Chemical phenomenon in everyday life

To begin we will give a small introduction into what digestion is, what its function is and how it has a relationship with chemistry.  Digestion is a process by which food and drink are broken down into smaller parts so that the body can use them to create and nourish cells and to provide energy. The digestive system works as the mixing of food, the movement of food through the digestive tract. This chemical process begins in the mouth when saliva begins to break down food and continues in the stomach when enzymes digest food.

Metabolism is the chemical process that digestion has in biochemical reactions and physicochemical processes that occur in a cell and in the organism to produce energy in the body and it fulfills all its vital functions. This acts after eating food, our digestive system uses enzymes to:

• degrading (breaking down) proteins into amino acids

• convert fats into fatty acids

• transform carbohydrates into simple sugars (e.g. glucose)

The process of metabolism in humans starts from plants. Green plants use energy and a molecule called chlorophyll to make sugars using water and carbon dioxide. When people or animals consume plants (if they are carnivores, meat is ingested from animals that are fed with plants), that energy (in the form of sugar) is incorporated to make cells. The next step is to break down the sugar so that the energy produced contributes to all the cells of the body, which will be used as fuels.After eating a food, molecules present in the digestive system called enzymes, these break down proteins into amino acids, fats into fatty acids and carbohydrates into simple sugars (such as glucose). Aside from sugar, the body can use both amino acids and fatty acids as energy sources when it needs them. These compounds are absorbed by the blood, which is responsible for transporting them to the cells. Once inside the cells, other enzymes intervene to accelerate or regulate the chemical reactions necessary to "metabolize" these compounds. During this process, energy from the compounds can be released for use by the body or stored in body tissues, especially in the liver, muscles and body fat. In other words: enzymes are essential for healthy digestion. Each enzyme has a specific function, some are responsible for the transport of nutrients, others for the elimination of toxic waste and the purification of blood in the liver or brain nutrition thanks to this metabolism is divided into two kinds of activities:

1. Contraction of body tissues and energy reserves (called anabolism) 

2. Breakdown of body tissues and energy reserves in order to obtain more fuel for bodily functions (called catabolism)

Anabolism consists fundamentally of manufacturing and storing. Smaller molecules are transformed into large, complex molecules of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. 

Catabolism involves cells breaking down large molecules (mostly carbohydrates and fats) to release energy. Catabolism is that part of the metabolic process consisting of the degradation of organic nutrients transforming them into simple end products in order to extract the energy necessary for the cells. That energy released by catabolism is what is used in the synthesis of ATP is the molecule adenosine triphosphate used to obtain the energy that living beings need to live. 

Digestion, glycolysis or fermentation are some of the catabolic processes of living beings. In all these processes of energy transformation, heat is generated and that is the reason why all living beings give off heat.

The thyroid gland plays a key role in determining how quickly or slowly the chemical reactions of metabolism occur in a person's body. 

Another gland, the pancreas, secretes hormones that help determine whether the body's main metabolic activity at any given time is anabolic or catabolic. 

The pancreas senses this higher concentration of glucose and releases the hormone insulin, which signals cells to increase their anabolic activity. When we eat, the body alerts the pancreas that it needs to release insulin to treat the rise in blood sugar. The total reaction for the combustion of glucose is written as:

C6H12O6 .  

That is, it contains 6 carbon atoms, and is an aldosase, that is, the carbonyl group is at the end of the molecule. Our body processes glucose several times a day, ideally. Glucose is the key to keeping the body's mechanisms functioning optimally. When your glucose levels are optimal, you often don't notice it. However, when they deviate from the recommended limits, you will notice the unhealthy effect it has on the normal functioning of the body. Along with fat, glucose is one of the body's preferred fuel sources in the form of carbohydrates. People get glucose from bread, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. 

You need the food to create the energy that helps you stay alive.

For metabolism to complement itself, essential foods such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and about 20 other inorganic elements are needed. The major elements are supplied in carbohydrates, lipids, and protein. 

Minerals in meals do not directly contribute to energy needs, but as regulators in the body's energy. 

Important minerals include:

• Calcium

• Phosphorus

• Iron

• Sodium

• Potassium

• Chloride ions

• Copper

• Cobalt

• Manganese

• My c

• Magnesium

• Fluorine

• Iodine

Finally, with this research we can define that digestion is related to chemistry thanks to metabolism, in order to generate energy throughout the body. Metabolism is a complicated chemical process. Many people see it as something that influences the ease with which our body gains weight or loses weight. This is where calories come into play. A calorie is a unit that measures how much energy a particular food provides to the body.  

• Packard, L. (s. f.). default - Stanford Children’s Health. {El sistema digestivo: información general}. Recuperado 9 de septiembre de 2021, de https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/es/topic/default?id=digestive-system--an-overview-85-P03499#:%7E:text=La%20digesti%C3%B3n%20es%20un%20proceso,c%C3%A9lulas%2C%20y%20para%20proporcionar%20energ%C3%ADa.

• M. (2006, 25 mayo). Alimentación. {La importancia de las enzimas digestivas}. https://www.consumer.es/alimentacion/la-importancia-de-las-enzimas-digestivas.html

• Packard, L. (s. f.). default - Stanford Children’s Health. {El sistema digestivo: información general}. Recuperado 9 de septiembre de 2021, de https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/es/topic/default?id=digestive-system--an-overview-85-P03499#:%7E:text=La%20digesti%C3%B3n%20es%20un%20proceso,c%C3%A9lulas%2C%20y%20para%20proporcionar%20energ%C3%ADa.

• Hirsch, MD, L. H. M. D. (2019, mayo). El sistema digestivo (para Adolescentes) - Nemours Kidshealth. {El sistema digestivo}. https://kidshealth.org/es/teens/digestive-system.html