So, do enzymes really have magical effects such as weight loss, beauty and detoxification?
1 enzyme product network is popular.
"WHO recommendation", "Nobel Prize winner's research and development" and "anti-aging revolution sweeping the world"; Can lose weight, detoxify, resist aging, and even cure cancer immediately ... all these magical words are used to describe enzymes.
The reporter entered "enzyme" in the search engine and found about 1.78 million related results. Some of them ask which brand is good, some ask if enzymes can lose weight, some teach themselves to make enzymes, and some publicize the various functions of enzymes. There are nearly10.6 million discussion posts in the post bar alone, sharing the weight loss results of taking various enzymes, and branding this product as "the password to crack human health".
The enzyme products sold on Taobao website are even more varied. After searching, the reporter found 159200 related products, most of which were advertised as Japanese and Taiwan Province products. Products include powder, capsule, enzyme fiber sheet, enzyme stock solution, and various tools for making enzymes at home, such as sealed bottles, instructions, recipes and so on.
The reporter found several shops with high sales volume. A store selling comprehensive fruit and vegetable enzymes claimed that the products they sold were "the most popular among beautiful women in Taiwan Province Province" and could have the magical effects of "discharging intestinal garbage" and "showing a small waist". The store told the reporter, "Enzymes decompose food, absorb nutrients, decompose protein and waste in the human body, so that it does not produce harmful substances in the body, effectively detoxify, purify the body and improve immunity." In the promotion of the webpage, the merchant also conducted an experiment of enzymatic decomposition of lard in the form of live graphic broadcast. Coat the wall of the cup with lard, then pour the yeast powder into the cup and add water to stir. "Lard is dissolved in yeast solution, just like intestinal oil is dissolved and excreted." The shopkeeper said that their products have passed the certification of Taiwan Province Province, the United States, Japan and other places, and can be exported to 52 countries around the world without inspection.
The reporter found that in addition to the hot word of losing weight, slogans such as balancing pH, purifying blood and improving constipation are also commonly used by enzyme sellers. Some products even say under the banner that "enzyme is a kind of nutrition, which can rejuvenate cells and determine the length of life".
2 offline stores also have sales.
Enzymes not only sell well online, but also sell well in offline stores. The reporter recently found that there are three kinds of enzyme products: ebony enzyme, fruit and vegetable enzyme and comprehensive fruit and vegetable enzyme, which are divided into powder granules and liquid drinks. A bottle of 30 ml× 3 liquid ebony enzyme, priced at 88 yuan; Another 60g integrated fruit and vegetable enzyme (powder) is sold in 69 yuan; 50 ml× 3 bottles of liquid fruit and vegetable enzymes, one sold in 68 yuan. The reporter looked through three products and found no signs of health care products or drugs. Only the slogans of "light and thin", "easy and smooth" and "clear and slim" are printed on the outer packaging.
The reporter also saw in a weight loss club near the South Third Ring Road that there are also enzyme plums for sale here. The reporter leafed through it. The product is not properly packed, only packed in transparent plastic bags. No product labels such as manufacturer, production date and basic ingredients were found on it, only the slogan "detoxifying and beautifying skin, it's as simple as that" was seen. After the reporter tasted it, he felt that the taste was no different from ordinary sour plum.
Besides shops, enzyme drinks also appear in beverage shops. Ms. Zeng, a citizen, told the reporter that she saw in a beverage shop two days ago that two kinds of fruit enzyme drinks were included in the list of recommended drinks. The clerk told Ms. Zeng that this drink was very healthy and popular, especially for young girls. After tasting it, Ms. Zeng felt that the taste was nothing special.
Middle-aged and elderly people are keen on homemade enzymes.
Some people are keen on making enzymes at home.
Aunt Liu, a citizen, recently tried to make fruit enzymes at home: she bought different kinds of fruits, washed them, cut them into pieces, mixed them with a certain proportion of sugar and water, sealed them in water for fermentation, stored them for about 2-3 months, and then made them into enzymes that are said to be able to preserve health, lose weight, detoxify and beauty beauty. Hand-made DIY, pure natural without adding, this homemade enzyme has been popular in the circle of friends for some time.
According to Aunt Liu, the enzyme should be made in a sealed bottle. Try to slice or cut as many kinds of fruits as possible, then put the bottle in a layer of fruit and sugar, and finally cover it with water to almost the same height. In the first month, because fermentation will produce gas, it is necessary to stir and deflate frequently every day. Venting can prevent the bottle from bursting, and stirring can keep the top raw materials from deteriorating. You can drink it in a month, but the longer the fermentation time, the better, so you have to wait for three months.
Click on the shopping website, and the homemade barrel enzyme also sells well. Many buyers have given favorable comments, leaving a message saying that "it will be very relaxing" and "it will have the effect of losing weight ..." However, Aunt Liu doesn't quite believe this. "I found that the tone of hundreds of comments in some shops with particularly large sales volume is too similar, and they are all boasting in different ways, which is not the same as the general comments that are usually seen online shopping. And choosing fresh fruit raw materials is more reassuring than buying ready-made ones. "
"4 enzymes" are actually "enzymes"
What exactly is the enzyme that sounds "tall"? Ruan, an expert from the Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, said that the word "enzyme" originated in Japan and was first introduced to Taiwan Province Province and then to the mainland. In the standardized Chinese expression, "enzyme" is actually "enzyme". "Enzyme" is just an "enzyme" with a very tall name.
Enzyme is a kind of polymer catalyst produced by organisms and an indispensable catalyst in most life activities. Enzymes can catalyze various biochemical reactions in the human body in order to enter
Carry out metabolism, such as food digestion and energy metabolism in the body. Thousands of enzymes have been found, and each enzyme can only help decompose one macromolecule.
Ruan told reporters that the lack of various enzymes often brings big or small problems. It plays a great role in human health. For example, salivary amylase can help to hydrolyze starch into sugar for absorption, and pepsin can help to digest protein ... Without these enzymes, many biochemical reactions in the human body cannot be carried out at all.
Magic effect is a means of business marketing.
"Enzymes" are actually "enzymes", but this does not mean that these oral enzymes have an effect. Because, most enzymes are protein, which will be digested and decomposed into amino acids by oral administration, and cannot play a role. The most typical example is insulin. People with diabetes can only be injected, not taken orally. Because insulin is an enzyme and protein, oral administration can't work.
We all have enzymes in our bodies, which are really necessary for all life activities. Without enzymes, people will get sick, get old and even die. But even if the enzyme is lacking, it is difficult to supplement it by "eating". Because enzymes are all from protein, they have the subtle characteristics of protein. Even if you drink one kilogram of "fruit enzyme", the total protein you get is very small. It's best to eat a medium-sized apple. In addition, due to the lack of protection when the enzyme passes through the digestive tract, it cannot pass through gastric acid first, and it will be digested and denatured by gastric acid. Even if you eat that little enzyme, it won't work. Therefore, it is impossible for some people to realize their health-keeping dreams based on "enzymes".
Ruan said that oral enzymes will be decomposed after entering the digestive tract, and there is no chance to enter cells, so they cannot play various functions such as weight loss and lipid reduction in publicity. The magical effects of enzymes often advertised by merchants are basically marketing means and are not credible.
6 weight loss effect or "mistake"
The weight loss and detoxification effect of enzymes is the most respected by businesses. As we all know, all kinds of biochemical reactions in human body need the participation of enzymes, such as lipase used for fat burning. This has become the theoretical basis of "enzyme weight loss".
Experts say that in general, a low-calorie and high-protein diet helps to lose weight. Because enzymes contain protein ingredients, using enzymes instead of diet itself is to control diet, which may lead to weight loss by eating by mistake. However, this effect is more caused by diet control than the magical weight loss effect of the enzyme itself. If the diet is normal, using edible enzymes has no effect on weight loss.
"The enzyme products on the market are between food and health care products, and they are definitely not medicines," said a cardiologist in a 3A hospital. Clinically, patients who have eaten enzymes have constipation, and their defecation is normal after eating enzyme products, but once the enzymes are stopped, constipation will recur.
Li Yingtao, chief pharmacist of the Pharmacy Department of Union Medical College Hospital, said that not only enzyme products, but also some products under the banner of detoxification and beauty care contain some laxatives. This is harmful to people with constipation. However, if normal people eat food containing laxatives for a long time, it will also disturb the intestinal flora, which will easily lead to intestinal flora imbalance and more serious constipation and other intestinal diseases.
Self-made enzymes have many health risks.
For homemade enzymes, Ruan bluntly said, "Homemade enzymes are not recommended". Self-made enzymes are mainly fruit fermentation, and natural fermentation is not easy to control, which is easy to cause mixed bacteria pollution and produce toxins and other harmful substances. Drinking this "homemade enzyme" will increase health risks.
In fact, this "self-control" process is not new. If you change fruits into vegetables, you will get pickles. Moreover, the production technology of kimchi has been explored and experimented for a long time. In contrast, the uncertainty of "fruit enzyme" is greater.
Li Yingtao said that it takes a lot of sugar to make fruit enzymes. According to online data, the ratio of sugar, fruit and water ranges from 1 ratio 3 to 1 ratio 0/ratio 5. That is to say, the sugar content of fructase is above 10%. So much sugar makes the taste delicious, at the same time, it also increases the sugar intake invisibly.
Ruan said that the microbial composition on the surface of fruits is very diverse. In addition to yeast or lactic acid bacteria needed for fermentation, microorganisms including pathogenic bacteria are also ready to move. If there is a little carelessness in the production process, the mixed bacteria will "dominate the mountain" in the fermentation process, so the produced "fruit enzyme" can not only play a health care role, but also may pose a threat to health. Among the miscellaneous bacteria pollution, the most important thing to pay attention to is mold pollution. Some molds, including Penicillium and Aspergillus, produce a substance called patulin (also known as patulin). In animal experiments, patulin shows neurotoxicity, embryotoxicity and carcinogenicity, and can inhibit the immune system of animals. Although there is no clear conclusion about the harm to human body, the tentative maximum daily intake is 0.4 μ g/kg body weight, in other words, a 70 kg adult should not consume more than 28 μ g per day. But for fruit products (especially apples) contaminated by mold, the content of patulin can reach 1 μ g/g.
At the same time, nitrite is a harmful substance that can not be underestimated in the process of self-made fruit enzyme fermentation. Because of natural fermentation, the strain is not easy to control and it is easy to produce more nitrite. In the process of lactic acid bacteria fermentation, nitrite first rose and then decreased, and the peak concentration reached the peak around 1 week, and then decreased. If many people drink for less than a week, it is easy to take risks. Even if the storage time is long enough, the nitrite content will decrease, but the increase of fermentation time will increase the production of other substances.
In addition, fruit contains a lot of pectin, and the main product of pectin fermentation by microorganisms is methanol. In the process of yeast fermentation, the content of methanol can reach nearly 20 mg/ml, and in the "fruit enzyme" with light alcohol taste, the content of methanol can also reach several mg/ml.
Li Yingtao also reminded that most enzymes need to play a role in cells, and external application cannot enter cells. Therefore, it is ineffective to supplement enzymes by eating. If you really want to adjust the "enzyme" level in the body, you need to balance nutrition, strengthen exercise and work and rest rules to make your body healthy, so that the enzyme level in the body will be normal. (Reporter Ye Zhou)