Question

What is metabolism and what is its purpose?

Answer 1

The basic processes of life are movements, reproduction, respiration, metabolism etc. Metabolism–converting food into energy.

Complete Answer:
Metabolism may be defined as a biochemical process used to sum all chemical reactions that occur in each cell of a living being to provide energy for various processes and for synthesizing new compounds.
Metabolism involves:
Digestion, Absorption, Catabolism, Anabolism, Excretion

Metabolism can be divided into two parts:

1. Catabolism- to obtain energy breakdown of molecules occur for example breaking down of glucose to pyruvate.
2. Anabolism- synthesis of those compounds required by the cells like protein, lipid and carbohydrate.
   Catabolic releases energy and anabolic consumes energy.

The three main purposes of metabolism are:
- Conversion of food to energy to run vital cellular processes.
- Conversion of food to building blocks for lipids, proteins, carbohydrates and nucleic acids.
Elimination of metabolic wastes.
- These are the enzyme catalyzed reactions which help to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures etc. Metabolism occurs at a particular site and liver is the primary site as it contains necessary enzymes which help in metabolism.

Note: If someone’s metabolism is high the more calories will burn at rest or during activity. A high metabolism means the person needs to take in more calories to maintain weight. Foods that boost metabolism are – protein rich food such as meat, eggs, dairy products, seeds and fish, Coffee, Pulses and legumes.