PRODUCTION OF ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE FROM FOOD SOURCES
Now we have outlined the source, storage depots and measurements of energy, the next step is to examine the production of the energy rich molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency of the body. This is made up of adenosine with three phosphate groups attached. ATP is found in every cell. It is the common pathway for energy production for driving bodily functions. At the microscopic muscle filament level, the reduction of ATP to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) is the energy source used for contraction. That is, energy liberated from the reduction of ATP to ADP allows the basic protein filaments of muscle, actin and myosin, to slide across each other to cause muscular contraction.
Energy is derived through the cleaving-off of high energy phosphate bonds from the ATP molecule to form ADP+P.
The energy for the re-synthesis of ATP from ADP+P comes from nutrients as they get broken down in their catabolic pathways or from the small energy reserves in muscle called the creatine phosphate system The direct breakdown of nutrients only occurs by itself at very high temperatures. However, in the human body it must occur at normal body temperature (36.5 to 37.5°C), and this is done through a series of stepped chemical reactions, which are catalysed by many different enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that have the ability to promote specific chemical reactions without the need for high temperatures and without being changed or degraded themselves in the process. They can therefore be used over and over again.
Myth-information. Corset-like ’sweat pants’ sold to reduce fat around the buttocks have only the superficial effect of tightening’ bulges. They cannot and do not reduce body fat.
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