. |
Seeds for Change Wellness
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Enzyme Therapy for Cancer Prevention and Treatment
Enzyme Therapy For Cancer Prevention And Treatment
Author: Mary Laredo 1/04/08 Source
Enzymes are molecules that act as catalysts for all chemical reactions within the body and are
necessary to sustain life. There are two basic categories: digestive enzymes which work in the
stomach breaking down food particles before their nutrients can be absorbed, and metabolic (or
systemic) enzymes whose primary work begins in the bloodstream digesting foreign debris before
traveling to bodily tissues to continue this and other functions. A chronic deficiency of enzymes
weakens the immune system, contributes to illness, and ultimately promotes diseases such as
cancer. Both enzyme types are produced in the body but are also present in raw foods and through
oral supplementation. To achieve and maintain optimum health, an adequate supply of both forms
is fundamental.
There are twenty-two different types of enzymes produced in the body, primarily by the pancreas,
and this production diminishes as we age (1). The three basic digestive enzymes are amylase,
lipase, and protease which breakdown carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Additionally, cellulose and
lactose break down fiber and dairy. These enzymes work in the stomach during the period of
pre-digestion; however, when food is cooked or processed its naturally occurring enzymes are
destroyed. Consuming denatured food overburdens the body as it taps into its ever-decreasing
enzyme supply in an effort to complete the pre-digestion process.
When insufficient pre-digestion occurs, the body produces an excess amount of stomach acid trying
to offset the imbalance. This contributes to acid reflux, heartburn, gas, bloating, and malnutrition
(even in overweight individuals) due to incomplete digestion. Partially digested proteins putrefy in
the intestines forming toxic substances. Once these toxins enter the bloodstream, they weaken the
immune system and contribute to many serious health conditions as they accumulate in tissues
throughout the body. Consuming raw food, reducing the amount of cooked and processed foods as
much as possible, chewing food thoroughly to activate enzymes in saliva, plus regular
supplementation of digestive enzymes with meals will help offset the ill effects of an enzyme
deficiency. Enzyme-rich food ensures its complete digestion and leaves the body's supplies
available for other processes.
Complimenting the work of digestive enzymes are metabolic enzymes which facilitate virtually every
chemical reaction and cellular function of the body, including cleansing the blood and reducing
inflammation throughout the body, among many other vital bodily processes. A deficiency results
when metabolic enzymes are diverted for digestion requirements. A weakened immune system due
to an unmet enzyme deficiency allows for the accumulation of pathogens (disease causing agents)
and carcinogens (cancer causing substances), and the body's inability to suppress or contain the
growth of cancerous cells.
Nearly all pathogens, including cancer cells, are protected by a protein-based coating, or "fibrin",
that makes it difficult for the immune system to identify and destroy them. This sticky coating can be
up to 15 times thicker than the membrane of normal cells (1,5). This is where metabolic enzymes
are needed. The bulk of these enzymes are proteases, or "protealytic", which means they speed up
the breakdown of proteins. In sufficient quantities, they digest the protective fibrin membrane and
expose the cancer cells to the immune system.
Since the pancreas produces most of the body's enzyme supplies, supplementing with metabolic
enzymes assists this often-overworked organ and helps stave off cancer. An ample supply of
pancreatic enzymes should be taken orally between meals to ease the body's metabolic burden and
conserve its enzyme supplies. Unlike digestive enzymes which are taken with food, metabolic
enzymes are taken on an empty stomach to facilitate their entry into the bloodstream. Due to their
protein-digesting capabilities and health-enhancing properties, therapeutic doses of
metabolic/pancreatic enzymes have been successfully used for decades to help treat cancer.
Historically, the case for pancreatic enzymes in cancer therapy was first established in the early
1900s by the Scottish Embryologist John Beard, who observed under the microscope that placenta
cells resemble malignant cells as they grow in preparation for the creation of a baby. Observing that
the placental tissue stops growing at eight weeks once the fetus' pancreatic enzyme production
begins, Beard theorized that a malignant tumor mass would respond likewise provided a sufficient
quantity of pancreatic enzymes was supplied (2,3).
Beard tested his theories with great success using pancreatic juices to reduce tumors in humans
and animals, and these findings were published in his 1911 monograph entitled The Enzyme
Therapy of Cancer. His pioneering work was all but forgotten following his death in 1923 until a
Texas dentist by the name of William Donald Kelley established a similar theory based on Beard's
work nearly forty years later (2,3).
Kelley cured himself of advanced pancreatic cancer using a protocol largely reliant on nutrition and
mega doses of pancreatic enzyme supplementation. He went on to successfully treat thousands of
other "terminal" cancer patients; but despite his extraordinary achievements, he was ostracized by
the medical community who refused (and still refuses) to accept that natural, non-toxic substances
are effective treatments against cancer.
New York City cancer specialist Nicholas Gonzalez, MD began a case review of Kelley's patients
beginning in 1981 while still a med student at Cornell University. This included research into oral
pancreatic enzymes for cancer treatment, and eventually led to his own practice utilizing the enzyme
approach with advanced cancer patients. He continues to treat his patients with natural therapies
and enzymes based on the work of Beard and Kelley (4).
Healthy individuals can take small doses of both digestive enzymes with meals and metabolic
enzymes on an empty stomach in order to maintain health and prevent a deficiency over time.
Pregnant women should always consult a health care provider before beginning a regime of
supplementation.
For people with serious health challenges it may be best to begin oral enzyme supplementation with
small doses, gradually increasing until maximum benefits are felt. Supplementing between meals
with as many as 40-60 systemic enzymes as a daily therapeutic dose for cancer patients is not
uncommon (3,4,5). A natural health care practitioner can assist in deciding the proper supplement
type and dosage.
References:
1. Diamond, M.D., W.John, and Cowden, M.D., W.Lee: Cancer Diagnosis, What To Do Next.
Tiburon, CA: Alternative Medicine.com, Inc., 241-6, 2000
2. Fonorow, O.:The Cure for Cancer: Theory, History and Treatment. Townsend Letter for Doctors
and Patients, June 2004
3. Kelley, Wm. DDS: Cancer: Curing the Incurable Without Surgery, Chemotherapy, or Radiation.
Bonita, CA: New Century Promotions, 3-13, 2005 Edition.
4. Gonzalez M.D., N.: Enzyme Therapy and Cancer.
(http://www.dr-gonzalez.com/history_of_treatment_txt.htm)
5. Wrba, M.D., Heinrich: Leading European Oncologist Discusses Systemic Oral Enzyme Therapy
and Cancer. (www.stopcancer.com/enzymes_wobenzym.htm)
About the author
Mary Laredo is an artist, educator and gallery curator who lives and works in Detroit, MI. As a breast
cancer survivor who shunned conventional treatment, she is writing a book about her experience
with natural therapies and nutritional healing. Visit http://marylaredo.blogspot.com
Author: Mary Laredo 1/04/08 Source
Enzymes are molecules that act as catalysts for all chemical reactions within the body and are
necessary to sustain life. There are two basic categories: digestive enzymes which work in the
stomach breaking down food particles before their nutrients can be absorbed, and metabolic (or
systemic) enzymes whose primary work begins in the bloodstream digesting foreign debris before
traveling to bodily tissues to continue this and other functions. A chronic deficiency of enzymes
weakens the immune system, contributes to illness, and ultimately promotes diseases such as
cancer. Both enzyme types are produced in the body but are also present in raw foods and through
oral supplementation. To achieve and maintain optimum health, an adequate supply of both forms
is fundamental.
There are twenty-two different types of enzymes produced in the body, primarily by the pancreas,
and this production diminishes as we age (1). The three basic digestive enzymes are amylase,
lipase, and protease which breakdown carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Additionally, cellulose and
lactose break down fiber and dairy. These enzymes work in the stomach during the period of
pre-digestion; however, when food is cooked or processed its naturally occurring enzymes are
destroyed. Consuming denatured food overburdens the body as it taps into its ever-decreasing
enzyme supply in an effort to complete the pre-digestion process.
When insufficient pre-digestion occurs, the body produces an excess amount of stomach acid trying
to offset the imbalance. This contributes to acid reflux, heartburn, gas, bloating, and malnutrition
(even in overweight individuals) due to incomplete digestion. Partially digested proteins putrefy in
the intestines forming toxic substances. Once these toxins enter the bloodstream, they weaken the
immune system and contribute to many serious health conditions as they accumulate in tissues
throughout the body. Consuming raw food, reducing the amount of cooked and processed foods as
much as possible, chewing food thoroughly to activate enzymes in saliva, plus regular
supplementation of digestive enzymes with meals will help offset the ill effects of an enzyme
deficiency. Enzyme-rich food ensures its complete digestion and leaves the body's supplies
available for other processes.
Complimenting the work of digestive enzymes are metabolic enzymes which facilitate virtually every
chemical reaction and cellular function of the body, including cleansing the blood and reducing
inflammation throughout the body, among many other vital bodily processes. A deficiency results
when metabolic enzymes are diverted for digestion requirements. A weakened immune system due
to an unmet enzyme deficiency allows for the accumulation of pathogens (disease causing agents)
and carcinogens (cancer causing substances), and the body's inability to suppress or contain the
growth of cancerous cells.
Nearly all pathogens, including cancer cells, are protected by a protein-based coating, or "fibrin",
that makes it difficult for the immune system to identify and destroy them. This sticky coating can be
up to 15 times thicker than the membrane of normal cells (1,5). This is where metabolic enzymes
are needed. The bulk of these enzymes are proteases, or "protealytic", which means they speed up
the breakdown of proteins. In sufficient quantities, they digest the protective fibrin membrane and
expose the cancer cells to the immune system.
Since the pancreas produces most of the body's enzyme supplies, supplementing with metabolic
enzymes assists this often-overworked organ and helps stave off cancer. An ample supply of
pancreatic enzymes should be taken orally between meals to ease the body's metabolic burden and
conserve its enzyme supplies. Unlike digestive enzymes which are taken with food, metabolic
enzymes are taken on an empty stomach to facilitate their entry into the bloodstream. Due to their
protein-digesting capabilities and health-enhancing properties, therapeutic doses of
metabolic/pancreatic enzymes have been successfully used for decades to help treat cancer.
Historically, the case for pancreatic enzymes in cancer therapy was first established in the early
1900s by the Scottish Embryologist John Beard, who observed under the microscope that placenta
cells resemble malignant cells as they grow in preparation for the creation of a baby. Observing that
the placental tissue stops growing at eight weeks once the fetus' pancreatic enzyme production
begins, Beard theorized that a malignant tumor mass would respond likewise provided a sufficient
quantity of pancreatic enzymes was supplied (2,3).
Beard tested his theories with great success using pancreatic juices to reduce tumors in humans
and animals, and these findings were published in his 1911 monograph entitled The Enzyme
Therapy of Cancer. His pioneering work was all but forgotten following his death in 1923 until a
Texas dentist by the name of William Donald Kelley established a similar theory based on Beard's
work nearly forty years later (2,3).
Kelley cured himself of advanced pancreatic cancer using a protocol largely reliant on nutrition and
mega doses of pancreatic enzyme supplementation. He went on to successfully treat thousands of
other "terminal" cancer patients; but despite his extraordinary achievements, he was ostracized by
the medical community who refused (and still refuses) to accept that natural, non-toxic substances
are effective treatments against cancer.
New York City cancer specialist Nicholas Gonzalez, MD began a case review of Kelley's patients
beginning in 1981 while still a med student at Cornell University. This included research into oral
pancreatic enzymes for cancer treatment, and eventually led to his own practice utilizing the enzyme
approach with advanced cancer patients. He continues to treat his patients with natural therapies
and enzymes based on the work of Beard and Kelley (4).
Healthy individuals can take small doses of both digestive enzymes with meals and metabolic
enzymes on an empty stomach in order to maintain health and prevent a deficiency over time.
Pregnant women should always consult a health care provider before beginning a regime of
supplementation.
For people with serious health challenges it may be best to begin oral enzyme supplementation with
small doses, gradually increasing until maximum benefits are felt. Supplementing between meals
with as many as 40-60 systemic enzymes as a daily therapeutic dose for cancer patients is not
uncommon (3,4,5). A natural health care practitioner can assist in deciding the proper supplement
type and dosage.
References:
1. Diamond, M.D., W.John, and Cowden, M.D., W.Lee: Cancer Diagnosis, What To Do Next.
Tiburon, CA: Alternative Medicine.com, Inc., 241-6, 2000
2. Fonorow, O.:The Cure for Cancer: Theory, History and Treatment. Townsend Letter for Doctors
and Patients, June 2004
3. Kelley, Wm. DDS: Cancer: Curing the Incurable Without Surgery, Chemotherapy, or Radiation.
Bonita, CA: New Century Promotions, 3-13, 2005 Edition.
4. Gonzalez M.D., N.: Enzyme Therapy and Cancer.
(http://www.dr-gonzalez.com/history_of_treatment_txt.htm)
5. Wrba, M.D., Heinrich: Leading European Oncologist Discusses Systemic Oral Enzyme Therapy
and Cancer. (www.stopcancer.com/enzymes_wobenzym.htm)
About the author
Mary Laredo is an artist, educator and gallery curator who lives and works in Detroit, MI. As a breast
cancer survivor who shunned conventional treatment, she is writing a book about her experience
with natural therapies and nutritional healing. Visit http://marylaredo.blogspot.com