= Importance of Enzymes = by: Mohd ALkhami
You hear the word "Enzyme" nowadays, and very often you see posters and ads with a word "enzyme" on it. Even everyday products such as washing detergents have enzymes on it. But what is "enzyme" and why it is important in our living? During the postwar time, scientists thought that carbohydrate, protein and fat are the three nutritive substances in dietetics which are necessary to live. However, carbohydrate alone is not enough for proper metabolism. They then added vitamin and mineral to make up five nutritive substances. But then again, minerals were not digested. So, they added an overlooked substance, food fiber as the sixth nutritive substance. These six nutritive substances are very important. However, other than the vitamins and minerals, there was one very important thing to keep life alive. It is the enzyme. Enzymes are essential to sustain life. It work together cooperating with vitamins and minerals and act as a catalyst to accelerate chemical reaction because most chemical reactions in biological cells would occur too slowly. Enzymes don't only act as a catalyst. When the body has an abundance of enzymes, it can protect itself and repair the damage from almost all degenerative disease disorders! Without enzymes, we age more quickly, get disease earlier in life, and acquire physical impairments and mental retardation as our bodies degenerate. Neither a human being nor an animal can live without enzymatic function. As it were the leading part of the life activities and it is the source. If we take supplements in the correct form, most people would assume that the nutrients are being utilized to give the body the support it needs. Wrong. Without the assistance of digestive enzymes, many of the nutrients from the supplements are going to be used just for energy by the metabolic enzymes to clean up the bloodstream. It will not support the body's normal daily needs, creating another cause of deficiencies. More than 5,000 enzymes are known. To name different enzymes, one typically uses the ending -ase with the name of the chemical being transformed (substrate), e.g., lactase is the enzyme that catalyzes the cleavage of lactose. In the near future, more enzymes will be named. Each enzyme does one work. Therefore, 5,000 enzymes do 5,000 different works. Enzyme weakens when it's heated. This is the reason why we are causing virtually all of our own disorders and diseases every time we eat a cooked or processed food. When we eat cooked or processed foods we're eating dead or denatured foods. Dead foods have no living enzymes and most nutrients are diminished significantly. Therefore, you should practice eating raw foods which contains enzyme. What kind of food contains more enzymes? RAW fishes, meats, vegetables, fruits and specially fermented foods contains great amount of enzymes. Fermented foods have more enzymes called vegetable enzyme. When eating broiled fish or roasted meat, try to add raw vegetables that contain rich vegetable enzymes which will help digestion. Remember that lack of enzymes in the body, makes the blood dirty, and it is the base of many kinds of diseases. As what I mentioned previously, protein alone does not work as energy in the body, because the body does not absorb protein itself. Protein should be processed and disassembled by enzymes, specifically, amylase (the enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates). However, if amylase enzymes are not enough, the sugar called "glucose" which hasn't been digested is absorbed as it is, and floats inside the blood. This sugar which hasn't been digested makes the blood sticky, and sticks red blood cells together.
Red blood cells joins
and become sticky
Good blood with enough enzymes Even big red blood cells can pass thinner blood vessels because of its flexibility. However, if the blood is sticky like the above left figure, blood won't pass efficiently. Then, various diseases may appear. This all happens because of overeating and eating only cooked and processed food reducing enzymes significantly. Researchers found that the younger people had 30 times more amylase in their saliva than the older people. This is the reason that when we're young we can handle a diet of bread, pasta and cooked foods without much problem. But this type of diet can cause rapid aging and depletion of enzyme supplies. There are people who eat a well-balanced diet, yet remain thin (unhealthy). And there are people who eat less or are vegetarians, yet remain fat. So you understand that these maybe due to functions of enzyme in the body. Bear in mind that when you feel weak, tired or sick, eat more of easily digestible foods with full of enzymes.
Some organisms cannot digest cellulose because they lack the necessary enzymes to break it down. Organisms like cows, termites, and certain bacteria have specialized enzymes that allow them to digest cellulose.
Yes, enzymes are proteins that are essential for speeding up and regulating biochemical reactions in living organisms.
Enzymes are made of proteins. They are biological molecules that act as catalysts to speed up chemical reactions in living organisms.
Yes, almost all enzymes are proteins. Enzymes are a type of protein that act as biological catalysts, speeding up chemical reactions in living organisms. There are also some RNA molecules called ribozymes that can act as enzymes.
Enzymes are a type of protein that act as biological catalysts to speed up chemical reactions in living organisms. So, while all enzymes are proteins, not all proteins are enzymes.
All micro and macro organisms have enzymes
Sulfur is important in an ecosystem because it is a component of amino acids, which are essential for building proteins in organisms. Sulfur is also a key element in some vitamins and enzymes that organisms need for various biochemical reactions. Additionally, sulfur cycling between different forms in the environment is important for maintaining ecological balance.
Yes, enzymes act as catalysts, speeding up metabolic reactions in organisms by lowering the activation energy required for the reactions to occur. This allows biological processes to proceed at a faster rate than they would without enzymes.
They are proteins produced by living organisms.
Some organisms cannot digest cellulose because they lack the necessary enzymes to break it down. Organisms like cows, termites, and certain bacteria have specialized enzymes that allow them to digest cellulose.
Yes. All organisms attempting to breach my eyes are immediately neutralized by a complex network of deadly enzymes. Oh, no. You have me totally freaked out now with this question. Organisms are trying to enter my eyes? And the only defense I have is enzymes? You're kidding me, right?
Enzymes are important catalysts because they speed up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for the reaction to occur. They are highly specific, only reacting with specific substrates to produce specific products. This specificity allows enzymes to regulate cellular processes and maintain homeostasis in living organisms.
Enzyme catalysis is essential in living organisms because it accelerates chemical reactions that would otherwise occur too slowly to sustain life. Enzymes lower the activation energy required for reactions to proceed, making vital processes in cells more efficient. Overall, enzymes play a crucial role in metabolism, growth, and other biological functions.
The most common catalysts in living organisms are enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions in cells by lowering the activation energy needed for the reactions to occur. They are specific to particular substrates and play essential roles in metabolism, growth, and other biological processes.
Organisms contain enzymes to catalyze hydrolysis reactions in cells. Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions, such as breaking down large molecules into smaller components through hydrolysis.
Yes, that is correct.
Yes, enzymes are proteins that are essential for speeding up and regulating biochemical reactions in living organisms.