How your metabolism works
Discover the many ways our bodies stay energised
Words by Scott Dutfield
We often mistake our metabolism as something that happens in a certain part of the body, such as in the digestive system, and something you can boast about at the gym. However, this isn’t the case. Metabolism occurs within every one of the 37.2 trillion cells that make up each human body and describes a myriad of different biochemical reactions, not just how fast you burn fat.
Your metabolism is the combination of two types of biochemical reaction. Catabolic reactions break down the molecular nutrients, such as carbohydrates, vitamins and fats, from the foods we eat for energy release, whereas anabolic reactions assemble different molecules for energy storage. These two types of reaction work in tandem to maintain a biological harmony in the human body called homeostasis.