rying to keep a good balance in our diets and knowing what foods are better for our health, plus the use of a natural approach to food, diet and way of life. Awareness of our selves and our environment is the key. Our bodies are constructed intelligently, most of the time they will give us signs of problems. We need to be aware of the meaning of these signals, so we can apply corrective measures. There are many ways of treating diseases. I am going to discuss one very effective way in the following text:

Proteolytic Enzymes demonstrate that they play a significant role in the treatment of cancer and disease metastasis in several ways:

One way is to strengthen the immune system to better cope with cancer. Another is to dissolve the fibrin cloak, which often forms around tumor cells. The fibrin covers the Cancer cells surface landmarks, which attracts the immune cell response.

When the proteolytic enzymes dissolve the fibrin cloak, the immune system is better able to recognize the cancer cells and destroy them.

The proteolytic enzymes also stimulate the anti-cancer macrophages and natural killer cells, so their anti-tumor capabilities increase twelve fold.

Proteolytic enzymes help the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) molecules do their job of destroying tumor cells. They do this by keeping the TNF molecules from clumping together in large masses and blocking their own action.

Another way these enzymes work is to inhibit the cancer cells adhesiveness, which is important to reduce their ability to create metastasis. The blood and cell adhesiveness is increased during chronic diseases and cancer, so there is a concomitant decrease in blood flow, especially with age.

Proteolytic enzymes increase the blood flow by dissolving excess fibrin and decreasing the activity of the adhesion molecules of the cancer cells, so it is harder to form metastasis.

*Studies that support the benefits of Proteolytic Enzymes:*

In studying malignant melanoma, Dr. Lucia Desser of the Institute for Tumor Research and Tumor Development at the University of Vienna found that proteolytic enzymes inhibited metastasis formation of melanoma cells.

Dr. Rudelf Kunze of Berlin showed that by blocking the formation of vitronectin, an adhesion molecule on the surface of the melanoma cells, proteolytic enzymes inhibited the adhesion molecule receptor CD44 on colon and breast cancer cells, and thus blocked the metastasis of disease.

Proteolytic enzymes plus vitamin E seems to help with breast fibrosis and many cases of early breast cancer. Professor Dittmar of teaching hospital in Starnberg, Germany, showed in a study of 96 women with breast pain, swelling, and tenderness from nodular and cystic changes in breast tissue that enzyme therapy significantly improved symptoms.

Cr. Wolfgang Scheef of the Rober-Janker Clinic in Bonn, Germany, found that 85% of his patients with benign fibrosis had no symptoms after six weeks of enzyme therapy.

According to European research, proteolytic enzymes both break down and inhibit the formation of cross-linked protein chains and thus help maintain the elasticity of the tissues, including the arteries and veins.

Enzymes are very active in maintaining health: Cholesterol levels, heart disease, diabetes, rheumatism, auto-immune diseases, such as MS, and circulation issues are only a few of the health problems that enzymes assist in correcting and healing.

*Conclusions:*

Enzymes are large part of our health system, from digestion, detoxification to healing, they play many different roles in our well being. Our health suffers when we lack a required amount of enzymes. Eating cooked foods is one example of enzyme loss. Live enzymes that are natural to raw food are destroyed by the heat in cooking. Our bodies compensate by pulling enzymes out of our organs.

When we are young our body has plenty of enzymes to spare, as the birth amount is still available, but as we age, the enzyme pool, among other things, lessens. Each organ in our body has unique enzymes, which help detoxify and promote optimal organ function.

When our systems lack the required enzymes to perform the needed tasks, from organ function to digestion, then the body gets out of balance and creates issues with cholesterol and so forth. Enzymes are also an important factor in circulation.

Enzymes support many aspects of our immune system. They help built immune activation and immune regulation. Proteolytic enzymes strengthen and potentate many aspects of the immune system and therefore may help with the healing of the immune and auto-immune diseases.

Proteolytic enzymes also serve to protect us from heart attacks or stroke, blood clots, varicose veins, injuries, inflammation, rheumatoid and other forms of arthritis, a range of infective diseases, especially viruses, including cancer. There are even enzymes which constantly repair mutations in the DNA and RNA.

Enzymes optimize and enhance many levels of immune system function and so counter the potential negative effects of aging on the immune system. The importance of a high enzyme level for quality maintenance of life and rejuvenation is significant.

Three of the main symptoms of aging are a decrease in the function of immune system efficiency, a slowing of blood flow due to increased fibrin production, and cross-linking of proteins in our connective tissue. These are directly improved by maintaining a high enzyme level in our tissues.

Proteolytic enzymes fill in for the declining plasmin-producing cells to dissolve fibrin and minimize any clotting phenomena and the progression of atherosclerosis.

We can postulate that the higher we keep our enzyme reserve, the better all aspects of our biological functioning will be, and thus we will minimize the biological aging process. Eating live and raw foods is one of the best ways to enhance our body's enzyme reserve, thereby minimizing the physiological aging process and maximizing the rejuvenation process.

Proteolytic enzymes act as prophylaxis to metastasis and are helpful in maintaining cancer recovery and prevention. The use of proteolytic enzymes for prophylaxis and therapeutics are a powerful addition to the live-food life style.

****** Note: 7/03/07 Source Naturals has a good Proteolytic Enzyme Product.