Metabolic Process

It is fairly common knowledge that people come in different shapes and sizes. It can be useful to know what body type you are so that you can better understand your metabolism, and how diet and exercise will effect you. Different body types, and the associated metabolism, will also effect your propensity to put on weight in fat, and your ability to build lean muscle through training. There are three body types: endomorph, ectomorph and mesomorph.

Endomorph

Endomorphs are naturally big and carry more fat. The body shape itself looks wide, round, soft and curvy. An endomorph may look like he or she carries weight around their waist but his may not always be the case as they will naturally be wide, often with a round face and with a large overall bone structure. Buttocks and thighs also tend to be larger. An endomorph will usually have a larger amount of fat storage due to the fact that they have a higher number of fat cells than other body types. Their body shape typically is apple or pear shaped. Endomorphs also have the slowest metabolism and therefore find it relatively difficult to lose weight and they tend to gain weight easily. If you are an endomorph and want to boost your metabolism, consider a nutrition and exercise program. Drink plenty of water (1.5 to 2 liters per day) and eat smaller meals, more often (4-6 meals per day) with good food choices consisting of lean protein, a small amount of carbohydrate (preferably whole grain) and plenty fresh vegetables and fruit. Exercise regularly. A regular brisk walk will help to burn fat, while some resistance training will help boost your metabolism and build lean muscle.
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The aging process is complex and involves all the areas and systems in your body. There is no known cure for aging, and pills or potions that claim to halt the aging process will only ever be a partial solution. However, there are a number of things that you can do that will help to slow the aging process, and will also improve your overall health, well being and quality of life.

For a longer life, and a more youthful appearance, try these:

1. Eat Healthy Diet

Fruit and vegetables are packed full of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs to operate, for example vitamin C is crucial to the immune system and can help you fight infections such as cold and flu. They also contain antioxidants that can help slow the aging effects of free radicals (more about free radicals below). To maintain the nutrient levels in fruit and vegetables, eat them fresh, and if you need to cook vegetables, steam them as boiling has a greater reductive effect on nutrient levels, particularly water soluble vitamins. Eating well will help keep your weight to a healthy level, which will make you much less likely to suffer from any of the many illnesses associated with obesity.
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When you want to lose weight, you need to pay attention to your metabolism. Without a healthy metabolism, you are simply going to have a lot more trouble shedding those unwanted pounds and dropping down to the weight you want. If you can increase your metabolism while also doing some carb counting, you can boost your ability to drop weight and to improve your overall health.

Carbohydrate Metabolism Explained

As you may already know, carbohydrates come in two varieties: simple and complex. Simple carbs could also be called sugar carbs because this category includes fructose, glucose, lactose, and other simple sugars that the body can breakdown quickly and get into your bloodstream. Complex carbs typically would be classified as starches, such as grains, potatoes, vegetables, and similar foods. To give your body energy, these foods must first be broken down into simple sugars by your body. This takes more effort and causes your metabolism to work harder so it takes more energy. The slowness of the process also means the energy will be released more slowly and over a longer period of time. (more…)

What are lipids and how do they help metabolism?

Lipids are molecules that act as a reserve for energy and are involved in cell membrane structures. This is but a small part that lipids play in the function of the body and metabolism. Lipids assist in the metabolism of energy and are also involved in cell communication, both between cells and inside cells. Lipids are also called messenger molecules because they are critical to many biological processes and body regulations.

Lipids may be thought of as fats, but this is not completely true. One form of lipids, called triglycerides, is considered fat, but there are other types of lipids that are not fat. Lipids are needed by for the body to function properly.

Lipids are molecules that cover a very diverse variety of structures. Phospholipids are cell membrane components. Other lipids are used throughout the body for proper function.

There are four basic types of lipids: fatty acids, nonglycerides, glycerides and complex lipid derivatives. Fatty acids are carboxylic acids that the body can use for fuel and for building more complex lipids and derivatives. (more…)

Fats are always in the news, and most of this coverage focuses on bad fats and the harmful effects they can have. Fats are actually essential and necessary for metabolism, but only one type of fats called healthy fats.

Fats provide energy the body needs, offering more than twice the energy that proteins and carbohydrates do, with nine calories per gram for fat versus four calories per gram for protein and carbohydrates.

Fats are also needed to maintain healthy cells. The cell membrane requires healthy fats to stay healthy and strong. The cell can not do its job and function properly if the cell membrane is missing these fats. Healthy fats are needed by for such functions as creating hormones, using vitamins, cushioning organs and internal structures and producing myelin, which makes sure nerve impulses are sent and received.

Fat is needed for metabolism as well, but the types of fat consumed are important to consider. Fat can be grouped into three main categories: saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats.

Saturated fats tend to clog up arteries.

Unsaturated fats, or healthy fats, are needed for the body to function properly. Unsaturated fats remain liquid at room temperature, flowing through your bloodstream easily without creating blockage. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and can stick together in the bloodstream and create blockage in arteries. (more…)

Amino acids play an important role in your metabolism, but many people do not understand what these compounds do or how they aid in metabolic processes.

Amino acids are organic compounds consisting of oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. Sometimes sulfur is also included, which creates bonds that appear in characteristic formations.

Amino acids are essential to life. Without these compounds, your body could not function or repair itself and you would die.

Proteins are the basic building units for all life and are made up of amino acid strings. Twenty different amino acids are needed to create the protein your body needs. Your body itself only makes 12 of these. The remaining eight come from the food you eat. If you do not eat a diet containing the necessary amino acids, or if your body has amino acids that are not working properly, perhaps by not following the proper sequence (malfunctioning), you may suffer medical consequences; the most notable of which is sickle cell anemia.

Amino acids create molecular chains called polymers. If there are 50 or more of these molecules, a specific protein type is formed that is needed by your body to build tissue, like muscle. Amino acids can create chains that include up to 3,000 units. (more…)

Perhaps you have heard the term basal metabolic rate (BMR) and wondered what it means. BMR is the number of calories minimum that the body needs simply to keep stay alive. For example, the BMR is the number of calories a body would need to spend 24 hours asleep in bed. This number will depend on many things and will determine weight along with diet and level of exercise.

The BMR includes the number of calories used for activities like breathing, to maintain the heat pumping, brain function, temperature stabilization and other functions that occur in the body while asleep. The calories burned when awake and moving are not included in the BMR.

Factors that affect BMR include genetics, age, weight, gender, external temperature, internal temperature, body surface area, body fat percentage and others. Genetics will affect BMR because the initial metabolic set point is determined by genetics. Some people will have a BMR that is set higher than others, naturally.

Age comes into play with BMR because it slows at roughly 2 percent every 10 years after the age of 20.

If you are a woman, you will naturally have a lower BMR than a man because men usually have a lower percentage of body fat and a higher percentage of muscle, meaning that men require a higher metabolism to maintain this muscle. (more…)

What is catabolism? Catabolism is the process involved when your body breaks larger molecules down into smaller molecules, and is one of the two chemical processes and reactions that together make up your metabolism. The other half of the equation that makes up your metabolism is called anabolism. Catabolism releases energy during the breakdown process of organic nutrients, and this energy is stored inside molecules of adenosine triphosphate, also called ATP, in the body. The energy is stored as chemical bonds with high energy, and these bonds are located between the second and third phosphate molecules. This energy is the fuel for the anabolic reactions used by cells, so that hormones, enzymes, sugars, and other molecules needed by the cell can be synthesized and the cell can grow, reproduce, and sustain itself. The ATP which stores the energy is used to synthesize more complex cell components from small simple building blocks, for transporting substances across the cell membrane, and for motion and contraction of the cells. Adenosine triphosphate releases energy when the chemical bond is broken, and this results in the molecule turning into adenosine diphosphate, or ADP, after the stored energy is released. Catabolism may occur at the same time as anabolism in the cell, but these two metabolism processes operate independently of each other and use different pathways.

Catabolism is also known as destructive metabolism, and this process never ends. This part of metabolism produces the energy needed for physical activity from a cellular level all the way up to any movement of your body. Catabolism also releases the energy needed for your body to maintain the correct temperature, and helps break down complex molecules and chemicals into simple units that are waste products, and can be excreted from the body through your organs, including your intestines, kidneys, skin, and lungs. (more…)

Metabolism is defined as the sum of all physical and chemical changes that take place within an organism; all energy and material transformations that occur within living cells. This requires two fundamental processes, anabolism and catabolism. Anabolism, also called constructive metabolism, is the cellular method of synthesis that allows your body to grow new cells and maintain all of the tissues. Anabolism has also been called biosynthesis, and in this process the body can create complex molecules needed from simpler ones, similiar to making larger objects using building blocks. The anabolic reactions use a few simple chemicals and molecules to synthesize a large variety of finished end products. Anabolism results in the increase of cell size or intricacy, and sometimes both will happen. The processes of anabolism result in proteins, peptides, lipids, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids being produced. These encompass all of the living cell materials, like chromosomes and cell membranes, plus any specialized specific cell type processes, including antibodies, neurotransmitters, enzymes, and hormones. (more…)