Dr. Edward Howell, who has written two books on enzymes, theorizes that humans are given a limited supply of enzyme energy at birth, and that it is up to us to replenish our supply of enzymes to ensure that their vital jobs get done. If we don't replenish our supply, we run the risk of ill health. In the enzyme nutrition axiom, Howell postulates that "The length of life is inversely proportional to the rate of exhaustion of the enzyme potential of an organism. The increased use of food enzymes promotes a decreased rate of exhaustion of the enzyme potential." In other words, the more enzymes you get, the longer and healthier you live.

The key is to remember that food enzymes are destroyed at temperatures above 118 °F. This means that cooked and processed foods contain few, if any, enzymes, and that the typical diet found in industrialized countries is enzyme-deficient. When we eat cooked and processed foods, we could well be eating for a shorter and less-than-healthy life. This points back to the importance of eating raw fruits and vegetables because they are "live foods"; that is, foods in which the enzymes are active. The more enzymes you get, the healthier you are. And the more raw foods you eat, the more enzymes you get.