Enzymes are nature’s chemical powerhouses—proteins that speed up reactions essential for life. Without them, digestion, cell repair, and energy production would crawl. In soils, enzymes recycle organic matter into plant-ready nutrients; in people, they turn food into fuel and keep cells resilient.
How Enzymes Work
Each enzyme is highly specific—like a key designed for one lock. Enzymes bind substrates, lower activation energy, and release products at speeds that make life possible. For a plain-language primer, see NIH MedlinePlus: Enzymes.
- Digestive enzymes break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
- Metabolic enzymes drive cellular energy (ATP) pathways.
- Repair/defense enzymes help neutralize oxidative damage and maintain cell integrity.
Enzymes & Human Health
Age, stress, ultra-processed diets, and micronutrient gaps can blunt enzyme activity. Rebuilding the “last mile” of nutrition—absorption and cellular use—starts with mineral availability and steady mitochondrial output (see From Energy to Immunity and The Missing Mineral.
Enzymes in Soil Health
In living soils, microbial enzymes decompose residues, release nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur, and help form stable organic matter. These processes underpin structure, water holding, and fertility—core concepts in USDA NRCS: Soil Health and Cornell CALS Soil Health.
Fulvic Acid: The Mineral Link Enzymes Depend On
Many enzymes require minerals (e.g., magnesium, zinc, iron) as cofactors.
Fulvic acid helps keep these minerals soluble and mobile—supporting the enzymes that power soil ecosystems and human cells. This is the bridge we explore in Feeding the Soil Within and the climate-facing The Carbon Key.
American Grit fulvic acid is U.S.-sourced and third-party tested to support mineral transport—helping the enzymes in your “soil within” perform the way nature intended.
Practical Steps
- For people: Prioritize whole foods, sufficient protein, and mineral density; use clean, tested fulvic acid to support bioavailability.
- For soils: Keep living roots, add compost, reduce disturbance, and diversify rotations to boost microbial enzyme activity (see USDA NRCS & Cornell links above).
Support enzymes and you support life—inside your cells and beneath your feet.
Educational content only; not medical or agronomic advice. Consult qualified professionals before changing diet, supplements, or land management practices.