Photo by Angela Squicciarini
Eric Sauer, a professional compound pharmacist who specializes in naturopathic integrated health options, was the guest speaker at the latest lunch meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of Women in Defense.

Fast Foods Are Wrong Foods

Just call him "enzyme man." And do not call him a fan of fast food. "Eating fast food is the quickest way to hurt your health. All fast food has sugar in it. Sugar is addictive so you want more fast food," said Eric Sauer, a professional compound pharmacist who specializes in naturopathic integrated health options.

Sauer has 30 years experience as a pharmacist and has expertise in enzyme therapy and homeopathic and herbal medicine. He owns and operates a pharmacy in Ocean Township and was the guest speaker at the latest lunch meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of Women in Defense.

He said the "baby boomers" are the last generation that did not grow up on fast food. "Your mothers probably went to the store everyday and bought food and came home and prepared it. Now with both parents working many just take the kids for fast food, a bad thing to do," he said.

Europeans are healthier than Americans because they do not consume as much fast and processed food.

Sauer asked the group if they knew what enzymes do. He said the human body could not support life without enzymes. "Enzymes are energized protein molecules that catalyze and regulate the biochemical reactions occurring within the human body," he said.

He said enzymes help digest food and convert it into nutrients that fortify the body. Enzymes also assist in the human body's cell repair and help fight infection. He said if the body does not have enough enzymes, white blood cells are forced to take on their functions instead of fighting infection.

Sauer said that enzymes are a part of the beginning of life and its end. Each of us has an "enzyme potential," the amount of enzymes we make in a lifetime, similar to the potential number of heartbeats for any living heart.

The potential is contingent on one's genes and is unique to every person. "You have sinus problems? It's your gut. Constipated? It's your gut. It all goes back to your gut and what you put into it and how that gets broken down," he said.

Raw food, fruits and vegetables contain enzymes for digestion, but we draw from our limited enzyme reserve when we have to digest cooked and processed foods. Cooking and processing food destroys all the enzymes in them. That is why Sauer thinks adding enzymes through enzyme therapy with supplements given under the direction of a specially trained pharmacist helps keep the body on track.

He cautioned that the enzymes that should be taken are plant-based not animal-based. Sauer is critical of doctors who over prescribe medications. "The more medication you take, the more side effects you open yourself up to. Every drug has side effects and many doctors have not studied these drugs long enough to know all the side effects they are saddling you with," he said. Patients need to educate themselves and "not believe everything you hear." He said some drug companies give "incentives" to physicians for prescribing their products.

He said that if a doctor tries to frighten you into taking something it is time to find another doctor. He also suggested that Americans do not drink enough water and that we are dehydrated. "Think about it. If you are put in the hospital, the first thing they do is start an intravenous line and give you fluids," he said.