Enzymes: the workhorses of our body

Until recently, we knew very little about how enzymes work. It has long been known that they accelerate chemical reactions in cells to incredible speeds, but how they did this remained a mystery. Not too long ago, scientists discovered that they use a clever trick. How does it work?

One hundred thousand biochemical reactions at once

Enzymes are molecules that perform immense work in our bodies. They have created every biomolecule in every cell of our bodies and are essential for survival. Enzymes accelerate biochemical reactions in cells up to a trillion times. Processes that would otherwise take thousands of years now happen in just seconds. Hard to imagine!

The quantum mechanical phenomenon

The trick enzymes use is the tunneling effect, also called tunneling. In this process, a particle passes through a barrier (potential) even though, according to classical mechanics, it should not have enough energy to do so. The particle is therefore using quantum mechanics, a complex branch of physics.

You can imagine it like this: the particle doesn’t have enough energy to climb over a high mountain, but it can teleport through a kind of tunnel. It disappears on one side of the mountain (biomolecule) and instantly reappears on the other side (rematerializes). This is much faster than going over the mountain. Without quantum tunneling, enzymes would never be able to speed up chemical reactions so drastically.

Subatomic science fiction

Quantum teleportation may sound like science fiction because you won’t find it in standard biochemistry books. This biophysical aspect of how the body works is rarely mentioned there.

However, the quantum tunneling effect is a well-known process in physics, where the subatomic world of electrons, protons, and neutrons dominates. Physicists know, for example, that this effect is also responsible for radioactive decay—it is even the reason why the sun shines.

Digestive enzymes: essential for breaking down food

Enzymes have many functions, and one of the most essential is breaking down food. Without enzymes, nutrients could not be absorbed into the bloodstream, and we would be unable to nourish our bodies. There are three main types of digestive enzymes, which also make use of the quantum tunneling effect:

• Proteases: protein-digesting enzymes produced by the pancreas.
• Lipases: fat-digesting enzymes also produced by the pancreas.
• Amylases: starch-digesting enzymes produced not only by the pancreas but also in the saliva of the mouth.

Optimize your digestion

Want to give your digestive enzymes a helping hand? There are dietary supplements that optimize nutrient absorption. Doctor’s Best, for example, has developed a comprehensive digestive enzyme formula that works effectively and broadly.

Other enzyme-based products include Interfase Plus and Serrapeptase. Interfase Plus was specifically developed to break down and disrupt biofilm, a natural substance in which microorganisms can live. A familiar example of biofilm is dental plaque.

Serrapeptase is an enzyme derived from the silkworm. Like Interfase Plus, it works systemically, not in food digestion, and is thought to help break down protein structures in the body and balance cellular chaos.