The whole point is that enzymes are indeed absolutely essential for digestion, That's why the body has to produce enzymes at various stages in order to digest the food. The enzymes in raw foods help to predigest the foods  in the mouth and upper stomach(much like the amylase in saliva does in the mouth long before the food even reaches the stomach) which means the body does not, as a result, have overexert itself so much re creating  enzymes further down. Plus, predigestion with foods already rich in enzymes means that the relevant food can take a shorter time to digest(partially-raw/partially-cooked RVAFers commonly report that cooked-food takes much longer to digest than raw foods).

 

And the fact that humans can so easily develop problems re producing enzymes does indicate that enzyme-deficient cooked-foods do produce a strain on the human body over time. The claim re aging solely leading to conditions of enzyme-insufficiency is not really convincing as young people can get that too - and  even in the unlikelihood it were true, it would then make a lot more sense to encourage older peiople to increasingly eat enzyme-rich raw foods so as to make up for the lack of enzyme-production in their own bodies.

 

Geoff




 
> Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 14:27:56 -0600
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: PALEOFOOD Digest - 29 May 2009 (#2009-126)
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> >One obvious flaw in all these enzyme arguments is this:- the body supplies =
> >enzymes in the saliva to help break down food.
> 
> I was under the impression saliva is used to "prime" carbohydrates (starches) for later digestion in the gut, and is really only effective if a food is thoroughly chewed. Most carnivores gulp their prey which means saliva is essentially bypassed.
> 
> Again, what is the point in obsessing over whether a food retains it's enzymes if those same enzymes are not essential for digestion?

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