Customer Reviews

Everything You Need to Know About Enzymes: A Simple Guide to Using Enzymes to Treat Everything from Digestive Problems and Allergies to Migraines and Arthritis

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Everything You Need To Know About Enzymes is a book written by a caring professional who understands the body and how enzymes promote better health. He's taken so much time to learn and create excellent chapters and sections that offer people real life solutions. You would think that enzymes only help with digestion, reflux and GI disorders. But what I love most about the book is that Bohager doesn't stop there. He offers real life solutions which are simple (because you use enzymes!) to help you beat allergies, canker sores, gout, shingles, migraines, hair loss...even Lyme disease. He doesn't miss a thing and I plan to keep this easy-to-read book for many years. I've already begun on one of his plans and feel better already. I trust his advice, it's not designed to pitch a product, it's truly designed to advance one's health so read it with an open heart. This book is like the best kept secret, I wish I had it 10 years ago and feel that the advice within is so much more useful than conventional drug approaches. I need to read it again, because it's one of those books where you learn something new each time you scan it.

Keep this book on hand-it's a great reference to have to help you and loved ones deal with sickness in the family--it delivers valuable information that's fairly impossible to find any where else.

I've suffered from migraines for years and have tried everything from medications to special diets with little relief. After reading this book I've introduced enzymes into my diet and have experienced a significant decrease in the frequency and duration of my migraine headaches. Mr. Bohager was able to provide me with information about enzymes that I was unable to obtain from a variety of doctors (PCP's, Neurologist, OB/GYN). I highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning more about enzymes and their potential healing effects on the body.

Knowing a little about the author completely destroys the credibility of the material in this book. Tom Bohager is president of Enzymedica, one of the leading manufacturers/sellers of enzyme supplements. That explains why the whole thrust of the book is that enzymes are a key component of life and you need LOTS of them, there are many reasons why you may not be getting enough naturally, if you don't get enough there are MANY diseases that could afflict you, so you should take supplemental enzymes. And oh, this is the type that are best, what to look for when selecting, and by the way Enzymedica makes them just the way you need them. Also telling is that the author "holds a bachelor of science in holistic nutrition from Clayton College." I was hoping for a doctor who had worked with thousands and come to clear conclusions or a pathbreaking researcher with statistics. That explains why there is little depth. I was expecting to gain an understanding of enzymes in the food I eat every day, and strategies for optimizing my intake naturally, and why I might not be getting enough as it is. I mean, I've managed to digest food for 40 years now, and there are plenty of possible reasons for what ailes me, why is it a lack of enzymes an not something else that causes it? When a book lacks depth and reasoning that gives you true insight into a subject so that you know the author is a true authority, you're left with a lingering doubt about the validity of it all. Enzymadica may well make a fine product that can help a lot of people, but I this book is 100% corporate marketing and therefore useless.

Mr. Bohager has done it again with this book! His first book was extremely helpful and this book took it to another level! He really goes into depth about explaining enzymes and the many uses of them! I know his life's work is dedicated to enzyme therapy and this book is definitely one to get if want to hear from a true expert on the matter. I used to suffer for years with digestive issues and since learning about enzymes I feel like I have a completely different life! I only wish I would have learned about Mr. Bohager's work sooner. I highly recommend ALL to get this book!!

If a person is serious about their health this is one book that is a MUST for their health library. It gives an indepth look at the anatomy of the human body. It looks at the relationships between the different systems and how they work together. Enzymes are the sparkplug of life and this topic is explored indepth. Not only is this an informative book but also a hands on guidance to many of the health problems in today's world. As a health educator I highly recommend this book.

Enzymes can treat everything from digestive problems to allergies, migraines and arthritis, and Everything You Need to Know About Enzymes surveys all the options on using enzymes for restoring good health. Chapters cover supplemental enzyme therapies and options and review all the pros and cons of different choices: any health library will welcome this introduction.

This book was just wonderful!!! Things finally make sense to me and for the first time I am understanding what enzymes are and why they are so important. After reading the book I immediately went to the health food store and started my journey with digestive enzymes and that evening after dinner I was not in the normal "bloating" kind of pain. I kept waiting for the pain and it never came. I now take enzymes with every single meal and I feel more energetic, healthier and I am not in pain! I also started taking therapeutic enzymes and I truly believe that enzymes have helped restore my health!! I am so happy I came across this book as it really gave me a different life!!

The author is affiliated with the Enzymedica company, but I disagree that this makes the book totally worthless, for the following reasons:

- Only general recommendations for enzymes are given, NOT just links to products and brand names from the author's company and so it is entirely possible to read this book and buy enzymes from other manufacturers as the author makes this especially easy to do.
- The author recommends animal enzymes for some patients, or mixed animal and plant enzymes, this despite the fact that Enzymedica only makes plant enzyme products.
- The author helpfully lists other enzyme product brands, for those that choose not to buy Enzymedica products.

This is not just a sales pitch masquerading as a book, as books by some affiliated authors are. (I'm looking at you, Garden of Life!)

The author does not have an excessively heavy hand with promoting his own company, although the book does promote his company to some extent. But as the author is very passionate about enzymes and the company he is involved with focuses on enzymes, is it really such a big stretch to say that maybe the company does produce some of the best enzyme products out there?

(The iHerb reviews of their products would suggest that this in fact is the case, and these reviews are freely given by customers.)

This book contains good information about enzymes that will be helpful to those with many different diseases. The author explains that while enzymes taken to help digest meals, and reduce the metabolic load of the body, are the most important that extra enzymes taken on an empty stomach (so they work systemically) can also be helpful in many diseases.

Systemic enzymes can give the body more energy for healing, increase circulation, help make healthy white blood cells, help the body deal with heavy metal toxicity, help removed damaged cells form the body, saves the body from using up certain nutrients in digesting food and much more.

I disagreed with the author on a few minor points.

I disagree that low or high pH is best treated with pH specific products when they can far better be treated by diet and supplemental mineral adjustments. Such products seem to me to be a waste of money and to be missing the point of the pH issue which is having the body balanced and in good health. If your pH is off, maybe you need more magnesium in your diet or more magnesium supplementation, not just a general pH pill.

As with almost all books, the information on 'CFS' in this book is unhelpful and not factual and relates to vague and mild 'chronic fatigue' patients rather than all those (mis)diagnosed with 'CFS' as a whole. (See the HFME site for more information on this issue and why every 'CFS' diagnosis is a misdiagnosis. People given this misdiagnosis need proper diagnosis and care finally! 'CFS' must be abandoned.)

I also disagree that fasting and calorie restriction is healthy for some patients, and that raw vegetables are easy to digest due to a high enzyme content. A mostly raw and vegetarian diet is NOT suited to everyone and many of us digest cooked meats and vegetables far better than raw. I'm also a fan of animal enzymes rather than plant enzymes due to comments by other authors (such as Dr Sherry Rogers) on the superiority of animal enzymes.

Overall, this book is a brief but useful read if you can get a copy either from the library or buy a copy cheaply online. (I got mine for $2.95 from iHerb.) After taking enzymes with meals for some time, I am now also going to try systemic enzymes as well to try and give my body more metabolic energy to heal.

Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has digestive issues. Since an early age I had been dealing with complicated digestive issues that constantly interrupted my day. After gaining a deeper understanding of enzymes I was finally able to regulate most of my digestive issues; very impressed.

When I originally wrote this review, I said that I felt the author's recommendations re' Alpha Lipoic Acid, for Alzheimer's patients, were irresponsible. I still feel very strongly that readers would be wise to do further research on this topic if it is relevant to them, rather than follow the aforementioned recommendations within this book. However, on reflection, and in response to the author's feedback, it is fair to acknowledge that this book is far from alone in recommending ALA dosing that could potentially cause complications for people with potentially heavy metal-related neurological conditions. ALA is widely available over-the-counter and my concerns relate only to those people who may have high levels of heavy metal toxicity (many who have are unaware that they do - if you have dental amalgams or have a history of numerous vaccinations over the years, or have frequently eaten large predatory fish over a period of several years, then you should consider this carefully, and as far as Alzhemier's patients are concerned, there is mounting evidence that heavy metal toxicity may be implicated in this neurological disorder). Additionally, some researchers have used ALA in arguably-unwise dosage protocols, and have nonetheless published journal papers claiming positive results (though it is difficult to measure metal distribution/redistribution within the brain without resorting to biopsy, which obviously isn't viable, so positive claims in this area of research should be treated with caution, particularly if the specified dosing protocol fails to account for the pharmacokinetics of ALA).

Overall, then, I concede that my use of the word 'irresponsible' was perhaps a little harsh, even though my core concerns over the author's ALA advice for Alzheimer's patients remain.

If your interest is enzymes, then doubtless this book will have something to offer you; whilst a little dry at times, it does offer concise explanations on the various sources from which supplemental enzymes tend to be derived (e.g. fungal, plant, animal, bacterial etc.), and this will enable purchasers of enzyme products to make more informed decisions. This is important not only for efficacy of treatment but also because enzyme therapy can be rather expensive so patients need to harness their finances in the most appropriate manner.

Back to the discussion of Alzheimer's disease; following the advice given herein for Alpha Lipoic Acid dosing for Alzheimer's patients is at the very least fraught with risk, and potentially even harmful. The author may well know a lot about enzymes but he clearly does not know a sufficient amount about chelation of heavy metals to be advising Alzhemier's patients within this book - on p.96 he recommends Alzheimer's patients supplement Alpha-Lipoic Acid, 100mg per dose, minimum 2 doses per day. Unfortunately, following this advice could potentially lead to further neurological impairment!

Alpha-Lipoic acid crosses the blood-brain barrier and chelates metals from the brain. However, it is, unfortunately, a 2-way street and if the rest of the body has a higher burden of heavy metals than the brain, then the 'gradient' can lead to metals passing across the blood-brain barrier and INTO the brain, rather than being excreted from the body via the bowel. If one takes ALA on a dosing schedule too infrequent to accommodate the half-life (pharmacokinetics) of the substance within the human body, then there is a high risk of redistribution, since chelated metal will be 'dropped' by decaying ALA, rather than being successfully escorted all the way out of the body through the biliary tract and bowel. Since ALA's approximate half-life is around 3 hours, taking ALA on a 2-dose per day schedule falls foul of the aforementioned caveats.

If any Alzheimer's patients or carers wish to learn more about this, I suggest obtaining works by the author Andrew Hall Cutler (also available here on Amazon).

IMHO, Mr Bohager's book should be sold with a warning included in the consignment when it is dispatched to the customer.

I'm not saying any of this as a personal attack on Tom Bohager - commercial conflicts of interest notwithstanding, I don't doubt that he may have been well-intentioned in writing this book, and it contains information of use to non-Alzheimer's patients who use supplemental enzyme therapy. Nonetheless, the fact still stands that the inclusion in this book, of the above advice re' Alpha Lipoic Acid, is a serious concern, regardless of whether or not it was unintentional.

I actually empathise with the author, from the perspective that it's hard work authoring a book, and it's somewhat distressing to have readers point out flaws in information that may have been included with the best of intentions. Mr Bohager comes across as a decent person so it was not my intention to cause him any personal distress by pointing out my serious concerns over his recommendations for ALA supplementation for Alzheimer's patients. My only intention was to clearly flag a potential risk to the safety of patients who might unwittingly suffer from this isolated piece of inaccurate advice, however well-intentioned it's inclusion may have been.