Understanding Human Metabolism

Describes the metabolic processes that underlie our daily lives and dispels common misconceptions related to diet, nutrition and exercise.

Keith N. Frayn (Author)

9781009108522, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 September 2022

202 pages
17.8 x 13 x 1 cm, 0.23 kg

'Everyone has a metabolism, and most people have a folk understanding of it. This very clear account of this actually complex subject brings science to bear on such understandings. Reading it will help you understand yourself better.' Stanley Ulijaszek, Professor of Human Ecology, University of Oxford, UK

Does eating more carbohydrates, or fats, cause one to put on more weight? Are ketone bodies toxins or vital products that keep us alive during starvation? Does the concept of 'fat-burning exercise' hold true? In this game-changing book, Keith Frayn, an international expert in human metabolism and nutrition, dispels common misconceptions about human metabolism, explaining in everyday language the important metabolic processes that underlie all aspects of our daily lives. Illustrated throughout with clear diagrams of metabolic processes, Frayn describes the communication systems that enable our different organs and tissues to cooperate, for instance in providing fuel to our muscles when we exercise, and in preserving our tissues during fasting. He explores the impressive adaptability of human metabolism and discusses the metabolic disorders that can arise when metabolism 'goes wrong'. For anyone sceptical of information about diet and lifestyle, this concise book guides the reader through what metabolism really involves.

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. What is metabolism?
2. Metabolic fuels
3. Metabolic pathways
4. Communication systems in human metabolism
5. ATP, the common currency of metabolic energy
6. Metabolism in daily life
7. Metabolism is so adaptable
8. Metabolic interactions between nutrients
9. Metabolic disorders
Concluding remarks
Summary of common misunderstandings
Index.

Subject Areas: Biophysics [PHVN], Popular science [PDZ], Dietetics & nutrition [MBNH3], Personal & public health [MBNH]