How Nutrients Get In, And Wastes Out.
In a human being, nutrients are necessary for survival. But how are these
nutrients obtained? This report will go into depth on how the food we eat gets
into our cells, and how the waste products that we produce get out of the body.
Also, the unicellular organism Paramecium will be compared with a human being,
in terms of all of the above factors.
Dietary Nutrients
The chief nutrients in a diet are classified chemically in four groups:
carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins (Which do not require digestion) and fats.
Carbohydrates in the diet occour mainly in the form of starches. These are
converted by the digestive process to glucose, one of the main nutrients needed
for cellular ...
Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers
|
of one or more amino acids. When they are
digested, they produce free amino acids and ammonia.
Vitamins are a vital part of our food that are absorbed through the small
intestine. There are two different types of vitamins, water-soluble (All the B
vitamins, and vitamin C) and fat-soluble (vitamins A, D and K).
Neutral fats, or triglycerides, are the principal form of dietary fat. They are
simple compounds, and within digestion are broken down into glycerol and fatty
acids, their component parts.
Ingestion
Intake of food in the Paramecium is controlled by the needs of the cell. When
food is sensed, the organism guides itself towards the food, and guides it into
the oral groove, then enclosing it in a vacuole. Enzymes are then secreted to
digest the food, which is then absorbed into the cytoplasm and made available to
the various organelles. But, a Paramecium has to be able to move to its food
source, while a human cell has his food brought to it through the ...
Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades.
Already a member? Login
|
of the stomach. This sphincter then opens to let the
food into the stomach.
Digestion in the Stomach
Here, salivary digestion continues until the acid of the gastric juice
penetrates the food mass, and destroys the salivary amylase. The food mass is
then saturated with gastric juice, and the gastric phase of digestion is
initiated.
The gastric phase of digestion is chiefly proteolytic, or protein-splitting.
Within this process, the gastric glands secrete the enzymes pepsin and rennin.
These enzymes, aided by gastric acid, converts a fairly large amount of the
proteins to smaller forms, such as metaproteins, proteoses and peptones. There
also may be a small amount of fat digestion ...
Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.
|
CITE THIS PAGE:
How Nutrients Get In, And Wastes Out.. (2006, July 23). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/How-Nutrients-Get-In-Wastes-Out/49593
"How Nutrients Get In, And Wastes Out.." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 23 Jul. 2006. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/How-Nutrients-Get-In-Wastes-Out/49593>
"How Nutrients Get In, And Wastes Out.." Essayworld.com. July 23, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/How-Nutrients-Get-In-Wastes-Out/49593.
"How Nutrients Get In, And Wastes Out.." Essayworld.com. July 23, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/How-Nutrients-Get-In-Wastes-Out/49593.
|