SEHH2014

Food Hygiene & Nutritional Health

Metabolism
 Learning Outcome

• Describe the regulation of blood glucose and discuss how

other nutrients can be converted to blood glucose
(gluconeogenesis).
• Understand the control and integration of carbohydrate,
protein & lipid metabolism.
• Identify the conditions that lead to ketogenesis and its
importance in survival during fasting.
• Compare the fate of energy from macronutrients during
the fed and fasted states.
 Basic concepts of Metabolism
• Definition of metabolism:
is a series of chemical transformations, that occurs within the cells of living
organisms, help to sustain life. This includes digestion and the transport of
substances into and between different cells, and the set of reactions within the
cells.
• Purposes:
1. Conversion of food/fuel to energy
2. Conversion of food/fuel to building blocks for proteins, lipids, nucleic acids,
and some carbohydrates
3. Elimination of nitrogenous wastes.
• Categories:
• Catabolism: the breaking down of organic matter
• Anabolism: the building up of components of cells such as proteins and
nucleic acids
• Tools: enzymes that catalyse reactions
• Organization: metabolic pathways
• speed of metabolism = the metabolic rate
 I. Metabolism
Def: Sequences of chemical reactions that occur in the body for
maintaining life
Anabolic and Catabolic Reactions
• Anabolic (absorptive state): building
compounds (storage of energy)
+

• Catabolic (postabsorptive state): breaking

down compounds (releases energy) {Glycolysis,
Transition reaction, Citric acid (Kreb) Cycle; aerobic & anaerobic respiration will not
be covered}
+
ATP
production 4
Control and Integration of Carbohydrate,
Protein & Lipid Metabolism
• mechanisms to support plenty and fasting

• functional states or periods:

Absorptive state, during which ingested nutrients are entering the blood
from the gastrointestinal tract
Postabsorptive state, during which the Gl tract is empty of nutrients, &
energy must be supplied by the body’s own stores

• absorptive period, some of the ingested nutrients supply the energy needs of
the body & the remainder are added to the body’s energy stores for
postabsorptive period

Regulation of blood glucose

• Insulin switches on the absorptive state
• Glucagon switches on the postabsorptive state

• our body store adequate in fat and protein for the average person to easily
withstand a fast of many weeks
Absorptive State (or anabolic state)
Regulation
of blood
glucose
by insulin
and
glucagon

7
 Regulation of glucose

How?
Absorptive State (after digestion, anabolic stage):
Too high blood glucose: confused, difficulty in breathing (DM
patients)

Postabsorptive state (Fasting):

Too low blood glucose: feel dizzy and weak

8
 Absorptive State (or anabolic state)

Excess blood glucose trigger pancreas release insulin

• Insulin stimulates glucose storage as glycogen
– Insulin causes liver, muscle and adipose tissues to take up excess
blood glucose.
– Insulin helps liver to speed up the glycogen synthesis
• Liver and muscle will store as glycogen whereas adipose
tissue store as body fat

9
 Absorptive State for Glucose
• a very large fraction enters most **glucose is the body’s
other body cells major energy source during
• glucose → CO2 + H2O+ ATP the absorptive state

• enter liver
Absorbed • adipose tissue
glucose • glucose → triglycerides

• skeletal muscle
• glucose → glycogen
 Absorptive State
• Absorbed glucose first stored as glycogen in liver and in muscle

• Excess transformed to triglycerides and stored in adipose tissue

• Absorbed amino acid first metabolises in liver and produces

protein for blood and liver

• Excess goes to various tissues for synthesis of proteins in various

organs

• Still in excess, amino acids deaminated in liver and kidney, and then
excreted in urine; a part of the molecule stored as fat
• Absorbed fat goes into lacteal, to blood, then to adipose tissue and
stored as such

• Excess fat stored with internal organs and under the skin
 During absorptive phase…
1. Energy is provided primarily by absorbed carbohydrate

2. There is net uptake of glucose by the liver and stored as glycogen, still
excess will be turned in fat in liver and stored in adipose tissue

3. Carbohydrates, fats & proteins in excess of those utilized for energy

(or protein synthesis in the case of the last nutrient) are stored
mostly as fat

4. Excessive ingested carbohydrate also stored in muscle as glycogen

but this store is primarily used by muscle itself when energy is in
deficient

5. There is net synthesis of body proteins, excess aa excreted in urine

after deamination
Metabolism of Amino Acids
Postabsorptive State(or catabolic state)
 Postabsorptive State
• absorptive period ends, net synthesis of glycogen, fat &
protein ceases

• net catabolism (breakdown) of all these substances begins

• no glucose is being absorbed from the intestinal tract, yet

the plasma glucose concentration must be maintained
because the brain normally utilized only glucose for energy

• too low plasma glucose concentration can result in

alternations of neural activity (coma and even death)
 Postabsorptive State
Glycogenolysis

• glycogen → glucose (liver)  cells

• relatively short-lived: the stored glycogen provides

Sources of glucose

400Kcal (~8 hours or less than a day at rest)

• muscle (and to a lesser extend, other tissues)
utilises stored glycogen

• Stored muscle glycogen will not release glucose

from glycogen to blood

• muscle glycogen contributes to the blood glucose

indirectly via the liver (ie. anaerobic metabolites
from muscle metabolism will be recycled in liver
back to glucose and release into blood)
 Postabsorptive Stage
• Adipose tissue (lasts for few weeks to months)

• Lipolysis triglycerides → glycerol + fatty acids

Sources of glucose

• Glycerol & fatty acids  blood

• Fatty acids→ ketones (acidic and ketones utilised by most tissues and
few nervous system tissues)

• Liver extracts glycerol → glucose

• Protein is the major source of blood glucose during a fast of more than a
few days

• Large quantities of protein mostly from muscle & other tissues (to a
lesser extent) can be catabolized without serious cellular malfunction

• Limitation: continued protein loss ultimately means functional

disintegration, sickness & death

• Before this point is reached, protein breakdown can supply large

quantities of amino acids that enter the blood and are picked up by the
liver, which converts to glucose
 Postabsorptive Stage
glycogen

glycogenolysis

glucose

gluconeogenesis

glycerol, amino acids, pyruvate, lactate

(later 2 from anaerobic resp of muscle glycogen)
 Postabsorptive Stage

glycogenolysis + gluconeogenesis + fat

utilization

after several days complete fasting, the plasma
glucose concentration is reduced only a few
percent
after 1 month: it is decreased only 25%
 During postabsorptive phase…
1. Glycogen, fat & protein syntheses are curtailed and net breakdown
occurs

2. Glucose is formed in the liver (and later in the kidneys also) from its
own glycogen, and by gluconeogenesis from glycerol & amino acids,
and metabolites from anaerobic respiration of muscle glycogen
(lactate, pyruvate)

3. This glucose is released into the blood, but its utilization for energy is
greatly reduced in most tissues (reserved for brain)

4. Lipolysis releases adipose-tissue fatty acids into the blood, & the
catabolism of fatty acids & of ketones produced from them by the
liver provides most of the body’s energy supply (fat breakdown
occurs a bit later and lasts longer)

5. Amino acids will transform into glucose in liver for long period of
starvation and the brain continues to use glucose (protein
breakdown occurs immediately during starvation)
Summary
Metabolism of Energy-Yielding Compounds-Summary
Yields Energy Cost of
Yields Yields Amino acids Yields Fat
Nutrient Energ conversion to
Glucose? and body protein? Stores?
y? adipose tissue stores


When nitrogen is
CHO-
 available, can yield  High
glucose
 nonessential amino
acids
Lipids-fatty
acids     Minimal

Lipids- 
- when
- when nitrogen is
available, can yield
glycerol

CHO is
unavailable
nonessential amino
acids
 High

Proteins-

When CHO But 
amino acid  is  inefficient
High
unavailable

Alcohol
    High
glycerol glucose
Fig 9.11 Feasting and Fasting
Fig 9.11 Feasting and Fasting
 Reference
• Wardlaw, G. M., & Smith, A. M. (2019). Wardlaw's
Contemporary Nutrition. (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
• Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2020). Nutrition: Concepts
and Controversies. (15th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Thompson, J. J. & Manore, M. (2018). Nutrition:
An Applied Approach. (5th ed.). Pearson.
• Whitney, E., & Rolfes, S. (2019). Understanding
nutrition (15th ed.). Bostin, MA: Cengage
Learning.