> Well, if these enzymes were really important in digesting
> food, wouldn't the plant digest itself?

This little piece bothered me for a few days so I thought I'd respond...

I'm not sure this is logical at all. After all, we have enzymes that digest
protein, and *we* don't digest ourselves.

Raw plants and even meat does have enzymes in it that may be destroyed with
cooking. The enzymes might be contained inside the cell organelles. Mild
cooking or physical destruction (through cutting or pureeing, say) may
release these enzymes. Heavy cooking probably destroys most of them.

I don't say that enzymes are necessary for digesting food, but consuming
fresh food in a more or less raw state may be very healthy due to these
enzymes, who knows?

--Richard