bioislife-blog1

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Proteins

Proteins were first described by the Dutch chemist Gerardus Johannes Mulder and named by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1838. The first protein to be sequenced was insulin, by Frederick Sanger, in 1949. Sanger correctly determined the amino acid sequence of insulin, thus conclusively demonstrating that proteins consisted of linear polymers of amino acids rather than branched chains, colloids, or cyclols. He won the Nobel Prize for this achievement in 1958. The first protein structures to be solved were hemoglobin and myoglobin, by Max Perutz and Sir John Cowdery Kendrew, respectively, in 1958. As of 2017, the Protein Data Bank has over 126,060 atomic-resolution structures of proteins. In more recent times, cryo-electron microscopy of large macromolecular assembliesand computational protein structure prediction of small protein domains are two methods approaching atomic resolution.

Like other biological macromolecules such as polysaccharides and nucleic acids, proteins are essential parts of organisms and participate in virtually every process within cells. Many proteins are enzymes that catalyse biochemical reactions and are vital to metabolism. Proteins also have structural or mechanical functions, such as actin and myosin in muscle and the proteins in the cytoskeleton, which form a system of scaffolding that maintains cell shape. Other proteins are important in cell signaling, immune responses, cell adhesion, and the cell cycle. In animals, proteins are needed in the diet to provide the essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized. Digestion breaks the proteins down for use in the metabolism.

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The Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are one of the main types of nutrients. They are the most important source of energy for your body. Your digestive system changes carbohydrates into glucose (blood sugar). Your body uses this sugar for energy for your cells, tissues and organs. It stores any extra sugar in your liver and muscles for when it is needed.

Carbohydrates are called simple or complex, depending on their chemical structure. Simple carbohydrates include sugars found naturally in foods such as fruits, vegetables, milk, and milk products. They also include sugars added during food processing and refining. Complex carbohydrates include whole grain breads and cereals, starchy vegetables and legumes. Many of the complex carbohydrates are good sources of fiber.

The two main functions of carbohydrates in the body are to provide energy for all cells and spare the use of protein from the muscles and organs. When deprived of carbohydrates, our bodies can survive off of protein and fat, but only for a limited time. When we turn fat and protein into energy (a process called ketosis), we produce ketones (acidic compounds) that raises our blood acidity. If continued, being in this state called ketosis/ketoacidosis, can eventually lead to death.

You can get carbohydrates from oats, who is the healthiest grain food in the planet. Oats is also a great sources of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Banana and oranges— the most popular fruit in the world. They have a lot of healthy carbs and you can also fibers from orange. Sweet potatoes— a nutritious tuber. It contains 18-21% carbs when cooked.

It is a myth that carbs are unhealthy. The truth is that some of the world's healthiest foods are high in carbohydrates. Although they should not be eaten in large amounts if you're on a low-carb diet, carbs can be important nutrient sources. While refined carbs may be unhealthy in high amounts, whole food sources of carbs are very healthy.

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Things you should know about Lipids

In biology and biochemistry, a lipid is a biomolecule that is soluble in nonpolar solvents. Non-polar solvents are typically hydrocarbons used to dissolve other naturally occurring hydrocarbon lipid molecules that do not (or do not easily) dissolve in water, including fatty acids, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E, and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, and phospholipids.

Scientists sometimes define lipids as hydrophobic or amphiphilic small molecules; the amphiphilic nature of some lipids allows them to form structures such as vesicles, multilamellar/unilamellar liposomes, or membranes in an aqueous environment. Biological lipids originate entirely or in part from two distinct types of biochemical subunits or "building-blocks": Ketoacyl and Isoprenegroups. Using this approach, lipids may be divided into eight categories: fatty acids, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, saccharolipids, and polyketides (derived from condensation of ketoacyl subunits); and sterol lipids and prenol lipids (derived from condensation of isoprene subunits).

Lipids are a class of hydrocarbon-containing organic compounds. Lipids are categorized by the fact that they are soluble in nonpolar solvents (such as ether and chloroform) and are relatively insoluble in water. Lipid molecules have these properties because they consist of mainly carbon.

Some lipids are used for energy storage, others serve as structural components of cell membranes, and some are important hormones. Although the term lipid is often used as a synonym for fat, the latter is in fact a subgroup of lipids called triglycerides.