Question

Lillah is 27 years old and has struggled with obesity for as long as she can remember. As a young teenager, Lillian had problems with binge eating. Her personal favorite used to be chocolate milk, which was easily available from the high school vending machines. Now in her adult years, she has settled into a pattern of eating when she is lonely and when she is social; eating when she gets a bad mark at University and to celebrate achievements. However, she no longer drinks chocolate milk since consuming any sort of milk or dairy products now gives her severe gastrointestinal distress. At 144 cm and 84 kg, she knows she falls in the "morbidly obese" category, according to her body-mass index (BMI). Her family doctor even told her she was at risk of type 2 diabetes because of her insulin resistance. He recommended that she include physical activity in her daily routine. This isn't a problem: Lillian already loves going for long hikes with her fiancé, Mark, and goes to spin classes with her girlfriends. Attending teachers' college now, her dream job is to become an elementary teacher in an outdoor school to educate active children in nature! Question 1 (10 points) Lillian used to drink a lot of chocolate milk, which contains the disaccharide lactose. Follow lactose during digestion, absorption, in fed state metabolism. Which of the following statements are TRUE? Select all that apply. In the fed state, some digestion products of lactose can produce ATP via glycolysis. Lactose is mainly digested and absorbed in the large intestine.

Answer 1

Ans.1:

Glycolysis is dominant in the fed state in which glucose is abundant. Glycolytic intermediates and products are used to synthesize lipids, amino acids, and other important molecules in addition to be completely oxidized to generate ATP via glycolysis.

Lactose consists of two sugars: glucose and galactose.The monosaccharides that join to form lactose are glucose and galactose.Because disaccharides like lactose are relatively large molecules, they cannot be absorbed by the small intestine. Before lactose can be absorbed, it must be broken down into the smaller monosaccharides. In order to do this, the small intestine produces an enzyme called lactase. The job of lactase is to attach itself to the lactose molecule and hydrolyze it into glucose and galactose.

Hence, the statements that are true is, (a) In the fed state, some digestion products of lactose can produce ATP via glycolysis. & (b) Lactose is digested into glucose and galactose.

Ans.2: Lactase breaks down the lactose in food that our body can abosrb it. Lactase is produced by the cells that line the walls of the small intestine called the brush border.Lactase functions at the brush broder to break down lactose into smaller sugars called glucose and galactose for abosrption. A gene mutation in the lactase gene LCT, causes interference with the function of lactase enzyme, or lactose intolerance, leading to undigested lactose in the small intestine.

Hence, the statement that are true is, (a) A mutation in the lactase gene that reduces its enymatic activity. & (b) Destruction of the brush-border membrane of the stomach.

Ans.3: Lactose intolerance is a digestive disorder caused by the inablity to digest lactose. without sufficient lactase, lactose moves through the intestine undigested causing digestive symptoms like abdominal pain,bloating,flatulence,diarrhea,boborygmi etc. Digestive problems are commonly associated with gallstones

Hence, the answers are (i) Constipation (ii) Gallstones (iii) Diarrhea