Metabolism

what is metabolism

all of the chemical reactions that take place in cells, and therefore in the organism

catabolic reaction

larger molecules broken down into smaller ones

anabolic reaction

small molecules built up into larger ones

what are nutrients

any substance in food used for growth/repair - aka for your metabolism

what are carbohydrates used for

they’re the main source of energy for our cells as their glucose is used for cellular respiration
complex carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars

what are the three types of carbohydrates

monosaccharides - simple sugars like glucose and galactose
disaccharides - two simple sugars joined to make things like maltose and fructose
polysaccharides - larger carbs with many simple sugars like glycogen

how are lipids used

they’re broken down into fatty acids and glycerol which can then go through glycolysis to release energy

what is the structure of a lipid

one glycerol and 1-3 fatty acid molecules

what are proteins made up of

100 or more amino acids

whats the structure of an amino acid

an amino group and a carboxylic acid group

explain amino acid bonds

they join to form a peptide bond - shorter chains (2) are dipeptides and longer chains (10) are polypeptides

how many types of amino acids are there

20, but their DNA codes for their order and the folding of their structure which determines the type of protein

what does protein do in the body

the most important proteins are enzymes, however they can also be sources of energy if carbohydrates and lipids are inadequate

what do vitamins do

act as coenzymes for chemical reactions in the metabolism

what does water do

it’s the fluid in which other substances are dissolved and where some chemical reactions occur

what do minerals do

they can act as party of enzymes, as enzyme cofactors, or parts of substances like ATP that are involved in metabolism

list all the organic nutrients

carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, and DNA/RNA

list all the inorganic nutrients

water and minerals