20 Things You Didn't Know About ... Metabolism

Your diet isn’t the only thing tied to your metabolism. These processes regulate all kinds of biological systems — even artificial ones, like cities.

By Gemma Tarlach
Feb 6, 2017 6:00 AMNov 12, 2019 5:12 AM
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1. Let’s get meta about metabolism: It’s so much more than the thing you’re trying to boost to banish those pesky extra pounds. The term refers to all of the chemical reactions within an organism that keep it alive.

2. Derived from metabole, Greek for change, metabolism is about power: how it’s acquired and how it’s spent. Scientists have been using the word since the late 19th century, but the concept was around much earlier.

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