Question

Suppose that, for some bizarre reason, you decided to exist on a diet of whale and seal blubber, exclusively. A) How would a lack of carbohydrates affect your ability to produce ATP from fats? B) Your significant other realizes that your breath smells sweet. Give a biochemical explanation for this observation (make sure to describe a pathway in your answer!).

Answer 1

A) How would a lack of carbohydrates affect your ability to produce ATP from fats?

Lack of carbohydrate does not affect our ability to produce ATP, as fats can also produce ATP via beta-oxidation and TCA cycle. During the lack of carbohydrates (glucose) in the blood stream, cells turn to lipids (fats) for energy. Especially, the brain. The brain completely depends on glucose for its energy. In the absence of glucose, fats replace it in the brain by entering beta-oxidation. Acetyl-CoA produced from the beta-oxidation of fatty acids produces ATP via TCA cycle.

B) Your significant other realizes that your breath smells sweet. Give a biochemical explanation for this observation.

Acetyl CoA produced from the beta-oxidation of fatty acids also form ketone bodies such as acetone, acetoacetate, and beta-hydroxy butrate. These ketone bodies gives sweet odour to our breath as well as to the urine.