How to Change Energy From ADP to ATP
ADP -- adenosine diphosphate -- and ATP -- adenosine triphosphate -- are both substances involved in metabolic processes on the cellular level. When a person eats high-energy foods, that energy is stored in the high-energy bonds between the components of ATP. When energy is needed to do things or build things in the cell, that energy is released from the ATP and ATP becomes ADP again. ADP contains one less phosphate molecule than ATP. Changes in energy in the body's cells either detach or reattach the phosphate molecule, converting from one compound to the other. This process is known in scientific terms as cellular respiration.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Your body begins the cycle from ADP to ATP by consuming high-energy foods. The best foods for producing energy are carbohydrates: breads, crackers, pasta or starchy vegetables such as potatoes or other tubers. Fats and proteins, such as meats, also contain energy. However, they also contain fat and large amounts of fat can block arteries.
-
2
Your body then releases the energy stored in these foods into the cells of the body.
-
-
3
The energy broken down from the carbohydrates reattaches a phosphate molecule to ADP, turning it into ATP.
-
4
An enzyme called ATPase breaks the phosphate molecule off the ATP when the cell needs energy. Then the ATP will become ADP again. Your body needs ATP to do anything that requires energy. This can be flexing a muscle, getting up, walking, running or any other form of physical work.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Any chemical reaction in the body requires enzymes; in fact, enzymes are the catalysts in the body. Enzymes nearly always end with --ase. In order to make ATP, the cell also needs glucose and oxygen. Glucose comes from the foods that you eat and oxygen comes from the air that you breathe that spreads to all of your cells through your blood. Other byproducts of this reaction are carbon dioxide and water.
If your blood glucose levels -- that is, your blood sugar levels -- fall, then your cells are unable to adequately produce energy. This is why you feel weak and dizzy if your blood sugar falls. Exercising for more than a couple of minutes deprives your muscles of adequate oxygen, causing a buildup of lactic acid. This is what causes muscle soreness. The lactic acid is then spread through the blood to the liver and turned back into glucose. Such a situation is called oxygen debt.
References
- Photo Credit Paul Sutherland/Digital Vision/Getty Images
