Complex Questions and Discussion Questions Flashcards
When we break down carbohydrates to harvest the energy and make ATP, we are not 100% efficient. Is a car 100% efficient in its use of gas? In other words, does it reach 100% efficiency? Or, to look at it another way, does it convert all of the energy from gas into movement? What other form of energy is released by both cars and us when we break down carbohydrates? Is there any use for this by-product, in cars? In us?
Cars are 100% efficient in the use of their energy, because a car can be turned off and on, and its energy can be preserved. Humans, however, are not 100% efficient with the energy we receive from carbohydrates, because we are constantly using it, and it cannot be preserved. Carbon dioxide is released when humans and cars use their energy.
Carbohydrates’ main use in our body is for energy. Both fat and protein can also be utilized for energy (though there are associated health problems if relied on too much, aside from the fact that it is almost impossible to do). How can a high fat/protein diet with a low carb intake be dangerous to your body? (Think untreated diabetes).
A high-protein diet with little amounts of fat and carbohydrates can lead to a disease known as rabbit starvation, which leads to an increase of amino acids within the body, as well as an increase of urea and ammonia in the bloodstream. A high-fat diet, also known as a ketogenic diet, leads to the liver converting fat into an energy source, instead of carbohydrates. This leads to ketone bodies, a material formed from fats, to become the brain’s main energy source, instead of glucose.
