Hello, it´s been a while since there has been any new blogs or articles in the website so it´s time to break the silence.
Today the idea is to learn about food metabolism, it was initially supposed to be about how the body absorbs nutrients from food to get energy, but it is now about cells, in other words: metabolism in a smaller scale. It´s quite similar, or so people assume, so it´s time to find out. The initial question is: How does the metabolism change if it is studied in a general organ function to a cellular level?
Today the idea is to learn about food metabolism, it was initially supposed to be about how the body absorbs nutrients from food to get energy, but it is now about cells, in other words: metabolism in a smaller scale. It´s quite similar, or so people assume, so it´s time to find out. The initial question is: How does the metabolism change if it is studied in a general organ function to a cellular level?
To answer that question: it´s just in a smaller scale, they are both processes were chemical reactions take place in order to convert food into fuel or energy or however you wish to call it. In the big organ scale of metabolism, food is broken down by proteins, which is the same thing that happens in cell metabolism where there are two types of metabolism processes (They both use proteins but they differ in action), which will be discussed later.
First it is crucial to know that the very complicated reaction procedures that take place in the metabolism of cells are known as metabolic pathways. This type of reactions (metabolic pathways) make nutrients commonly found in food into materials that our body needs, for example: sugar is transformed into glucose, which is the main fuel of many of our organs, more on this will be discussed after the photo, which will explain the breaking down of types of foods that later convert into glucose.
First it is crucial to know that the very complicated reaction procedures that take place in the metabolism of cells are known as metabolic pathways. This type of reactions (metabolic pathways) make nutrients commonly found in food into materials that our body needs, for example: sugar is transformed into glucose, which is the main fuel of many of our organs, more on this will be discussed after the photo, which will explain the breaking down of types of foods that later convert into glucose.
The chemical reactions that break down carbohydrates for example, is a protein molecule known as an enzyme, which are piled in a sequence generally. Enzymes not only break down foods, but they are capable of either slowing or speeding up the process of metabolization depending on the cell´s environment´s need for it. This process of regulation is of course called homeostasis.
Now, cell metabolism is divided into either catabolic or anabolic.
Let´s start with catabolic: This ones are the basic pathways; in the case of cellular respiration (which is a catabolic pathway) they break up a molecule like a carbohydrate into a simpler kind of molecule which can further be broken down. They break big molecules, which makes it possible for them to make rich molecules such as ATP, which is the energy most of our cells use. ATP also powers anabolic pathways which brings us to:
Anabolic pathways: instead of breaking down, they do the opposite of what catabolic does, which is creating bigger and complex molecules. Even though this pathway uses a lot of the ATP produced in the catabolic pathways, they use it in order to achieve growth in the body, as they are capable to use many of this bigger molecules to do things such as muscle growth in the body.
I am unable to give a better example of the main anabolic and catabolic pathways than that of this picture of a chart I found on the net, of course the link is in the reference section.
So, a quick recap/ Conclusion
Food is metabolized in the body by multiple chemical reactions that break the big molecules such as lipids or carbohydrates into smaller molecules such as glucose, which fuels most of our vital organs, such as our brain and kidney. Also our muscles need glucose in order to function. In a cellular lever, the basic energy is called ATP, which powers our hundreds of billions of cells. The later is all part of what is considered a catabolic reaction. The energy the body recieves comes from this kind of reactions. (The energy our bodies recieve is a topic of real life)
The other side of metabolism is the anabolic pathway, which when it comes to pure intuition, anabolics are known as a way to grow muscle, and people are not wrong at all, as in a cellular level, anabolic pathways use many of the molecules created by the catabolic pathways in order to make new bigger structures that promote bodily growth, such as muscle growth. (muscle growth is a topic of real life aswell)
**Note from the author**
I, Sergio Schiavone, writer of the blog, hope you learned something new today
Food is metabolized in the body by multiple chemical reactions that break the big molecules such as lipids or carbohydrates into smaller molecules such as glucose, which fuels most of our vital organs, such as our brain and kidney. Also our muscles need glucose in order to function. In a cellular lever, the basic energy is called ATP, which powers our hundreds of billions of cells. The later is all part of what is considered a catabolic reaction. The energy the body recieves comes from this kind of reactions. (The energy our bodies recieve is a topic of real life)
The other side of metabolism is the anabolic pathway, which when it comes to pure intuition, anabolics are known as a way to grow muscle, and people are not wrong at all, as in a cellular level, anabolic pathways use many of the molecules created by the catabolic pathways in order to make new bigger structures that promote bodily growth, such as muscle growth. (muscle growth is a topic of real life aswell)
**Note from the author**
I, Sergio Schiavone, writer of the blog, hope you learned something new today
REFERENCES
- Chemistry24.com. (2017). Biology: Metabolism and Cellular Respiration. [online] Available at: http://www.chemistry24.com/biology/metabolism-and-cellular-respiration.html [Accessed 16 Jun. 2017].
- Naturahealthproducts.com. (2017). What is the difference between anabolic and catabolic? | Natura Health Products. [online] Available at: https://naturahealthproducts.com/anabolic-catabolic [Accessed 16 Jun. 2017].
- Study.com. (2017). What is a Metabolic Pathway? - Definition & Example - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. [online] Available at: http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-metabolic-pathway-definition-example.html [Accessed 16 Jun. 2017].
- This is were I found the chart. Healthknot.com. (2017). Cellular metabolism. [online] Available at: http://www.healthknot.com/cellular_metabolism.html [Accessed 16 Jun. 2017].
- Tocris Bioscience. (2017). Cell Metabolism | Tocris Bioscience. [online] Available at: https://www.tocris.com/pharmacologicalBrowser.php?ItemId=187887#.WUNOimjyu00 [Accessed 16 Jun. 2017].
- Homepage.ufp.pt. (2017). A general overview of the major metabolic pathways. [online] Available at: http://homepage.ufp.pt/pedros/bq/integration.htm [Accessed 16 Jun. 2017].
- Nature.com. (2017). Cell Metabolism | Learn Science at Scitable. [online] Available at: https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/cell-metabolism-14026182 [Accessed 16 Jun. 2017].