A few years ago when I started myfoodcount.com, I thought to myself - lets create the best food counting system in the world- while accomplishing this goal I came to realize how naïve I was regarding our bodies for taking such a narrow view. Food counting for health is a noble cause but there is SOOO MUCH MORE!
Why do we eat?
To provide fuel required for creation, maintenance and destruction of our bodies.
Creation involves the formation of new tissues, liquids and cartilage to keep us all in good shape. It runs the gamut from creating life (pregnancy) to growing new fingernails. This occurs all day, everyday of our lives and many of these processes even continue months after our death.
Maintenance involves the repairing of everything within the body, this includes everything from strengthening ligaments after a good workout to rebuilding our bones. This also occurs all day and everyday.
Destruction, yes- your body is also in a perpetual in a constant state of demolition too! From dissolving bones and cancerous cells to breaking apart food nutrients to form needed compounds - everything the body creates and maintains usually ends up on the chopping block as well.
If any of these processes go out of wack, you are in trouble - BIG TIME- and FAST. For example, creation gone out of control leads to cancer, maintenance slacking off leads to osteoporosis and destruction can mean the loss of a limb.
Energy use during everyday events
Now that you know why we eat, here is how our body manages the energy we consume during everyday events - take for example a typical morning-
You wake up, get breakfast and your stuff in order then go for a light walk towards your bus stop, your maximum heart rate (MHR) is below 65% at this time. On the way to the bus stop, you realize you are a little behind schedule so you begin a light jog- your heart rate now moves up to 75% MHR. Then your worst fear becomes a reality, just as you turn the corner, you see the bus getting ready to go- in a mad dash fueled by adrenalin your heart rate jumps 400% of your maximum heart rate as you rush to catch your ride.
Energy use - more in depth review
Alright, that was pretty simple illustration, without getting too technical, here is what happened as far as your body is concerned.
Your body has 3 different “engines” at its disposal at any time, the first two require oxygen to function while the third can work without any oxygen. The first is put in use when your heart rate is working under 65% maximum - this is when your body uses fat as its primary energy source. The second kicks in when your MHR is between 65% and 85%, as its primary energy source, the body goes for the higher octane glucose stores right within your muscles. The third takes over when your MHR exceeds 85%, basically the body cannot supply enough oxygen to working muscles so it goes without - causing the lactic acid burn.
You can figure out your maximum heart rate by simply deducting 220 from your age- mine is 191.
Where do these engines come from?
Try to think of our bodies as a V8 engine, somebody didn’t just invent a V8 engine out of the blue, they started with simple moving parts and worked their way up to that level of complexity. Our bodies are NO DIFFERENT.
Each cell in our body contains a power plant called mitocandria, without it we wouldn’t be able to produce the energy we need to survive. An interesting fact is that the DNA in the mitocandria actually doesn’t match our bodies DNA, it is the result of a symbiotic relationship between two organisms billions of years ago that we are benefiting from today.
These three engines I described have been passed down generation to generation, organisms to organism all the way down the line to us. Every organism on earth, from fish and elephants to birds and insects, have these three identical engines at their disposal with very rare exceptions. So all I can tell you is it started way before humans ever came into being and will still be there long after our species is gone.
One thing we do know about age is that the “turbo boost” last engine I described is the oldest and comes from bacteria, it developed when the Earth did not have an oxygen rich atmosphere because it is able to work without the presence of oxygen.
The Bottom Line
I have been brought up to believe that humans are special, unique in nature… the more I study, the more I realize that it is simply not the case. Nature is a great teacher in HUMILITY.
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