Do we treat our bodies and mind right? Part-2
Understand the chemical process in fitness! 🏋️♂️🧪 Work out like a bio-fuelled generator and learn what makes physical activities incredible. Dive into the intricacies of exercise and post-exercise chemical reactions. Stay tuned for the next article on cooking chemistry! 🍳 #exercisescience #science #chemistry #biochemistry #stem #fitness
In the previous articles, we explored the various hormones secreted during the day. Epinephrine, Norephedrine, cortisol, ghrelin, beta-endorphins, and a few others. The continuation to ‘Do we treat our bodies and mind right?” finalizing this portion of chemically speaking pertaining to physical and mental health. In this article, we will explore physical fitness and the chemical processes attributed to it.
Exercise is a process that hits almost all bodily functions. The main center of exercise is to utilize stored glycogen (stored in the liver) being converted into glucose, which is readily consumed by cells in the body to function. The body mobilizes resources to meet the escalating demand for adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the universal energy of cells. Glycolysis is the term for the breakdown of glucose by the cells. As muscles contract and energy demands rise during exercise, glucose is swiftly metabolized through glycolysis, providing a quick source of ATP.
The chemical way of simplifying this form of cellular respiration is the basic equation we all learned in school. Glucose + O2 → CO2 + H2O + energy (ATP). That energy in the reaction is what we use the function; the CO2 is dissolved back into the blood, and we breathe it out eventually from the alveoli to the nose. We naturally notice an increase in heart rate, a need to breathe more often and intensely, and sometimes a little bit of shivering during intense exercise; that is just the body trying to concentrate as much oxygen as it can in your bloodstream. It secretes adrenalin to thin your blood and make it flow faster, increasing your heart rate to pump greater volumes of blood.
In the absence of sufficient oxygen, though, for example, when you start breathing from your mouth or can’t catch a breath, anaerobic glycolysis occurs. During anaerobic the body produces several by-products, leading to the final waste product of lactic acid, which you can thank for giving you the most tender and sore muscles after a long run. Acids can chemically cook you in higher concentrations and volumes, for example brines which use a higher portion of acids to tenderize and soften meat. The body is excellent at approximating how many dynamic changes occur in your environment and ensuring sufficient oxygen supply to meet your needs. Increased breathing rates and heart contractions facilitate enhanced oxygen transport to working tissues. The equilibrium between anaerobic and aerobic processes is finely tuned to match the intensity and duration of exercise, preventing metabolic fatigue as much as possible.
Hormones serve as integral messengers in coordinating the body’s responses to exercise. The “fight or flight” response is triggered by releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine, mobilizing energy stores, increasing heart rate, and redirecting blood flow to active muscles. Cortisol holds significant weight in this response, too, by aiding in nutrient metabolism, suppressing inflammation (swelling and such), and facilitating the body’s adaptation to the stress of exercise. Insulin sensitivity is heightened during physical activity, promoting glucose uptake by muscles and supporting energy needs.
Post-exercise, the flurry of chemical reactions doesn’t stop. The lactic acid secreted earlier comes into play again, far from being a metabolic waste now, as lactate participates in the Cori cycle, a critical process for recycling lactate and maintaining your sugar levels as fainting after hitting a session in the gym sure would be awkward. Lactate generated in muscles is transported to the liver, where it undergoes gluconeogenesis, a process of synthesizing glucose. This newly formed glucose is then released into circulation, contributing to sustained energy availability during prolonged efforts.
An extension to the hormone insulin: It’s important to know that if you are diabetic, which is when your pancreas cannot produce insulin effectively or doesn’t produce it at all, acute exercise activates an alternative molecular signal that results in an insulin-independent uptake of glucose. That means that taking up routines filled with long, low-straining activities such as walking or jogging can help make you feel more energetic and do more than half of the insulin work for you. Regardless of whether you have diabetes, your goal is to convert the fat stored in your liver into glucose, which you will burn throughout your day. An average male will burn through 2500 calories worth of fat, and a female will burn through 2000 simply by existing for a day. Sleeping, metabolizing, and maintaining all bodily functions 24/7 is energy intensive. If you want to have guaranteed glycogen loss in your liver, you want to eat exactly less than or equal to what your body burns in a day and work out on top of that
Concluding our exploration of the chemical dynamics during exercise. The body is like a well-oiled machine. It has a reserved energy store, and we can bring that out by exercising and beginning to tune ourselves to routine activities. Our bodies have evolved to support the process of routine activities, rewarding them with endorphin rushes. We can treat our bodies right by replicating these true endorphin-releasing physical events and respecting common training practices of steadying your breath, warming up, stretching your muscles to avoid damage and soreness, and supporting the effects of adrenaline produced by maintaining the same sleep schedule. The next article will explore cooking and how we can improve the texture of our food with basic chemistry.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com. * This is the original work of Akshay Shankar. Follow here www.linkedin.com/in/akshayshankar2007
