What is an enzyme?
Enzymes are energized protein molecules, biological units of work.  They have been called the “life force” because they catalyze and regulate nearly all biochemical reactions within the human body; including energy production, metabolism reproduction, the immune system and the digestive system.  Simply put, without enzymes, life would cease.  Individuals who are enzyme deficient are subject to disease and degeneration.

Are all enzymes the same?
No.  There are thousands of different enzymes which regulate bodily functions.  Enzymes have been grouped into three categories:  metabolic enzymes, digestive enzymes and food enzymes.  Metabolic enzymes work within the cells to regulate such activity as detoxification and energy production.  Digestive enzymes break foods down and make them available for use in the body.  Food enzymes are those which are naturally present in raw foods, which aid in the breakdown of that food.

What is an “enzyme bank account”?
This term was coined by Dr. Edward Howell, pioneer in the study of enzymes and author of “Enzyme Nutrition”.  He proved that individuals have a fixed number of enzymes available for them to “spend.”  When an individual’s digestive enzymes are depleted or are deficient, the process of digestion must be accomplished by “borrowing” from the metabolic enzymes, which puts undue stress on the rest of the system.  Whenever food is eaten which is devoid of enzymes, withdrawals from the bank account are made.  Most people make regular withdrawals and never make deposits.

Can’t I get enzymes from the food I eat?
Yes, most definitely, but only if that food is not cooked or processed.  Enzymes are destroyed at a temperature of 118 degrees.  Modern food processing procedures destroy early all of the naturally-occurring enzymes in food.  With the prevalence of cooked and processed foods, the average American diet is essentially devoid of food enzymes.  We certainly recommend that you take in as many raw foods as possible, but even then, the raw foods contain only enough enzymes to digest that food.  We know that most of your foods, particularly meat and fats, are cooked and processed.  Nutritional enzyme supplements should be taken to assist in the digestive process and relieve the stress placed on your body.

How do I know if I need enzymes?
If you eat cooked or processed foods, you need enzymes.

Can I eat too many enzymes?
Emphatically, no; you cannot ingest too many enzymes when taking our formulations.  Enzymes only have their activity in the presence of their substrate.  That is, if they don’t have correct nutritional substrates to work on, they are simply used by the body as a high quality nutritional protein.  A word of caution however, taking too many enzymes produced by companies whose formulations do not include the necessary co-factors, will deplete certain minerals and co-factors from the body, eventually causing more harm than good.

What is a free radical?
A free radical is an extremely active molecule, such as a super oxide hydroxide or peroxide, that will cause rapid oxidation of tissues and especially fats.  This results in excess rancidity, tissue damage and premature aging if not controlled.  Free radicals are known to cause over 60 major diseases because they damage the cell lining, making it easier for disease to set in.  While free radicals are necessary in the body, especially to the immune system it is extremely important that they be controlled by antioxidants.

What is an antioxidant?
An antioxidant is a specific vitamin enzyme or accessory food factor that has the ability to scavenge and render harmless, free radicals.  The body has the ability to synthesize antioxidants if given the right nutrition, especially antioxidant enzymes, which are sometimes very hard to get from food.

What do you mean by a holistic antioxidant approach?
Most of the antioxidants on the market do not take a holistic approach.  They may supply the body with antioxidant nutrients, but don’t take into account the resulting by-products and don’t address making the body a better free radical fighter.  It is very important that antioxidants be complete so that when they do their job opposing free radicals, the process does not result in the creation of additional free radicals.  MicroTech’s approach is to combine vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants to prevent free radical damage.

How do these products help the body become a better free radical fighter?
While other antioxidants on the market supply the body with antioxidant nutrients, our products actually boost the body’s own free radical fighting ability.  Our OPC antioxidants are as much as 50 times more potent than vitamin E and 20 times more potent than vitamin C.  Our OPC comes in 150 mg. capsules which reduces the number of pills per day.

What are Proanthocyanidins?
Proanthocyanidins are a class of antioxidant nutrients to which also bioflavonoids, rutin and tannins belong.  All of those nutrients are powerful antioxidants but the research of Dr. Jacques Masquelier shows that the most active members of this class are the ones which he refers to as pycnogenol.

What is pycnogenol?
Pycnogenol, now a registered trademark in America, was used by Dr. Masquelier as a generic term, referring to the proanthocyanidins from any source, including from grape seed and maritime pine bark.  Most of his studies were actually done with grape seed extract, and he has shown that grape seed has a greater antioxidant effect than pine bark.

What are OPC’s?
Technically speaking, according to Dr. Masquelier, OPC’s are really not bioflavenoids.  OPC’s are flavenols while bioflavenoids are flavenoids.  While the chemical structure of their core molecules is the same, flavenols and flavenoids actually have more differences than similarities.  While other antioxidant formulas contain only A, C, and E, Dr. Masquelier’s startling research has proven the ultra powerful free radical scavenging antioxidants effects of OPC’s.  they are actually the most powerful antioxidants known to man.  They are major protectors of collagen the basic foundation of our blood vessels and all connective tissues such as skin, ligaments around joints and tendons.

Why do I need to take vitamin supplements?
Studies show that over 90 percent of Americans are deficient in some vitamin or mineral.  Even if you ate a balanced diet, because of the way foods are grown and processed today, you have no guarantee that you are getting the nutrients you need.  Soil depletion, pesticides, smog, and depletion of the ozone layer, along with food-processing methods, all rob our foods of vital nutrients.  Supplementation is essential to replenish the life-giving nutrients which are missing in our foods.

Why are whole food vitamins important?
What is the difference between synthetic and whole food vitamins?  Whole food vitamins, such as those included in Microceuticals, affect the body and are absorbed and used just as the natural foods would be.  Whole foods and whole food complexes are entire composites, not fractions of vitamins.  Synthetic vitamins are not really vitamins at all, they are only fragments of vitamins.  Pulling apart the constituents that make up a food – fractionating, changes that food into a non-food.  These non-food fractions are now foreign and unrecognizable to the body and actually create drug-like reactions.

What are minerals and why are they important?
Minerals are solid substances, natural elements which are not of animal or vegetable origin, “rocks” if you will.  Trace minerals are essential to the functioning of the body’s systems, particularly the hormone system and the immune system.  Minerals also play a vital role in the workings of enzyme reactions and in the production of blood, nutrients and energy.

What is Bioavailability of minerals?
Bioavailability refers to how available a mineral element is for use in the body.  Here is where mineral supplements vary widely.  Some supplements have a high trace mineral content, these minerals are not “chelated” and so are not absorbable and useable in the body.

What does “chelated” minerals mean?
Chelate comes from the Greek word, “claw”.  Through chelation, an amino acid claws onto, or binds to, a mineral.  This enables that mineral to be absorbed through the intestinal wall.