TRIGLYCERIDES – HOW HUMAN BODY USES FAT
By: Chris teeor.
TRIGLYCERIDES: (continued):
HOW HUMAN BODY USES FAT:
Your food contains many nutrients such as csaarbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, sodium, nitrogen and, of course, fats, besides many other minerals. Your body also secretes a number of enzymes ( an enzyme is a soluble, Colloidal – meaning a glue-like non-crystalline substance with very large molecules - substance produced by living cells. It works as a catalyst and brings about acceleration of chemical reactions without itserlf undergoing any change.) in order to help the digestion process. Some of the Enzymes that are important for digestion of nutrients are Carbohydradse for carbohydrates, protease for protein, and lipase for fats are available in the pancreatic juices secreted by the pancreas. Your body prefers to digest first carbohydrates and proteins preferring to keep the fat waiting for its turn. This, the body does, because carbohydrates and proteins provide quite a good amount of glucose which can be readily accessed. Before digestion the lipids undergo a process of bodily seperation. mostly through subtraction, i.e, as soon as the process of digestion of carbohydrates and protaeins begin, the lipids are left behind. All such left benind lipids fuse into large globules. In the stomach food is stored and processed in layers. The food that remains very near the wall of the stomach is the one that is attened first. The atmosphere inside stomach is acidic as it secretes gastric juices including hydrochloric acid. The acids and enzymes first start woking with proteins and carbohydrates leaving fats which now form into larger globules and float on the top of the stomach which is the furtherest point to pyloric valve which lets the partially digested food (known as chime) into the deodenum for further procesdsing. The fats being on the top side of the stomach, gets attention only after other partially digested foods are sent out. This is the reason why we feel satiated and full when we eat non-vegetarian foods.
When the large sized fat globules reach duodenum they get a fine springle of bile salts which emulsify and sent them into the small intestine. Here the large fat globules are broken into very small droplets by an emulsifier.
This enables the enzymes that are required to work with the droplets come very next to them to enanble them to attack the bonds. The required enzymes are secreted mostly in the pancreas and flow into the duodenum through the ampulla of vater and proiceed to intestine where the real digestive process starts. We will see how fat is digested in the intestine in the next article.