We eat food in order to do the following:

1. Supply physical and mental energy
2. Repair and replace worn tissue
3. Supply materials with which the body manufactures hormones, enzymes, and other substances

Regardless of the ultimate purpose, the body is designed to operate on whole, complete, and natural foods to complete all three. Any food altered or processed does not qualify as either “whole” or “natural.” Not only can altered or processed foods stress the body during digestion, but they may also be incomplete and lack the nutrients the body needs.

Unfortunately, much of the food available in supermarkets has been refined or processed and contains few enzymes. When refined foods are eaten, the body must make the needed digestive enzymes ‘from scratch.’ This, of course, adds another stress factor that makes the body work harder than necessary. On the other hand, whole-natural foods provide enzyme building blocks that the body can easily use. 

Even some “natural” foods may not always be consumed as whole. For example, a baked potato is a whole food if the skin and the inside are eaten. The body can use it all because the outer part of the potato near the skin provides the vitamins and other substances the body uses to make the enzymes needed to digest the inside of the potato. Peeled potatoes, such as mashed potatoes, are not whole complete foods because some of the needed vitamins and enzyme precursors have been removed with the potato peelings. The body’s infinite intelligence decides that the mashed potato isn’t good enough to use but is too good to discard. Consequently, it is stored as fat. When the whole potato (complete with skin) is eaten, the body utilizes the ingredients it needs and eliminates the waste as nature intended. Since no fragments remain, no fat is stored.

The important thing to remember is that the body must have enzymes for the digestive process. These enzymes can come from external sources in raw foods or internal sources such as the pancreas. Just as we must replenish our sodium salt supply by eating fruits and vegetables, it is also imperative to reinforce our enzyme supply by ensuring that raw fruits and vegetables are included in our daily diet. When the exogenous function of the pancreas becomes exhausted, it loses some of its ability to produce its endogenous hormone insulin, and the onset of adult diabetes can result.