Raw foods do not aid digestion
DEAR DR. BLONZ >>
Is it true that raw foods still have their enzymes intac, and that when we eat raw foods, the body uses those enzymes to aid digestion? If so, does this mean that our body doesn't need to rely as much on its own enzymes, giving raw food is a net benefit to our digestion as we age?
DEAR S.F. >> Enzymes are compounds that change other substances without being changed themselves. In our bodies, enzymes facilitate the disassembly of complex foods into their component parts before absorption. It's different in plants, where enzymes help make substances available for growth, reproduction or defense.
While plant enzymes don't help our digestion or absorption, they continue to act after the plant's harvest and hasten food breakdown. Refrigeration can slow this action, so many foods benefit from a chill during storage. It is not always a good thing; fresh tomatoes, for example, do not benefit from refrigeration, having a cold-activated enzyme that makes them mushy and less flavorful.
A healthy human body has a cadre of enzymes tailored to our needs. Most enzymes act in the small intestine, where digestion and absorption occur; plant enzymes are not essential to these processes.
The “raw” food idea relates to the fact that cooking can deactivate plant enzymes. But this is not the only risk plant enzymes face: After being swallowed, foods go into the stomach, exposing them to a highly acidic environment that prepares complex foods for enzymatic disassembly in the small intestine. Enzymes are typically proteins and are denatured by stomach acid like other proteins.
While there can be exceptions for specific foods, sensitivities and health conditions, the general rule is that a healthy human body makes all the necessary enzymes to digest and absorb food. Enjoy raw foods, but not because of any special enzymatic powers.
DEAR DR. BLONZ >> I think the newspaper edited your recent column on olive oil to remove the answer to the reader's specific question. The question was about the differences in health benefits — not flavor — between extra-virgin olive oil and standard olive oil. Please consider a follow-up column on this.
That was my gaffe, not that of the editors. Please allow me to follow up now.
Extra-virgin olive oil is a healthful adjunct to our foods. The less processed the oil is, the greater the amount of phytochemical assets it contains: substances that evolved to protect the olive and its seed from potential assaults such as the oxidizing rays of the sun. Plentiful evidence suggests that these substances can be beneficial for us, as well.
EVOO is the first oil pressed out during processing and as such will have higher levels of these assets.