Metabolism

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Metabolism is a chemical process in our body, and through this process, our body gets the energy to do different activities. In simpler terms, we can say that we get energy from the things we eat and drink, and the chemical process inside our body that helps in converting food into energy is known as metabolism. 

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Metabolism occurs in all living organisms, and it’s necessary to sustain life. We all are aware that all living organisms require energy to perform different processes and activities, and metabolic processes help in maintaining different structures of the living organisms.

Types of Metabolism

Metabolism consists of two different processes:

1. Catabolism: Breaking down the substances for energy or structure to get back to the building blocks.

2. Anabolism: Rebuild the substances in ways that we find useful.

Catabolic and Anabolic Pathways

A metabolic pathway is a series of linked chemical reactions that include making and breaking down glucose molecules and releasing or utilizing energy. The building up pathway is an Anabolic pathway whereas breaking down pathways is a catabolic pathway.

Let’s discuss these two pathways in detail:

Anabolic pathway

It helps in building complex molecules from simpler molecules and here energy is consumed i.e. it needs the input of energy. A few examples of the anabolic pathway include-

• Synthesis of proteins from amino acids 

• DNA strands from nucleic acid building blocks are called nucleotides.

• Conversion of amino acids into keratin

• Conversion of glycogen or starch from the glucose molecule

• The energy used in these important biosynthetic processes is in the form of ATP and other short-term energy storage molecules.

Catabolic pathway

It involves the breakdown of complex molecules into simpler ones and is a pathway that releases energy in the form of ATP. Metabolism examples for the catabolic pathway include-

• The breakdown of glucose into Pyruvate

• Conversion of proteins into amino acids

• Conversion of lipids or fats into fatty acids

• All of these degradations occur in a pathway and energy (ATP) is released to power the work of cells.

When we eat food, the molecules are converted to amino acids, sugars and fatty acids with the release of ATP (energy) and waste materials like Nitrogen, CO2, Phosphorus and Sulfur excreted out of the body. Here, we can see whatever we put inside our body in the form of food, it changed into another form.  

The outcomes of the catabolic pathway are absorbed by our intestines, enter the bloodstream and then are distributed to the body cells. Its functions include-

The energized cell forms replacement parts for its own molecules which are worn out and other times, it builds energy molecules in the body.

These act like fuel to power the cell’s future activities. Example- Muscle cells use energy molecules to contract and brain cells utilize them to form thought processes.

What is Metabolism in Biology and Metabolic Activity?

In biological terms, metabolism is a chain of biochemical reactions, and it involves all the biochemical reactions that help in the survival of the organisms. Metabolism is also needed by organisms to grow, reproduce, and maintain different living conditions to sustain. Even when the organisms respond to the environment when they get a stimulus, this also happens due to metabolism. Therefore, metabolism plays a significant role in the overall growth of the organisms, and from digestion to excretion, all the processes in living organisms happen due to biochemical reaction, which is known as metabolism. There are two types of metabolic processes in organisms:-

1. Catabolism: when we eat or drink something, the molecules that enter inside our body are larger in size, and they need to be broken down into smaller molecules to give us energy. Therefore, through the catabolism process, the larger molecules inside an organism are converted into smaller molecules and release energy. 

2. Anabolism: This process helps build up and synthesize compound substances from simpler substances required by different cells, and it also stores energy.

How does Metabolism Work?

When we eat food, our digestive system starts functioning. The digestive system uses different kinds of enzymes to do the following processes:

• The initial process is the breaking down of proteins into amino acids. 

• Enzymes also convert fats into fatty acids. 

• Carbohydrates have been converted into sugars (Glucose) with the help of enzymes. 

When the enzymes convert proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into amino acids, fatty acids, and sugars, the body can use them anytime as an energy source, and these compounds are absorbed by blood which helps in carrying them to different cells for their functioning. 

After the blood carries them to the cells, and they enter into the cells, other enzymes start their functioning and act upon it, and a lot of chemical reactions also take place that involves “metabolizing” different compounds. The energy made by these compounds can do different purposes, including being used by the body for performing different tasks, and it can also remain stored inside the body into tissues, such as muscles, liver, and body fat.

Enzymes

A protein acting as a catalyst that facilitates reactions in biological systems is called an enzyme. Each reaction step in Metabolic pathways is catalyzed by an enzyme and it takes control of the biochemical reactions.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

It is an organic compound that provides energy for facilitating many processes in living cells, for example, muscle contraction, chemical synthesis and nerve impulse propagation. It is found in all forms of life, and is often referred to as the "molecular unit of currency". When consumed in metabolic processes, it is either converted to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or to adenosine monophosphate (AMP).

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Nutrition, Metabolism, and Energy 

Nutrition is the most significant key to metabolism. In the metabolic process, different nutrition taken up by living organisms is broken down into simpler substances to release energy which helps in doing different processes inside the body like digestion, transportation of food into different cells, etc., and also helps the body to do other activities to sustain. In addition, the energy produced in the body due to the metabolism process is also used for producing new proteins and nucleic acids, which are also known as DNA and RNA. 

Essential nutrition required by the human body includes hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, sulfur, and 20 more elements. In addition, carbohydrates, protein, and lipids are the major elements supplied in our body, and additional elements are water, vitamins, and minerals.

Carbohydrate Metabolism, Metabolism of Lipids, and Protein Metabolism.

The breaking down of carbohydrates through different biochemical processes is known as carbohydrate metabolism. One of the essential pathways of the metabolic process is carbohydrates. Through the process of photosynthesis, the synthesis of carbohydrates has been done in plants from carbon dioxide and water. The cellular respiration process is used by animals and fungi consuming plants to break down carbohydrates to produce energy which is used by different cells to perform different activities. 

Metabolism of lipids is the breaking down and storage of fat in living organisms. The process of synthesizing lipids is known as lipogenesis. Cholesterol and triglycerides are the major fat in the human body, and fatty acids and membrane lipids are the additional lipids found in the human body. 

Metabolism of protein is the chain of various biochemical processes that are required for synthesizing or breaking down protein and converting them into amino acids. Transcription, translation, and post-translational modifications are the steps in synthesizing protein. The breaking down of protein with the help of different enzymes is known as a polypeptide.

How to Increase Metabolism?

There are a few suggestions through which metabolism can be increased:

• We all are aware that to live a healthy and fit lifestyle, we need to avoid all those substances that have more calories intake and become the reason for extra pounds in our body. Although, if you reduce the quantity of your food, it also has a negative impact on your metabolism. Therefore, it’s important to take a properly balanced diet that provides an adequate quality of nutrition to your body, and your metabolism increases. 

• Breakfast plays an important role in maintaining metabolism. We need energy throughout the day to perform different day-to-day activities. Therefore you shouldn't skip the morning breakfast because it gives energy and activeness to your body throughout the day that helps you to become efficient and active and you always remain fit and healthy. 

• Our nervous system also helps in increasing the metabolism in our body, so if you take caffeine, it stimulates the nervous system and your metabolism increases by 5 to 8 per cent. 

• Burning fat also helps in improving metabolism, and intake of fibre in the diet can help you to burn almost 30 percent of your body fat and help you to live a healthy and fit life. 

• Organic food such as lettuce, celery, grapes, peaches, and many more help you to boost up the amount of your metabolism and contribute towards a healthy and active lifestyle.

Learn Faster and Longer

A student’s ability to retain knowledge and remember it till the day of the exam plays a quite decisive role to determine his/her performance. It is often seen that the students usually face some trouble with memorizing facts and figures and tend to forget the unread pressure on the day of examination. 

To counter this issue there are certain things that the students can do to enhance memorizing power and pace it up further. The teachers at Vedantu recommend tips for the student’s that they can use in their everyday life and subconsciously work upon their memory power. 

As it is said, the basics remain the same. The best way to learn something is to write it. When the student writes something, brains store the information for a longer period of time.  Comparing this to the other methods, the process of learning becomes fast, and the information tends to remain in our mind even in testing situations like facing stress during the exam. The student who has prepared for the exams with a lot of writing practice will undoubtedly be in a better place while writing their exams.  The students are advised to practice writing thought revision notes and solving the previous year question papers.

Further, there are other minor changes that one can bring in their routine and methods which will have a positive impact on the mind's memorizing power. The students are advised to be more organized in their life. One should approach their subjects for the exams in a professional and planned way.  Such an approach towards daily life keeps one mentally peaceful which results in better efficiency of mind.

Intelligent Approach 

An intelligent approach is one whereby the students intend to derive more output in less time. In other words, cover more chapters or topics in less time. This is the smartest way to study for an exam. Since the exam doesn’t test the candidate on the entire syllabus but the questions which are asked in the exams. If we go by this logic, the students need to be really precise with what to study and what not to. For the same, the teachers at Vedantu highlight tips through which this could be achieved.

To begin with, always read the syllabus. The syllabus is the heart of the exam and no examiner would ever ask anything out of the syllabus. The students will get clarity and use it further to go ahead with the preparation. The students should further look at the previous year question paper, and try to solve a couple of them to understand what the examiner could exactly ask.  Furthermore, use Vedantu's website to download a lot of free of cost exam orientation content to achieve your goals.