because enzymes must be present <strong>to</strong> digest any food, the<br />
body becomes very resourceful when cooked (or worse, denatured) foods are supplied as fuel. The body robs<br />
the enzymes from other organs, and from other metabolic processes that need them, when the pancreas cannot<br />
supply enough. The short-term effects of losing our enzyme-production capacity and drawing <strong>to</strong>o heavily on<br />
the body’s ability <strong>to</strong> manufacture them include indigestion, heartburn, constipation, gas, and bloating. The<br />
long-term effects are all the degenerative diseases (cancer, heart disease, and many more) resulting from<br />
burnout of our organs. It all starts with enzyme depletion.<br />
On the other hand, if we eat live and raw food, the food itself provides the enzymes needed for complete<br />
digestion and breakdown of nutrients. Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates, lipase breaks<br />
down fats, and protease breaks down proteins for absorption by the body. Live food—raw, not heated above<br />
116° contains enzymes. Several of our <strong>12</strong> <strong>Steps</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Whole</strong> <strong>Foods</strong> throughout this year of change are<br />
concentrated on increasing the quantity of live, enzyme-intact foods in your diet.<br />
The highest enzyme content is found in sprouted seeds, nuts, and grains. A nut, seed, or grain that is soaked for<br />
a few hours explodes with enzyme potential when it germinates and becomes a live food with sometimes 100<br />
times the nutrition of the unsprouted food—so much more than just a food with the potential <strong>to</strong> become alive.<br />
Second only <strong>to</strong> sprouts in enzyme content are greens. Eat live and green foods at every meal, and you will be<br />
vibrantly healthy even as so many around you making more typical choices are suffering the consequences of<br />
those choices: aging and degenerating more quickly than is necessary.<br />
Like you, I’m sure, I like <strong>to</strong> travel and go <strong>to</strong> parties, barbecues, or restaurants with friends or family now and<br />
then. If I can, I always get a big green salad or plate of fruits and vegetables before eating anything cooked. I’m<br />
a big fan of getting vitamins and minerals from food rather than synthetic supplements, which I think do us<br />
little or no good and are largely a waste of money. However, I am a fan of two daily supplements: first, a<br />
probiotic and, second, a comprehensive enzyme supplement. You can find both at health food s<strong>to</strong>res.<br />
For times when I can’t get that big plate of greens with my meal, I keep a bottle of digestive enzymes in my<br />
purse. Take two capsules before any meal that you know will be heavy and less than 60% raw. You would be<br />
wise, in fact, <strong>to</strong> take one capsule before any meal that is less than 80% raw.<br />
56 <strong>12</strong> <strong>Steps</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Whole</strong> <strong>Foods</strong><br />
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw