• What is Metabolism?
• Types of Metabolism
• Importance
• Metabolic Rate
• Factors affecting Metabolism
• Steps to maintain healthy metabolism

What is Metabolism

The food whatever you eat that contains Proteins or  Carbohydrates or Lipids these undergo digestion process. Proteins are converted into Amino acids,  Carbo Hydrates converted into Sugars and Lipids are converted in to Fatty acids this process releases energy in the form of ATP, also energy rich molecules are formed and other wastes like Nitrogen compounds, Phosphates, Sulphates and CO2 are produced. Small molecules Amino acids, Fatty acids and Sugars are used to form large and complex molecules which play different roles in our body like enzyme, hormones,  receptors, hair and nail growth. You can see all these as changes in your body.

The word metabolism is derived from the Greek word “Metabolismos”, in Greek  metabole means a “change”. Metabolism is a set of bio chemical reactions or changes in your body cells.

These chemical reactions may consume energy or release energy, produce waste and it plays major role in the body. And the inter-linked network of all these bio chemical reactions are called Metabolic pathways. 

Types of Metabolisms:

Metabolism classified into two ways:

1. Catabolism or Catabolic reactions.
2. Anabolism or Anabolic reactions.

In Catabolic reactions large & complex molecules are converted into simple molecules and energy (ATP) Released. Eg Glucose converted into Pyruvate in this reaction two ATP molecules are released.  This reaction is called glycolysis.

In Anabolic reactions small molecules are converted into complex & larger molecules in this reaction energy is consumed. Eg Amino acids converted into Keratin protein that is present in our hairs.

Importance

Three important tasks of the metabolism, it converts food and drinks what you consume into energy to run cellular process, produce basic building blocks for proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates, and eliminates wastes. This kind of bio chemical reactions are common in every organism. 

• Catabolism breaks down energy to move, heat, and energize your body.
• Anabolism is the opposite, it stores energy, supports new cells and maintains body tissues.

Your metabolism regulates energy usage in your body,  metabolic rate says number of calories required to perform a function.   

Metabolic Rate

Metabolic rate or total energy expenditure can have three components, which are: 

• Basal metabolic rate (BMR): Even you are in rest your body needs energy to carry out minimum functions such as breathing, keeping the heart beating to circulate blood, cellular functions and regulating hormones. The body’s BMR accounts for 50 to 80 percent of daily energy expenditure.
• Thermic effect of food or thermogenesis: To digest food your body uses energy and also energy required to absorb, transport and store nutrients. Thermic effect of food accounts for about 5 to 10 per cent daily energy use.
• Energy used during physical activity: This is the energy used by physical movements to carryout external function, it varies to person to person.

Factors affecting Metabolism

1. Age and skeletel muscle after the age of 20, for every decade skeletel muscle will be decreased 5 to 10% in the body. Skeletal muscle consumes largest part of the energy in normal conditions. The basal metabolic rate decreases almost linearly with age.
2. Gender males usually having more muscle mass, larger bones, less fat compare to female means male’s metabolism rate is more.
3. Obese or overweight it is complex thing to maintain your weight, lack of physical activity and less energy requirements slow downs metabolism. If you take more calories, that energy has nowhere to go and is stored in the form of fat.
4. Genes your genes play an important role in your muscle size and ability to build muscle mass.
5. Hormones imbalance (such as hypo & hyperthyroidism) in the body affects your metabolism.
6. Environment conditions like increase or decrease of heat triggers your body to work hard to maintain its normal temperature and increases BMR.
7. Diet changes your metabolism. What and how you eat has a much influence on your BMR.

Steps to maintain healthy metabolism

• Don’t skip meals if you are not taking food as per your body’s energy needs then your body starts to break down muscles for energy. A loss of muscle mass slows the metabolism.
• Sleep A lack of sleep unable to regulate glucose levels in your body which makes you have no energy in the body. Good sleep increases metabolism.
• Diet Ensure your meal is balanced with fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein and healthy carbohydrates and fats.
• Exercise make you move physically use more energy and burns calories, habit of doing regular regular exercises boosts metabolism and muscle building exercises improves it further.
• Habits like smoking, drug usage may improve your metabolism but in long run they affects body naturality.