Enzymes

[Amarynth]

Hello everyone :)

I'm a nursing student, currently taking my biology classes. Yesterday my professor said something in his lecture about amino acids and enzymes that enzymes are reusable and specific. I understood the specific part, as different foods are digested by different enzymes. The reusable part stumped me. Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that the human body had a limited store of enzymes. So do we have this limited store but are they reusable?

Later in the lecture he did mention enzyme inhibitors, competitive and alasteric. I can only assume that these inhibitors are the awful, SAD foods many people eat. Once these enzymes are blocked, what I gathered from the lecture was that they no longer work. So yes, it does make sense that this limited store of enzymes be guarded like a precious gem, by eating wonderful, raw foods...:eat

Now I keep thinking that for over 35 years of my life, I had been eating nasty, processed SAD foods...killing all those little enzymes in my body!

I just wanted to see what others thought...just curious, you know? Also, I needed a distraction from writing my lab report. :dance:

[RawMark]

From a biological standpoint, enzymes are not consumed like, say, the food you eat. They are used in the process of certain reactions, but not usually used up. Umm, I'll try to give an example. Say the food you eat is like lighting a candle. You eat the food and the food delivers energy and in the process it's used up. Think of enzymes like the lighter you use to light the candle (or convert carbs to energy) - it can be used over and over again, though the candle will burn down in one use.

Something like that. ;)

[dime]

Later in the lecture he did mention enzyme inhibitors, competitive and alasteric. I can only assume that these inhibitors are the awful, SAD foods many people eat. Once these enzymes are blocked, what I gathered from the lecture was that they no longer work. So yes, it does make sense that this limited store of enzymes be guarded like a precious gem, by eating wonderful, raw foods...:eat


Yes they get inhibited, but just for a short time. The body then produces new enzymes, over and over again. So don't worry, it's not a limited store.
Not sure what enzyme inhibitors the awful SAD foods have (logically they shouldn't have, the makers of chips and hamburgers want you to eat as much as possible of this stuff). But most nuts/seeds and vegetables are known to have these enzyme inhibitors as protective mechanisms (the plants obviously don't want anyone to eat them :)). Whatever parts the plant need to survive will usually have some anti-nutrient stuff, which make it hard to digest, so if you try once you'll learn and won't try it again.