The Protein Nature of Enzymes
Your body is basically a massive chemical factory running non-stop reactions called metabolism. These reactions happen in organised sequences called metabolic pathways - think of them like assembly lines where each step feeds into the next.
There are two main types of reactions: anabolic reactions that build things up (like making proteins) and catabolic reactions that break things down (like digestion). What's brilliant is that the product from one reaction becomes the starting material for the next - it's perfectly coordinated.
Enzymes are globular proteins that work as biological catalysts. They're made by living cells and only speed up reactions that would happen anyway - they just make them fast enough for life to actually work. Without enzymes, your cellular reactions would be so slow you'd basically stop functioning.
Key Point: Enzymes aren't used up or changed during reactions - they can be reused thousands of times, which is why your body only needs small amounts of them.
