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All About Metabolism
Metabolism is a combination of chemical processes by which body converts the digested food into energy for body's physical and biological activities. Metabolism is a complex biochemical procedure that occurs at cell levels where specific proteins in the body control the chemical reactions which is coordinated with other body functions.
Metabolism is a constant process which the hallmark of living systems. It starts when life is conceived and ends only when it dies.
How Metabolism Works
Metabolism comprises of all the biochemical processes within cells and tissues that are concerned with their building up, breaking down, and functioning. Metabolism starts with plants themselves. A green plant takes in energy from sunlight to build sugar from the process of photosynthesis. When people eat the plants or the animals that have eaten the plants they take in the energy (sugar) from along with other vital chemicals. The body breaks the sugar to energy level which is released as fuel for body. Along with sugars, amino acids and fatty acids, stored in the body, are also decomposed to produce energy. Thus metabolism acts is a two way process. It builds up energy and break down the fat stored in the body to release energy.
Metabolism and Health
Metabolism and health are very directly related. Good health depends upon good metabolism. Good metabolism indicates that all the chemical reactions inside the body are going on well and body is able to extract and release the useful energy from the digested food. This gives the power and stamina to body to work and perform all the actions.
Things That Affect Metabolism
Metabolism is affected by a number of activities, some of which are listed below
- Muscle Tissues (More muscles you have, more calorie you burn and hence higher metabolism)
- Meal Frequency (slow frequency leads to slow metabolic rate)
- Activity Level (Higher activity level leads to greater metabolism)
- Food Quality (Low quality food results in lower rate of metabolism)
- Stress (Stress usually slows down metabolism)
Simple Ways to Increase Metabolism
There are three main reasons why metabolic activities slow down in people
- Absence of physical exercise that results in weak muscles
- Dieting and irregular food habits, where body burns energy without getting enough of it.
- Old age and illness
The solution is a two step procedure
- Stop consuming fat: Low consumption of fat would prevent the accumulation of fat in your body and lead to a balanced energy supply.
- Reduce existing fat: Existing fat is reduced by taking up physical exercise and activity which would, in turn, increase metabolism in the body.
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