Catabolism is one of the stages of metabolism and consists of a set of chemical reactions that transform organic matter absorbed by living beings into energy. In this phase of the metabolic process, the substances are degraded and the nutrients released for, later, cellular maintenance occur.
Catabolism is responsible for releasing chemical energy from consumed foods, for example, which will be used in another stage of metabolism for the growth and maintenance of body cells (anabolism).
At catabolic reactions they are considered destructive, precisely because they serve to "break down" substances, releasing energy and other nutrients to the body. However, if the person has a high rate of catabolism, this process can negatively affect the deposits of fat and muscles, which are then "consumed" by catabolic reactions.
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Anabolism and Catabolism
Both are part of the body's metabolism. Anabolism represents the process of synthesis of nutrients and storage of released energy during catabolism. This energy can be accumulated to build muscle tissue, for example.
Muscle catabolism, as we have seen, consists of the breakdown of substances to obtain energy. If the body is not nourished with the necessary amount of protein and carbohydrates, the muscles can be catabolized for energy.
For people who want to gain muscle mass, for example, this loss of lean mass is quite harmful. So, in short, catabolism represents muscle destruction, while anabolism is muscle building.
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