Biochemistry for life

  Biochemically, metabolism is defined as the overall reactions occurring in the living body. Metabolic reactions can be divided into categories, 1) anabolic, and 2) catabolic. In humans, common catabolic reactions are involved in the digestion of consumed food products.  These catabolic pathways include glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, the urea cycle, fatty oxidation, etc. These reactions are involved in the metabolism of carbs, proteins, and fats. All the aforementioned reactions produce metabolites (or intermediates) as a part of metabolizing the macronutrients. The produced metabolites could be indicative of the metabolic health of a person. Similarly, the alteration of this metabolite production can signify disease development. New research studies are involved in the analysis of such metabolites which serves as a breakthrough in the field of personalized medicine. Section 1. Metabolic pathways and metabolites In this section, I am going to discuss some metabolic reaction