Ran across this in some early checks on this, by A Dr. Edward Howell who has written a couple of books on enzymes, (first one in 1946,) who did an interview that I will quote from here.....

This interview says in a nutshell here what I have been saying, is the piece of the puzzle the others have essentially missed.

Quote, interview...Dr. Edward Howell.

If enzymes were in the food we eat, they would do some or even a considerable part of the work of digestion by themselves. However, when you eat cooked, enzyme-free food, this forces the body itself to make the enzymes needed for digestion. This depletes the body's limited enzyme capacity.

HDN: How serious is this strain on our enzyme "bank" caused by diets of mostly cooked food?

HOWELL: I believe it's one of the paramount causes of premature aging and early death. I also believe it's the underlying cause of almost all degenerative disease.

To begin with, if the body is overburdened to supply many enzymes to the saliva, gastric juice, pancreatic juice and intestinal juice, then it must curtail the production of enzymes for other purposes.

If this occurs, then how can the body also make enough enzymes to run the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, muscles and other organs and tissues?

This "stealing" of enzymes from other parts of the body to service the digestive tract sets up a competition for enzymes among the various organ systems and tissues of the body.

The resulting metabolic dislocations may be the direct cause of cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and many other chronic incurable diseases.

This state of enzyme deficiency stress exists in the majority of persons on the civilized, enzyme-free diet.

HDN: Did human disease begin when man started cooking his food?

HOWELL: This is what the evidence indicates.

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To read the entire interview go here "Dr. Howell Interview" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More quotes from Dr. Howell that connect with diabetes.......

"To begin with, human beings have the lowest levels of starch digesting enzymes in their blood of any creature. We also have the highest level of these enzymes in the urine, meaning that they are being used up faster."

There's other evidence showing that these low enzyme levels are not due to a pecularity of our species. Instead, they are due to the large amounts of cooked starch we eat.

Also, we know that decreased enzyme levels are found in a number of chronic ailments, such as allergies, skin disease, and even serious diseases like diabetes and cancer." end of Dr. Howell quote:

We should note there is a Doctor in Arizona that runs a sort of a diabetes retreat camp, where you go for a couple of weeks and eat his diet which is essentially all raw and live food. In 2 weeks of his live food, he turns your diabetic blood sugar figures around to near normal.

So one of our major life style changes is of course not all diet or menu change but to go to less cooked food and switching to up to 80% Live food.

If you follow Dr. Howells findings, this results in extending your life expectancy considerably and you will get major changes in your diabetes control just as the Arizona retreat Doctor does with his diabetic patients.

The above interview with a research medical doctor, "unedited" says in a brief space, what I have uncovered from numerous studies and it turns out many others have previously concluded, that I and others have missed until now.

Worth Mentioning also is the common practice of many in the healing professions is to have a fast when threatened with major illnesses etc.

When a person fasts, there is an immediate halt to the need for the production of digestive enzymes.

Therefore with therapeutic fasting, the body's enzymes are free to work on repairing and removing diseased tissues. The patient heals himself in a much shorter time.

Those on the western diet and lifestyle eat such large per centage of their foods cooked that their enzyme systems are essentially tied up busy manufacturing enzymes for digesting food.

As a result, the body lacks the ability to make enough normal enzymes needed to maintain the tissues in good health.

Most people who fast, find that for this purpose it apparently helps overcome the threatened invader in much shorter time, therefore, it is called "therapeutic" fasting."