The other day I watched some cows contentedly chewing grass.  They looked well nourished and healthy.  Since humans can thrive on a totally vegetarian diet, I thought wouldn't it be useful if we could also get some of our energy from digesting grass.

Grass, leaves, and other plant materials provide plenty of metabolic energy for cows, goats, sheep and other ruminants.  However, this kind of plant material is indigestible for humans.  It turns out we just don't have the required digestive enzyme needed to break the grasses down.

The chemistry of life depends completely on enzymes which speed up and promote the chemical processes of life.  Our enzymes make us omnivorous, capable of eating and digesting grains, meat, and vegetables.  All the food we eat goes into the processing mill to translate it into the energy we require for movement and growth.

Our enzyme system converts virtually all the starches, sugars, fats and proteins we eat into useful energy, no matter what the original composition.  But in order to digest the cellulose that forms a large part of the fibre in our diets, we need a specific enzyme called cellobiase which we don't have.  It's produced, however, in the digestive system of animals like cows, which harbour the micro-organisms that are able to make it.  Although we can't digest cellulose, we still need to include foods rich in fibre because it seems to reduce the risk of some cancers.

So next time you enjoy a picnic, go easy on the wood chips and grass!

MOVING BEYOND MATTER
by Debbie Hughes

It's probably a relief to hear that we couldn't live on grass or twigs.  For the most part, we have an appetite for the foods that are most nourishing to our bodies.  But even though we have an appetite for good food, it doesn't necessarily mean that we have the ability to digest it.  There are some health problems, for example, which are marked by an inability to produce the necessary enzymes.  One of the most common disorders is milk intolerance wherein the enzyme lactase is lacking or in short supply.  In these cases you have a couple of options - either you avoid the food or you can take supplementary enzymes.  These make up for the deficiency in our body's ability to produce what it needs.

Taking this from the physical into the social, we see similar things often in the circles of friends and family.  We compensate for eachother's shortcomings.  We see this among school friends; one may serve as math coach while another would help out with  language.  We see it in the workplace in the sharing of computer knowledge and skills.  And it happens in the family too.  Perhaps you are particularly strong in one area where another family member is weak?

Consider the words of Solomon, ancient king of Israel, on the value of friends. He said, "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labour.  For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.  Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.  And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

While ancient literature like the Bible honours the idea of friends, there is also the concept that God Himself can have a friendship with His creation.  When we open ourselves to the spiritual dimension, we can discover the One who tells us that "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."