Carbohydrate metabolism: How a diet rich in energy-dense foods can lead to type 2 diabetes The human body is constantly required to carry out basic functions such as walking, talking and breathing and to do so it requires energy. Carbohydrates are obtained through the diet and convert glucose, from food sources, into energy needed to power the human body. In general, energy is produced via four complex stages however, they have been briefly summarised below: Digestion: Begins in the mouth (carbohydrates are party digested by salivary enzymes). Passes through the stomach (gastric juices break down food such a proteins). Reaches small intestine (main site for digestion of carbohydrates). Acetyl group formation: Occurs in cytosol and mitochondria. Small molecules from digestion are oxidized and produce Acetyl CoA and enzymes NADH and FADH_2 (Stoker, 2013). Citric Acid Cycle: Occurs in mitochondria. Acetyl CoA oxidized to produce energy. Energy released by reactions carried by NADH and FADH_2 to electron transport chain (Stoker, 2013). Electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation: Occurs in mitochondria. NADH and FADH_2 catalyze ATP production (primary energy carriers in metabolic pathways) (Stoker, 2013). In carbohydrate digestion and absorption, the following processes occur: …show more content…
One example of a metabolic process is Glycolysis. This process converts glucose (from dietary sources) into two molecules of pyruvate and produces ATP and the coenzyme NADH (Stoker, 2013). The process of converting glucose to pyruvate is called Oxidation and is an anaerobic process, which means it does not require oxygen input to function. Low energy foods (hot chips) inhibit glycolysis as they produce a high concentration of ATP (Stoker, 2013). High levels of ATP can change enzyme activity and may inhibit important enzymes in the liver (Berg et al,