How Metabolism Works In The Body

What is metabolism?

Metabolism refers to the total biochemical reactions that take place in our living cells. These reactions involve the uptake, synthesis, assimilation and the breaking down of the major biomolecules. The biomolecules may be proteins, carbohydrates and Lipids. All the food that we eat must undergo these biochemical reaction reactions for us to be in a healthy state. Our sustenance is greatly dependent on the normal functioning of these processes.

Types of Metabolic Reactions.

Metabolism is divided into two main categories; Anabolism and Catabolism.

• Catabolism

Catabolism refers to the process of breaking down of organic matter (the foods) with the main objective of producing energy. Whatever we eat during our meals has to be broken down to a form that the body can utilize. Proteins are broken down to smaller units called amino acids, which are the building block of the tissues of our bodies. Carbohydrates, which is supplied in form of starches and sugars, are reduced to monosaccharides such glucose, fructose and galactose. Fats are known to produce twice as much energy as either carbohydrates or protein; they are eventually broken down to fatty acids and glycerol.

The whole idea of catabolic reactions is to provide all the necessary ingredients for the sister reaction-Anabolism.

• Anabolism

After the body has broken down all the food that is ingested during Catabolism, the reverse process of assembling or rebuilding takes place. At this point, the synthesis of more complex compounds is initiated. These may include the assembling of amino acids to make proteins, the synthesis of polysaccharides from monosaccharides, fatty acids to lipids and eventually nucleic acid which are involved in the genetic transfer of information.

What Promotes Metabolic Reactions

Metabolic reactions do not take place on their own. These biochemical reactions are catalyzed (accelerated) by specific biochemical catalyst called enzymes. The enzymes are very specific and work at optimum temperatures and within a given pH range. pH levels describe the level of acidity or alkalinity of the body fluids.

The day to day life with Metabolism

The common knowledge of the word metabolism is the rate at which the body burns calories that we consume. Individuals with a high metabolic activity is associated to the ability of one to burn more calories and therefore loses weight at a faster rate than the one whose metabolic rate is slower; this comparison is done between individuals of the same weight who have the same activity level and of the same diet.

What factors influence Metabolism?

There are a number of factor that directly influence how these processes take place. Some of which are controllable and others are beyond our help. A better understading of these factors places us at a better position to improve the quality of life that we are living and at the same time save most of our resources that could be used to pay huge medical bills to treat some of the diseases that are associated to diet. These factors may include;

• Age: As one grows old, possibly after the age of 40, the metabolic rate slows down. A major contributing factor could be attributed to a decrease in the muscle mass. On this we have no control.
• Gender: It is an undisputable fact that men burn calories at a faster rate than women. Generally, men have more muscle tissues and as a result, the higher surface area provided by the muscle tissues facilitate a faster burning of calories.
• Heredity: Sometimes individuals inherit some traits along family lines. It is a common phenomenon to find a family with very thin members, no matter what kind of food they eat. And at the same time there are people with a family history of obesity.
• Medical Conditions: Individuals with thyroid disorder tend to have metabolism challenges. For example, hyperthyroidism may result to a higher metabolic rate while hypothyroidism leads to a slowed down metabolic rate.
• Lifestyle: This may be related to the kind of food eaten and the level of activity one is involved on a daily basis. For example, a food higher in fiber does very well to increase the metabolic rate and a very active individual builds more muscles and eventually more muscle tissues are built.

Conclusion

The human body is a very complex system with very complex biochemical reactions that takes place inside the cellular structures. These processes are carried out involuntarily but we have a big say on how they take place. This is basically by our lifestyle and our nutrition.

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