| In a certain light, metabolism has been referred as the set of chemical reactions that happen in living organisms to maintain life. On these vital processes are based the ability of every live organisms to grow and replicate, sustain their structures, while responding to the environment where they are living.
Anabolism and Catabolism
Metabolism is usually referred as a harmonizing process that manages to achieve two critical bodily functions:
- Catabolism is breaking down organic matter harvest energy
- Anabolism is using energy to construct new cell components like proteins and nucleic acids.
Each moment, our bodies are creating more tissue and cells to replace dead cells or those that don’t function any more. Anabolism is the set of metabolic reactions that create molecules from smaller units and those reactions require energy.
One way of categorizing metabolic processes, whether at the cellular, organ or organism level is as ‘anabolic’ or as ‘catabolic’, which is the opposite. Anabolism actually is powered by catabolism. Large molecules are broken down into smaller units and they are used up in respiration later on.
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is powering many anabolic processes in the body.
Anabolic processes tend toward “building up” organs and tissues produce growth and differentiation of cells and increase in body size. This process involves synthesis of complex molecules. The growth and mineralization of bone and increases in muscle mass are one of the examples of anabolic processes.
Hormones are classified as anabolic or catabolic, depending on which part of metabolism they stimulate. Anabolic hormones are the anabolic steroids that stimulate protein synthesis and muscle growth. The balance between anabolism and catabolism is also regulated by circadian rhythms.
For example, when you cut a finger, your body (when it’s functioning properly) without even wasting a moment or asking your permission will begin the process of creating skin cells to clot the blood and start the healing process.
This creation process is indeed a metabolic response, and is called Anabolism.
On the other hand, the exact activity is taking place in other parts of your body. This time the body is breaking down large molecules to have enough energy for building cells and tissue through metabolism.
Catabolism is the set of metabolic reactions when energy is realeased during breaking down of large molecules into smaller units.
Large molecules such as polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins are broken down during Catabolism into smaller units such as mono-saccharides, fatty acids, nucleotides and amino acids, respectively.
The released from polymer break down units, monomers, and either construct new polymer molecules or degrade the monomers further to simple waste products releasing energy.
The creation of these wastes, include lactic acid, acetic acid, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and urea, is usually an oxidation process involving a release of chemical free energy, some of which is lost as heat, but the rest of which is used to drive the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which in turn acts as a way for the cell to transfer the energy released by catabolism to the energy-requiring reactions that make up anabolism.
Catabolism therefore provides the chemical energy necessary for the maintenance and growth of cells.
Examples of catabolic processes include glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and the breakdown of muscle protein in order to use amino acids as substrates for gluconeogenesis and breakdown of fat in adipose tissue to fatty acids.
For example, when you are doing aerobic exercise, the temperature of your rises as your heart beat increases and remains with a certain range.
In this condition the body needs more oxygen supply; therefore your breathing increases and you inhale more H2O. And . . . As you can imagine, all of this needs an additional energy. After all, if your body couldn’t adjust to this enhanced necessity for oxygen (both inhaling and exhaling), your body would collapse!
If you are not overdoing it, your body will start metabolic process of breaking down food (e.g. calories) into energy called Catabolism.
Bottom line — the metabolism is a constant process taking place in your body and takes care of two seemingly opposite function: Anabolism that uses energy to create cells, and Aatabolism that breaks down cells to supply the required energy.
Now it’s clear why the metabolism earns its reputation as a harmonizer. These apparently conflicting functions, are taking place at the same time in the most optimal way to enable the body create cells when needed, and break them down, once again when needed. |
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