Current:Home > Contact-usWhat are enzymes, and what do they have to do with digestion?-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
What are enzymes, and what do they have to do with digestion?
View Date:2024-12-23 20:59:08
A popular experiment that's recommended to demonstrate the functionality of enzymes is chewing a piece of bread for a moment, then paying attention to when it turns from a starchy flavor to begin tasting sweet. This experiment works because it shows how salivary amylase – a type of enzyme that exists in our saliva – breaks down the starch in the bread into a sweet-tasting sugar.
While this experiment certainly does a good job of showcasing one type of enzyme, there are more than 75,000 different enzymes that all benefit the body in different ways, says Whitney Holden, PhD, a biology instructor at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts.
Here's what more of them are, plus some of their other important functions.
What are enzymes?
Enzymes are proteins that serve as catalysts to speed up biochemical reactions by breaking down larger molecules into smaller ones, says Dave Farina, a science educator and founder of Professor Dave Explains.
They are produced naturally by all living things and "have an incredible array of functions, all of which are absolutely critical for the survival of a living organism," says Farina. Examples of some such functions include how enzymes help the body get rid of toxins, how they break down food into units of energy and how they grow new cells and tissue. Enzymes also help with nerve function, respiration, digestion, muscle growth and much more. "The list is very long," says Farina.
One of the things that makes enzymes unique is that they are not destroyed by their individual functions, meaning they are useful in the body again and again. It's also helpful to know that each enzyme throughout the body is unique and has a very specific job to do.
Noted:Is whole wheat bread actually healthier? Here’s what experts say.
What are the different types of enzymes?
There are six main categories of enzymes: oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases and ligases – each classified by their mechanism of action or the specific chemical reaction they perform, explains Farina.
The enzymes within each of these categories all have specific purposes and capabilities.
Digestive enzymes, for instance, belong to the hydrolase category and help break down foods to make them more easily absorbed throughout the body. There's also metabolic enzymes, which belong to the transferases category and help convert food into energy; or repair enzymes, that help fix damaged or mutated DNA. "Detoxification enzymes, like those in the liver, break down harmful substances like alcohol, drugs and toxins," offers Holden as another example.
In addition to serving these and other important functions, doctors are able to measure the number of enzymes in certain areas of the body to determine the existence of medical conditions. For example, an elevated number of liver enzymes can be a telltale sign of liver disease, per Cleveland Clinic.
Important:Building muscle isn't that easy. But consuming protein the right way is critical
How do enzymes impact food?
Enzymes are critical to our survival, but human enzymes have different properties than enzymes found in the things we eat, including all plant-based and animal foods. And while enzymes are produced naturally in the body, the proteins are also sometimes extracted from plants and animals or are artificially engineered by fermenting microorganisms in order to serve different functions.
Some such functions include helping animals digest more nutrients or improving the flavor or capabilities of food. For instance, enzymes are used to tenderize meat, to increase the shelf life of alcoholic beverages, to keep bread softer for longer or to make dairy products suitable for people who are lactose intolerant.
Though having different sequences from human enzymes, the enzymes in plant and animal foods "get broken down into building blocks called amino acids during our digestion of those foods," Holden explains.
Following digestion, she says, our bodies reorganize and reassemble the building blocks into the right configurations to function as our own enzymes.
Providing the body with these amino acid building blocks can be helped by "eating a balanced diet with diverse protein sources," suggests Holden. "Aim to get protein in as many meals as possible and your body will thank you."
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Disruptions to Amtrak service continue after fire near tracks in New York City
- Monday Night Football highlights: Jets win OT thriller vs. Bills; Aaron Rodgers hurt
- UK government may ban American XL bully dogs after a child was attacked
- North Carolina governor appoints Democrat to fill Supreme Court vacancy
- ‘Emilia Pérez’ wouldn’t work without Karla Sofía Gascón. Now, she could make trans history
- ‘No risk’ that NATO member Romania will be dragged into war, senior alliance official says
- A Montana man who was mauled by a grizzly bear is doing well but has long recovery head, family says
- MSU football coach Mel Tucker could face monumental fall after sexual harassment allegations, reporter says
- Deion Sanders addresses trash thrown at team during Colorado's big win at Texas Tech
- How Paul Walker's Beautiful Bond With Daughter Meadow Walker Lives On
Ranking
- Forget the bathroom. When renovating a home, a good roof is a no-brainer, experts say.
- Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker denies sexually harassing Brenda Tracy
- Bryce Young's rough NFL debut for Panthers is no reason to panic about the No. 1 pick
- The Taliban have waged a systematic assault on freedom in Afghanistan, says UN human rights chief
- Man gets a life sentence in the shotgun death of a New Mexico police officer
- One peril facing job-hunters? Being ghosted
- Wisconsin wolf hunters face tighter regulations under new permanent rules
- 32 things we learned in NFL Week 1: Bengals among teams that stumbled out of gate
Recommendation
-
The Cowboys, claiming to be 'all in' prior to Dak Prescott's injury, are in a rare spot: Irrelevance
-
World War II veteran from Rhode Island identified using DNA evidence
-
Man walks into FBI office to confess to killing, raping woman in 1979
-
Latvia and Estonia sign deal to buy German-made missile defense system
-
Saving for retirement? How to account for Social Security benefits
-
A timeline of the complicated relations between Russia and North Korea
-
Police warn that escapee Danelo Cavalcante is armed. He has avoided searchers for nearly two weeks
-
Lighthouse walkway collapses during Maine Open Lighthouse Day, injuring 11