Digestion, part 3: It's all about the enzymes

And so to my third blog post on digestion.  Hardly a week ago and I would have not had any substantial material to write here, rather what I had in my mind was a mystery.  Thankfully both for me and for you, dear reader, I am beginning to get an understanding.

When you read on a packet of something from the supermarket and its says so much Vitamin C or B or whatever what it will never tell you is about the enzymes.  That may be because in part packed food from supermarkets is notably low on enzymes.  Sadly fresh food, unless it is organic is also low on enzymes.  Sadly also any cooking destroys enzymes, especially that at higher temperatures and longer cooking times.  This blog post my be seen as a sales pitch for buying organic produce!  Actually it is more than that.  But let's start at the beginning, and what are enzymes and where are they found?

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

I have to bring this video to your attention.  "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" was a key video in inspiring me to think that doctors prescribing pills was not the answer.  It inspired me to think that I could clear up many of my health issues by getting my food back to basics.  So here it is.

I cannot commend highly enough for anyone with serious health issues, an especially arthritis, to sit down and watch it.

The film features a man who had/has extremely bad hives, another auto-immune disease.

The Dietician Visitation

Driven to the end of my tether just 2-3 weeks ago I have elected to go on a stomach & gut reset diet.  Many people have heard of the 5/2 diet where you have two days every week just drink and thus no food, and indeed many people have, I think, had positive experiences and some have built it or something similar into their lifestyle.  My diet choice starts off in a very similar way, that is just liquids.

After the first two days my diet goes in a very different direction.  It concentrates on paying attention to your body, listening for changes.  For instance I can play back (in my mind) exactly my bowel movements in the last week and can describe in detail what they felt like.  It is this attention to detail about my body that helps me understand when foods are helping or hindering progress, and by how much.  It also helps me pick out subtle differences that may depend on quantities or other foods combined during cooking.