Phytochemicals are made by plants, also have a vital part in human health and can help prevent cancer, help with cholesterol management and help prevent oxidation and damage of the structures. The main categories of phytochemicals are flavonoids, phytosterols, isoflavones and carotenes.
Enzymes have 3 dimensional structures. The body can use an enzyme can turn off or on a reaction it catalyses or can turn off or on other reactants that are involved in the process. Substrates is the name when reactants bind to the enzyme and the active site is the name when the substrate binds onto the enzyme. Only an appropriate fitting substrate can bind to a specific enzyme. It promotes the desired reaction and causes the outcome once the binding process takes place. This whole process needs assistance due to the fact that only certain substrates can fit into certain active sites. Assistance comes from co-factors (minerals) or co-enzymes (derivatives of vitamins).
Vitamins and minerals are very important as they help the enzymes to function and keep life.
Next up... Antioxidants!
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