permaculture

[Victor Guest <vic@daena.eepo.com.au>]

From: Thomas Lee <enzyme@alaska.net>
To: carol cross <SAED-SHARE-L@cornell.edu>


Hi Carol - really, Trish and I are farmers.  We just happen to be caught 
in the public eye running a restaurant, teaching health, bio-diversity, and 
wise food choices and policy.  Here is something for your files - we have 
tons of this kind of info.  Thanks for all the info you have been sending

tlee.


ENZYMES

        Enzymes do lots more than digest food and ripen fruit.  They are 
involved in all biochemical activity, and there are an estimated 100,000 
enzyme particles in every cell.    Enzyme concentrations are highest in 
infants, and almost universally, enzymes levels diminish in adults and 
continue to decrease as we age.

Enzymes are the Staff of Life, and it is important we understand why and
how to keep our Enzyme levels high.  In illness, higher body temperatures
activate certain enzymes which go about destroying bacteria, helping the
body be well faster.  Science is also targeting specific enzymes to
 help with rheumatoid conditions, cancer, heart disease, blood sugar 
problems, and many other illnesses.

        Dr. Howell.discovered the importance of enzymes and conducted 
serious research with animals to help us understand the importance of 
digestive enzymes.  He noticed that cats fed an exclusively cooked food 
diet failed  to reproduce (with perfection) when the mothers were on an 
exclusively cooked food diet.  The theory is that by eating exclusively 
cooked foods, vast amounts of the Cenzyme reserves are spent digesting food,
and other essential biochemical needs are not met because the enzymes (and 
enzyme particles) are not present to do the job.  Enzymes are lost in our 
regular liquid and solid eliminations, and we need to replace these 
regularly.

        An important point is that cooked carbohydrate and protein foods 
require the greatest concentrations of enzymes to digest.  Eating a diet 
(as we in the west do) of cooked proteins and carbs seriously stresses 
our enzyme reserves. 
This situation is exacerbated when we overeat, use heavy sauces and 
gravies, and eat too fast when we are stressed and tired.
        It is possible to grow enzymes in your own kitchen, and, it is 
easy to preserve enzymes already present in foods.  A couple of basic 
suggestions are:

        cook only that which needs cooking
        eat raw fruits and veggies daily
        cook all cooked foods a minimum
        grow sprouts in your home
        soak raw nuts and seeds

        Sprouts and soaked nuts and seeds are excellent sources of enzymes, 
because the enzymes dormant in dried seeds have been awakened and they are 
at their highest levels in young plants - as they are in infants.  Soak 
nuts and seeds overnight and sprout them a day for easier digestion and to 
take in more enzymes.  These can be added to smoothies, mixed with salads, 
or eaten alone.  You can also make Clive seed cheese, sauces, veggie dips, 
sandwich fillings, and pates with ground up seeds and nuts.

        Sunnies and Wheat grass can easily be grown in small trays and pots 
to make what we call Bio-genic batteries.  These are basically sprouts that
have been blessed with light and life to produce chlorophyll and lots more
enzymes.  Sunnies and wheat grass also contain numerous vitamins and
minerals and other important nutrients.

        Enzyme beverages, such as fresh juices, SuperFood smoothies, 
Rejuvelac, Manchurian mushroom Tea, and nut and seed milks are all great 
foods to bring more enzymes into the body.  Some of the best seeds to use 
are sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax, and chia, and the best nuts are 
almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts.


       Minerals



        According to the U.S. Senate (Document #264), 98% of all Americans 
are deficient in one or more essential minerals.  Minerals are the 
foundation for life, the physical elements of which our bodies are made. 
When minerals are lacking, total perfect health may not be possible.


        There is a great book that came our way several years ago titled 
The Survival of Civilization, by Hamaker and Weaver.  This excellent book
clearly shows the importance of minerals, and how many of the essential
minerals come from glaciers.  We have all seen glaciers, and know their 
size. 
With this size comes immense weight and movement and rock crushing
pressure.  Over the thousands of years of gently sliding down a mountain
valley, glaciers crush rocks and grind them to a fine powder.  Over time,
this powder, called glacier till, is deposited across the river valleys 
and beyond as life supporting minerals.  Shrubs and trees soon begin to 
grow, and over time, mineral rich soils develop.


With the dawn of the agricultural age, mankind gradually shifted from a
hunting / gathering tribe to a tribe of farmers and ranchers.  Our diet
shifted from wild foods to cultivated foods, and with this shift came a 
focus on food production, different from food collection.  The result of 
this is that food production became focused on plots of productive land 
that were continuously planted and harvested.  This is a great system that 
offers all of humanity more leisure time, leading to the pursuit of more 
interesting spiritual and creative pursuits, and so long as the farms and 
ranch lands are adequately replenished, the cycle can continue indefinitely.
However, complete replenishment has not always been the case.


        In the 20th century came a new shift, this one called the Green
revolution.  This shift revolutionized agriculture for the first time in 
6,000 years, and the fossil fuel age entered the farm.  Big tractors and
petrochemical based fertilizers  quickly became the farming model, and
farms became huge.  The soil came to be viewed as a factory, receiving
minimal input (and love), while maximum output was expected and taken. 
We need to look at this revolution in a new light, because it is 
imperative for our survival as a civilization that we understand what this 
way of farming does to our soils.


        Do you remember when discussing enzymes, we covered the point of
enzyme reserves?  The human body only has so many reserves of enzymes,
and if we continually extract (by over-eating cooked foods), our enzyme
levels diminish.  The soil is the same.  On the most important surface 
13 feet, there are only so many minerals.  Every time we harvest a plant, 
we take a/few of the minerals out of the soil.  Eventually, this process 
diminishes the concentration of minerals.   Now, back to the so called 
green revolution. 
Farming (chemical agri-business style) only adds 3-5 minerals to the soil
, and the systems used exposes tons of precious topsoil to wind and water
erosion.  The net result is that in 50 years, too many of our farms have 
lost many many inches of precious, highly mineralized topsoil, and now we
are facing production declines and invasions of pests.


        Hamaker and Weaver suggest that we need to replenish our soils with
ground up rocks to add the minerals that are soils need.  The application
of this rock dust allows plants to grow healthier, and with wholesome 
farming systems installed, the farm topsoil can be recreated.  We suggest 
that instead of constructing large amounts of intense, heavy, expensive, 
and fuel consuming rock crushers, we collect the already ground up minerals 
from our river valleys and Cook Inlet, and ship this south on the mostly 
empty barges and boats and distribute them across Americas farms.


Macro and trace minerals are all important, and the minerals from glaciers0
are not the only ones healthy soils require.  All soils are different and
testing or weed analysis can tell us more of what is needed.  The same goes
for people - hair analysis and disease markers can tell us what minerals 
we need to take in or eliminate.  And , minerals are a bit like enzymes.  
Some we need every day, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc.  
These minerals are utilized in essential cellular activity, and are 
discarded regularly through our eliminations.


Minerals are foundation cornerstones for the building of enzymes, the
making of amino acids, the integration of the cells, the beating of the 
heart, the working of the electronic system in the body, the bones, the 
tissue in the brain, the blood and other fluids, and all other body parts. 
Essentially , we are a collection of minerals held together by electronic 
and atomic bonds.
When we maintain levels of minerals, we maintain our structural integrity.


When we rely upon the supermarkets to supply us with our foods, we rely
upon a system of supply that is bringing us de-vitalized food grown upon
nutrient deficient soil.  Many many tests have been conducted showing us
the value of organic farming.  Good soil management is essential in the
production of high vibration foods.  Foods that come from an organic farm
that is fed compost, trace and macro minerals, and living micro-organisms,
test to show the presence of higher levels of vitamins, minerals, enzymes,
and life essence.  These foods support healthier human living.

---------------------------------
This puts it together very well for me. Please add anything you think 
pertinent.

Vic Guest