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Udo's Choice Digestive Enzymes Blend: vegan
Digestive enzymes are catalysts, which break down food into its basic
components. Raw foods are rich in enzymes. Cooking food destroys these
vital enzymes.
Udo's Choice Digestive Enzyme Blend contains the full spectrum of important
enzymes necessary to help in the digestion and absorption of all major
nutrients. The Enzyme Blend not only aids in nutrient utilisation, but
also helps minimise some of the unwanted side-effects of poor digestion,
such as bloating, heart-burn and gas.
Udo's Digestive Enzyme Blend contains high potency enzymes intended for
use as a replacement for the enzymes lost in cooking and processing of
food. It provides enzyme activity combinations, which are precisely balanced
to optimise the body's utilisation of food nutrients.
In addition to five protein-based enzymes, the Ultimate Digestive Enzyme
Blend contains all the enzymes required to break down and metabolise fat,
carbohydrate, soluble fibre, starch, milk sugar and complex sugars.
Udo's Digestive Enzyme Blend now contains more protease, the enzyme that
breaks down protein. The old formula consisted of 12,500 protease enzymes;
the new enhanced formula consists of a total of 62,500 protease enzymes
because of the addition of 50,000 papain units (PU) of bromelain. Bromelain
is a plant-based enzyme that has been added because it also converts protein
to amino acids. Bromelain also has anti-inflammatory properties. Lipase,
the enzyme that breaks down fats, has also been increased by 50 lipase
units (LU), from 100 to 150 LU. The blend now contains a total of ten
enzymes, instead of nine.
It is made from 100% vegetarian source aspergillus using the solid state
fermentation process recommended by the FCC, and comes in easily digested
vegetarian Vegicaps®.
What are digestive enzymes?
Without enzymes, we could not exist. Our body's reactions would be too
slow for life to be possible because enzymes are involved in almost everything
that happens in the body.
The human body makes more than 3,000 kinds of enzymes that speed up (catalyze)
chemical reactions and save energy. Digestive enzymes, which are only
a few of the thousands of known enzymes, break down the foods we eat into
basic building blocks that our body then absorbs and reassembles to build
cells, tissues, organs, glands, and body systems.
Where do digestive enzymes come from?
They come from two main sources:
- Internal: The digestive system secretes a few digestive enzymes
in the mouth and stomach, but most are secreted by the pancreas and
small intestine
- External: Foods that are raw, sprouted, or soaked, or supplements
of digestive enzymes from plant or animal sources.
During digestion, digestive enzymes from raw foods (or enzyme supplements)
work cooperatively with digestive enzymes from the digestive tract. Most
of the digestive enzyme action initiated by our body starts once food
enters the small intestine. On the other hand, digestive enzymes from
raw foods or supplements can begin the process of digestion as soon as,
or even before, food enters our mouth, providing a valuable jump-start
to the digestive process.
Why do we need Digestive Enzymes?
No matter what we eat, all our foods are made from proteins, fats, carbohydrates,
and a few other complex molecules. They each require different enzymes
to break them down into amino acids, fatty acids, glucose, and other basic
building blocks. Protease digests proteins; lipase digests fats; amylase
digests starch; etc...
Digestive enzymes help to
- Break down, so we can absorb, the nutrients we need to build cells
and bodies;
- Reduce bloating, gas, and heart burn that result from poor digestion;
- Digest proteins, poor digestion of which causes many health problems;
- Decrease inflammation, "leaky gut", allergies due to poorly
digested foods, migraine headaches, growing pains, asthma, and others;
- Supplement the declining supply of digestive enzymes as we age;
- Improve circulation, rework scars, improve healing, and help with
all health problems caused by incomplete digestion of foods due to insufficient
digestive enzymes.
How do we optimize our supply of Digestive Enzymes?
In order to fulfill our need for digestive enzymes, we should:
- Eat plenty of raw vegetables and fruits; soak (for 8-24 hours) seeds,
nuts, and grains; and sprout beans and other legumes
- Chew food well (like mama always said)
- Support our body's ability to carry out its basic tasks by eating
a diet rich in nutrients and herbs (bitters) that optimize digestive
system function
- Supplement cooked foods, large meals, or allergy-causing foods with
digestive enzyme supplements rich in protein-digesting proteases
What makes Udo's Choice Digestive Enzyme Blend unique?
Not all plant enzyme supplements are created equal! Many were originally
developed to help preserve food for storage and shipping. Udo's Choice
Digestive Enzyme Blend was designed specifically for humans and has the
highest activity in the temperature and pH ranges of the human digestive
tract.
How do we use digestive enzymes for best results?
Because enzymes are heat sensitive proteins, temperatures over 120°F
(or 50°C) may destroy them. Cooked, canned, micro-waved, or pasteurized
foods need digestive enzyme supplementation.
Enzymes have no taste. For best results, open up and mix contents of
1 or more capsules of digestive enzymes throughout cold or warm (but not
hot) foods, or swallow capsules during the meal. Digestive enzymes can
also be mixed in water and taken between meals.
People with serious digestive problems should consult a nutrition-oriented
health care professional familiar with digestive enzyme therapy.
This unique enzyme blend provides
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Guaranteed Enzyme Activity. The primary, internationally accepted
standard for manufacture and measurement of enzyme activity is the
Food Chemical Codex (FCC). The Udo's Choice Digestive Blend is made
according to FCC methods, and uses the FCC unit measuring system to
define enzyme potency/activity.
*Note: Supplements expressing enzyme potency in other units,
such as weight, often create confusion over enzyme potency, since
there is no direct relationship between weight and activity. For instance,
100mgs of enzymes heated to boiling point (100°C; 212°F) would
still weigh 100mgs, but would have zero activity, since enzymes are
destroyed by this heat. Also, filler may add to the size and weight
(but not the activity) of an enzyme supplement.
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A Full Range of 14 different Digestive Enzymes. Udo's Choice
Digestive Blend contains the enzymes required to break down and metabolize
the full range of food types -- protein (proteases and proteinases),
fat (lipase), starch (carbohydrate)(amylase), soluble and insoluble
fiber (cellulase, pectinase, phytase), milk sugar (lactase), and other
complex sugars (glucoamylase, invertase, and malt diastase).
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A Super-Rich Source of Protein-Digesting Enzymes. We use at
least 5 kinds of proteases/proteinases because undigested proteins
are the main cause of the food-related digestive complaints that are
rampant in our society - especially in those over 40 years old, but
sometimes even in children.
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Precision and Balance. This Enzyme Blend contains high potency
enzymes to replace those destroyed during the cooking and processing
of foods. The enzyme combinations it contains are deliberately chosen
and precisely balanced to optimize the body's utilization of nutrients.
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The Preferred Packaging in Vegetable Capsules which, unlike
tablets, can be pulled apart to mix the enzymes into foods 15-30 minutes
before they are eaten for maximum results.
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100% Plant-based Digestive Enzyme Help. This Digestive Enzyme
Blend is made from 100% vegetarian-source aspergillus and other microorganisms
cultivated on a food supply consisting of a plant medium -- a solid
state fermentation method recommended by the FCC. The enzymes produced
by the microorganisms we use have a strong record of safe use in the
food industry and are suitable for both vegans, vegetarians and meat
eaters.
Plant-based vs. animal-based digestive enzymes
Many enzymes on the market today are made from animal organs - hog stomach,
beef pancreas, lamb fore-stomach, etc. Plant enzymes, as stated previously,
are derived from microorganisms grown on a plant medium.
Animal-based enzymes usually work in a narrow pH range and can only digest
protein, starch, and fat. A broad-based plant enzyme, in addition to providing
9 different kinds of enzymes instead of just 3, has a wider pH range of
activity, allowing it to function throughout the entire digestive tract.
It begins working in the mouth, esophagus, and upper stomach, thus decreasing
the enzyme secretion needed for digestion. Temporarily inactive in the
lower stomach, plant enzymes return to their active state in the intestines,
helping to complete the digestive process.
Udo's Choice Digestive Enzyme Blend provides Optimum Results.
To get the most from Udo's Choice Digestive Enzyme Blend, open capsules
and mix them into food cooled to body temperature. Alternately, take capsules
during the meal. Heat destroys enzymes, so avoid mixing directly into
hot food. Take however many capsules lead to improvement (usually 1-4
capsules per meal: some people may need up to 10 capsules). Results may
show within a few days, and should be noticeable within 4 weeks.
References:
Campbell, Neil A., Biology, Fourth Edition. The Benjamin/Cummings
Publishing Company, 1996.
Howell, Edward Dr., Food Enzymes for Health Longevity. Lotus Press, 1994.
Lopez Da., Williams R.M., Miehlke M., Enzymes:The Fountain of Life. The
Nelville Press, Inc., 1994.
Wardlaw, Gordon M., Perspectives in Nutrition, Fourth Edition. WCB/McGraw-Hill,
1999.
Lee, L., Turner L., Goldberg, B., The Enzyme Cure. Future Medicine Publishing,
1998.
Wrba, heinrich, Enzymes - A Drug of the Future. Published by Dr. Hans
Hermann von Wimpffen, 1998.
Klaschka, F., M.D., Oral Enzymes - New Approach To ________ Treatment. Forum-Medizin
Verlagsgsellschaft mbH, 1996.
Gonzalez N.J., Isaacs L.L., Evaluation of pancreatic proteolytic enzyme
treatment of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, with nutrition and detoxification
support. Nutr _______ 1999;33(2):117-24.
Raheem D., Effect of amylase treatment on the consistency of cooked, fermented
oat bran porridge. Int J Food Sci Nutr 1995 Aug;46(3):189-93. Department
of Food Technology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Shahani KM, Kwan AJ, Friend BA, Role and significance of enzymes in human
milk. Am J Clin Nutr 1980 Aug;33(8):1861-8.
Important legal note: Though we are happy to provide
products and services which will help you to improve your health and well being, we do not 'treat', or aim to 'cure' any disease. Under UK law only a medical doctor may 'treat' illness and disease with a medical origin. The information in this web page is for information purposes only.
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