The Enzyme Factor

Once again, we have a health book written by a gentleman in his 80's who is still enjoying excellent health. I think this is where we'd all like to be at his age: free of disease, healthy and happy, and pursuing our goals and ambitions. Rather than taking advice from relatively young people who feel pretty good while eating carcasses all day and having no idea what lies ahead in their next forty years, it makes more sense to follow the ideas of older people who continue to enjoy good health. To make this author's advice even more compelling, he is a gastroenterologist who has examined the colons of hundreds of thousands of people and compared their health with their diets. Having read nearly a hundred health books in my life, I found a lot of new insight in The Enzyme Factor. Dr. Shinya says that he has used a colonoscope to study the intestines of chimps and found almost no difference between their digestive system and those of humans. The only striking difference he found was that chimps, who are 98% vegetarian, have clean and healthy colons while human colons are clogged with meat, dairy, and their damaging effects such as diverticuli, polyps, and inflamed blood vessels. He makes the argument that all disease begins in the colon, and does a fairly good job of explaining why. He also repeatedly stresses the importance of eating foods that are "alive," foods that contain natural enzymes (fruit and vegetables). Although I think his emphasis on whole grains might be a bit much (he recommends 50-60% of our diet should be whole grains and after all, I've never seen a chimp eat grain), I agree with his recommendation of keeping meat to no more than 15% of the diet. And by meat, he means white fish and seafood. He is a big fan of fruit, though, so I simply replaced the grains with fruit. I found it rather surprising that a gastroenterologist was unaware of the link between grain fiber and digestive disorders. Still, I found quite a bit of good advice here. Much of what I read in this book were the author's own suspicions and conjectures. Some reviewers had a problem with that, because for some people, something that has not been scientifically proven cannot possibly be true. In my opinion, this is foolish thinking. Did gravity not exist until Isaac Newton wrote down the equation? For example, Dr. Shinya suspects that there is an enzyme pool in the body from which it can draw and sometimes even create the enzymes it needs for any function. Simply by using digestive enzymes and eating foods rich in enzymes, we can make our bodies' jobs easier. If this conjecture appears to be the case, to someone who has been studying the subject for more than fifty years, we should be willing to listen. Who cares if it hasn't been proven yet? Some of Einstein's conjectures weren't proven until the 1990's. Highly intelligent people can see the truth before science validates it on paper. Shinya's intelligent perspective are worth the price of this book. I'm not sure the book has an appropriate title, though. If you're looking for a lot of deep talk about all the thousands of human enzymes and what they do in the body, you'll have to look elsewhere. He does not discuss specific enzymes. He simply says get as many enzymes from raw whole foods as possible and let your body do the rest. Don't clog up your intestines with too much meat and dairy. Eat a whole foods, mainly vegetarian diet. The diet plan is sensible and it will indeed keep your colon clean. Keeping your colon clean will help you live into your eighties as the author has done. I didn't find anything controversial here, but I did find a lot of insight and sensible advice. Highly recommended. I hope this review helped you decide whether or not this book will interest you.

I am a Kangen Alkaline Water Independent Distributor in Fuquay Varina, NC. Quoting from the back cover, "This Book details why Medication often makes you sicker, that Antacids will make your stomach worse, and that Calcium and supplements and dairy products might actually cause osteoporosis." Dating back many generations we've learned that Our bodies were designed to heal itself and ignorance could be making us sick. Quoting the back cover, "Enzymes are the key to your health. Find out why." I highly recommend this Book for everyone including those who are in the medical field. It truly is one of the best books in the World today that describes, in detail, the importance of Enzymes. Where they came from, their meaning in our bodies, and why it is important to know about them. Quoting from the Book; Chapter 1, page 8: "You can become a healthy 100-year old." You will be glad you ordered this book. It would be a great Gift to share with everyone. In deed, highly recommended. You will not be disappointed! Written by Dr. Hiromi Shinya, MD, Chief of Surgical Endoscopy Unit, Beth Israel Medical Center, Clinical Professor of Surgery, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Hiromi Shinya's book, The Enzyme Factor, is unique among 'how to live a good lifestyle' books. Dr. Shinya is a medical doctor with decades of practice. He has made and documented poignant observations about the relationships between his clients' lifestyles and their states of health. He practices in both Japan and the U.S. (at Einstein and Beth Israel Hospitals in New York City). His ability to derive lifestyle-health relationships is based on careful medical observations of his patients, together with knowledge of his patients' lifestyles - meaning the foods they eat, the stresses they are under, etc. What emerges from his observations is a recommended lifestyle that tends to avoid disease or even pre-disease conditions - leading to that fragile but wonderfully natural state called homeostasis. One thing (among several) that I found intriguing from this book is Shinya's hint that he has assembled a relationship database on this subject - relating (primarily) dietary practices to degrees-of-health. Aside from that, the dietary lifestyle that Dr. Shinya recommends made so much sense to me, that I decided to try it. After several months, I am not disappointed - indeed I feel that I could also write a book about the benefits of his recommendations. Realism forces me to the conclusion that most people lack, within themselves, the sheer will-power required to re-orient their lives in the direction of good health - captured as they are by the many harmful dietary and lifestyle practices so prevalent in our society. I feel grateful to have encountered this book. I personally thank Dr. Shinya for taking the time to share his observations with the many readers who are using his recommendations and observations to advantage. By the way, Dr. Shinya's recent book, The Microbe Factor, is also well worth the investment.

Very sincere in his experience about eating the right food for health. Easy to understand. I am not sure that only having water and a piece of fruit instead of good breakfast is compatible to everyone. But I like starting my day with a glass of warm water, and do not get hungry until I am ready for lunch. I am also not having indigestion anymore after I started drinking water with lemon 30 mins. before each meal, and taking enzymes just before my meal. I feel good and lost and maintain healthy weight

While there is much in the way of theory and conjecture in this book, it IS coming from a most reputable source. The fact that Dr. Shinya, the doctor who first did colonoscopies and has done 370,000+ over the past 40 years, takes detailed dietary histories on his patients and correlates those dietary habits with physical findings in the colon--that's something I want to hear more about. I have had two colonoscopies, and no one ever asked the first word about my diet. I learned of Dr. Shinya from colonoscopy videos that popped up in youtube with some GI topic I was looking at. (Not for the faint, but if you're not grossed out, his videos of the insides of colons are very compelling to eat right). As a GI nurse, I was fascinated with them. Based on his observations, Dr. Shinya recommends a plant based diet, shuns dairy, and believes homogenized milk is a toxic substance (I don't think I'm overstating his opinion). In addition to a vegetarian diet, the doctor recommends drinking a couple of glasses of water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, for cleansing. He drinks Kangen water, but I haven't made that leap yet. He also suggests occasionally having an early dinner and late breakfast, giving yourself a 16 hour fast, as an easy way to give your body a small cleansing fast. I can do that. There are more tips for staying healthy; he states he hasn't had a health problem since he was 19 years old, so again--I'm all ears. I take the studies funded by pharmaceutical companies with a large grain of salt; I'm more interested in hearing what healthy people living long lives are doing. This is a book by a true pioneer and authority on the subject, who has led a long and productive life and is still going strong physically and mentally. I am grateful he is sharing his knowledge to all of us who can't see him for an office visit.

I am amazed. I truly consider this book as an invaluable tool to good health and better life. Easy to read and clearly explained, Dr. Hironi Shinya’s book states in very simple manner, what truly needs to be done to achieve a better and more efficient digestive activity that ultimately would lead to overall physical and mental well being. I am so glad that to the person that recommended the book to me. It was a life changing day.

If you're a holistic-food-as-medicine-health-starts-with-a-clean-gut junkie like me, you'll love this book! I'd never really paid attention to how important enzymes are and if nothing else, this book will cause you to rethink your food choices and health choices. Some of the content was similar to what you read in other books about clean living, such as avoiding consumption of homogenized, pasteurized milk. But one bit of info that was new to me has to do with eating fresh food before it's been oxidized. I don't agree with every piece of advice given; there is a lot of Dr. Shinya's opinion and anecdotal observations so this book isn't to be taken as the Bible on nutrition and disease prevention. I have, however, experienced the benefits of eating more brown rice and less meat, for which he gives the most compelling argument I've ever read. Again, definitely worth reading!

Must read and a must to execute. I am terminally ill and this book has forever changed my life for the good. If only my doctors treated me and not each illness independently. Truly a life saving guide to better life.

I am now 69 and totally healthy, but interested in any tips on keeping it that way for as long as possible. That's what I was looking for in this book. However I found more than that, because the book contains a complete vindication of my current lifestyle. I'm already doing just about everything that he recommends. This was achieved mostly by listening to my own body (as he recommends we should do) e.g. losing interest in alcohol (I have a crate of unopened bottles sitting there for 7 years), feeling weird about coffee and milk (which I used to enjoy every day until about 7 years ago but stopped because it made me feel slightly sick), acquiring a taste for raw vegetables and fruit, drinking water, taking daily exercise, etc. etc. I feel better now than at any time in my life previously, so I can verify that his method works. His theory that it's all due to enzymes is new to me, but whatever the cause is, I would advise people to take his advice very seriously.

Por fin encuentro un libro escrito por aluien que sabe de lo que habla.gracias. Aporta mucho a mi nuevo estilo de vida.

After years of fad diets and trying to figure out how to help my husband with ulcerative colitis I decided to look into pioneer doctors of GI issues and I found Hiromi shinya by accident when my friend was showing me Kangen water reviews. I’m happy to say that after a recent colonoscopy my husband is healing and I know it’s from plant based diet cause after 11 yrs it’s the only thing that’s changed also I have never eaten so little in my life I’m never hungry I have always had weight issues but it’s been a steady decline in weight since I’ve switch my eating habits!!

I found this book to be quite an eye opener. Very enlightening. Dr Shinya, throughout his extensive life and medical experience has obviously been researching and seeking answers to the maladies he has observed in people. He has developed credible theories and a practical diet in response to those observations. This book is very worthwhile reading; if for no other reason than to trigger how we each personally, can consider implementing at least some of his recommendations to change our lifestyle and diet for better health and longevity. I believe we owe a debt of gratitude to Dr Shinya for taking the time to write this book. It will help many people to obtain greater enjoyment and value out of their life.

Very good book, finally something quiet unique, i have learned lots of new information. Other medical writers seem to be writing the same thing but Hirami came with tons of new information that I was unaware (that green tea is actually not good for you health for example). Author passed away december 2021 at age 86, while it is a long time that he lived, I am sure he could have lived longer if he introduced intermittent fasting to his diet (there was zero mention of that in this book and I think for the sake of longevity, fasting is crucial). Highly recommend this book, tons of information to learn from.