Metabolic Literacy: Is Oxygen a “Victim” or Electron Thief?

Ketogenic Diet Does not

Humans would go to the end of the world to find food, but oxygen is freely present in the air to break the stored chemical energy in foods to (re)generate water, set the carbon dioxide free and form ATP which every living cell uses to stay alive. Yes, oxygen gas is a peculiar molecule and has been described as an electron thief that wants to cause combustion to form water but strangely prevented by some “kinetic barrier” from blowing up the atmosphere! Truth be told, oxygen does not like to exist by itself and while there is just about 21% of free oxygen molecules in the atmosphere, it constitutes about 46% of the earth’s crust in the form of compounds called oxides.

In addition, oxygen contains 90% of the mass of water and because water has two hydrogen atoms and one atom of oxygen, water can technically be called dihydrogen monoxide (H2O) and by inference, water is an oxide too. Therefore, since water covers about 71% of the Earth’s surface, there is more oxygen locked up in water as an oxide than the free oxygen we breathe from the atmosphere. It is also worth pointing out that we use more than 4 trillion cubic meters of water every year; it is estimated that by 2050, water demand is expected to increase from 20% to 30%.

No doubt, oxygen loves to form oxides because they are stable compounds that are not interested in further chemical reactions. This is consistent with High School chemistry that all atoms and molecules desire to be in low energy or stable state like noble gases. However, nothing is static in nature as life thrives on imbalance that recreates itself. The question is how stable is water? In thermolysis, it has been reported that it takes an unfathomable 2,200 degree Celsius (3,992 degree Fahrenheit) to split just about 3% of water into its component’s hydrogen and oxygen! This explains why modern technology is still struggling to come up with cheap hydrogen powered devices. Enter photosynthesis!

When solar energy hits the part of a leaf called chlorophyll, the energy is so intense that the chlorophyll loses 2 electrons but chlorophyll wants its electrons back and therefore covers its losses by splitting “stable” water into hydrogen and releases oxygen molecules into the atmosphere. The tremendous energy generated from breaking water is used to generate ATP and NADPH which are used to “trap” carbon dioxide to form carbohydrates that humans consume. Interestingly, the reduction or trapping of carbon dioxide otherwise called carbon fixation to form carbohydrates is very crucial because ATP and NADPH, generated from splitting water, are transient molecules with lifespans in the range of millionth of a second whereas carbohydrates and other forms of carbon sources such as woods, crude oils, etc, can survive for hundreds of millions of years.

Therefore, whether it is a simple chemical combustion as wood burning or complex biochemical pathways in chemical digestion, the best explanation for the outcome of combustion or cellular respiration is that 21% of oxygen hanging around in the atmosphere wants its electrons back to form stable water (H2O) again and release the trapped carbon dioxide (CO2) in burning woods or your favorite digested garri or mash potatoes, if you will. When this occurs the chemical energy that holds them is released as heat/visible energy in combustion or production of ATP in cellular respiration.

This is why it is very advisable to tune off the noises about all different kinds of diets and superfoods. Foods contain stored chemical energy that does not escape the law of physics: energy cannot be created or destroyed. Humans are considered opportunistic omnivores who would eat anything that comes their way and would walk miles on a daily basis to obtain them as evidenced in modern hunter-gatherer societies. Additionally, there is nothing special about anybody’s favorite diet, and certainly there is no such thing known as superfood but a mere clever word to take advantage of people’s desperation to lose weight and/or stay healthy. You certainly can successfully lose weight and keep it off on your favorite food but it all depends on how much of it hits your bloodstream.

This reminds me of a simple question asked by Ruben Meerman, an Australian physicist, in a study he did with a researcher in 2014: “When somebody loses weight, where does the fat go?” Out of the 150 doctors, dietitians and personal trainers which comprised 50 of each profession that were surveyed, “only three of our respondents gave the right answer, which means 98% of the health professionals in our survey could not explain how weight loss works”. In case you are wondering, only 3 dieticians out of the combined 150 health professionals correctly stated that fat is converted to carbon dioxide and (re)generates water when you lose weight.

No magical diet, and when it comes to metabolic literacy, even though you possibly might have heard how to “boost” your metabolism more than you can remember, it sure looks like everyone is flying blind, and as the saying goes in my Yoruba language “those who do not know where they are coming from, may not know the path forward to their future”. Simply stated, food, in all forms, is a stored chemical energy measured in calories and incapable of defying the law of conservation of matter as with all forms of energy.

 

Mukaila Kareem, a doctor of physiotherapy writes from the USA

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