What if I told that out of all the organic compounds in your
body, there are only five necessary for life?
Eating the right foods and staying healthy are the best ways to supply
these five compounds. But first things
first, what exactly are the five organic compounds necessary for life?
One of these compounds is fats/oils. Without fats and oils, several things go
wrong. Fats and oils are responsible for
maintaining a healthy circulation and a healthy immune system (Simon), so these areas would be negatively affected. Also, vitamins A, D, E, and K wouldn’t be
properly distributed through the bloodstream (Fat Nutrition) — another
negative. Lastly, because fats and oils
are one of the three nutrients that supply the body with calories, you would
have energy loss (Fat Nutrition). Since the body relies on stored fat for
calories, after the first 20 minutes of exercise when carbohydrates supply has
been expended (Fat Nutrition), you will develop fatigue very quickly without an
adequate supply of fats and oils.
Though fats and oils are essential, you have to consume the
correct fats in the correct proportions.
Saturated fats are very unhealthy fats.
Eating extensive amounts of these fats increases the risks of heart
disease and cholesterol build up (Fat Nutrition). Limit your saturated fat intake so that it
supplies only 10% of your calorie intake (Fat
Nutrition). Unsaturated fats help
lower your cholesterol, but have a higher calorie make up, so you still need to
limit these fats (Fat Nutrition).
Besides fats and oils, carbohydrates are another compound
necessary for life. They are also
another one of the three nutrients that supply the body with calories. Carbohydrates
actually are the nutrients that most calories should come from, between 40% to 60% (Carbohydrates). You are probably already thinking about
eating fewer carbohydrates to reduce calories in order to lose weight, but that
is not the right way to go about it.
Decreasing your carbohydrate intake either results in low
calorie consumption or increase of fat consumption to make up for lack of
calories (Carbohydrates). Both ways result in an unhealthy body because
the first way does not supply enough calories to run the body properly, and the
second way increases the risk of heart disease and cholesterol build up. On the other hand, eating excessive amounts
of carbohydrates increases the risk of obesity
(Carbohydrates, due to the high amount of calories being unused and
stored. Also, besides proportions,
choosing the right carbohydrates is very important. Foods with complex sugars, such as fruits and
vegetables, are healthiest. This is
because, unlike processed simple sugars, complex sugars contain not only
calories, but also vitamins, minerals and fiber
(Carbohydrates).
Like fats and carbohydrates, proteins are another compound
that supplies calories. Though they
provide calories, a protein’s main function is to repair and maintain the human
body, which is why foods high in protein content are very popular for athletes. Be careful though when consuming excessive
amounts of protein because too much may result in putting strain on your
kidneys. On the other hand, eating low
levels of proteins will reduce the lean body weight.
Eating the correct amount of protein is important, but you
also have to watch what proteins you are eating. Basically, there are two types of proteins,
essential and nonessential. Essential
proteins are proteins your body can only receive from foods (Protein in Diet Nutrition). The difference between essential and
nonessential proteins is that the body can produce nonessential proteins using
substances already found in the body (Protein in
Diet Nutrition). No matter if
it’s essential or nonessential, these proteins are broken down into amino acids
and enter into the bloodstream where they are used to make enzymes and
structural proteins (How Cells Work).
The enzymes that amino acids help make are used throughout
the body. The basic function an enzyme
has within a cell is to let the cell conduct rapid chemical reactions (Brain).
When needed, these chemical reactions let the cell build or take
things. This process is what makes the
cell grow and reproduce (Brain). Also, the more important a chemical reaction
is to a cell and the more often the reaction is needed, the more of the same
type of enzymes are produced (Brain).
An enzyme’s function is to build or take things, but they
are also the reason for certain deficiencies.
For example, lactose intolerance is where the lactose in milk does not
get broken down to its glucose components, making it indigestible (Brain).
This is due to a malfunction of the enzymes that are supposed to break
the lactose down. This problem can
actually be fixed by swallowing a drop of lactase before consuming dairy. However, many enzyme deficiencies aren’t solved so
easily (Brain).
The final organic compound necessary for life in the human
body are nucleic acids. DNA is, without
a doubt, the most famous nucleic acid, but some other ones are RNA, mRNA, and
tRNA (Biochemistry:Nucleic Acids). All of these nucleic acids are used to help
cells copy and make proteins
(Biochemistry:Nucleic Acids). DNA
also has another job that is important in the reproductive process. Nucleic acids let organisms transfer genetic
information from generation to generation
(Bailey). DNA, which actually stands for
deoxyribunucleic acids, is the nucleic acid responsible for containing, copying
and transferring genetic information to an organism’s offspring (Bailey).
All these organic compounds are very important. None are more important than the other. Knowing what you know now, be sure to eat
healthy because three of the five compounds are found in the diet. The other two are just as important because
they have essential roles in the human body.
Without any one of these compounds, the human body would not be able to
survive.
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