Week 6 discussion topics

Biology

Lactose is the natural sugar found in milk. An enzyme in the small intestine, lactase, is responsible for the digestion of lactose. Lactase "breaks the lactose down into two simpler forms of sugar, which can then be absorbed into the bloodstream." For most people, this is a straightforward process but some people have insufficient lactase, and indigestion occurs as a result of the body's inability to break down the lactose (WebMD, 2014).

Proteins are digested in both the stomach and the small intestine. The stomach secretes hydrochloric acid and pepsinogen, and the two interact to produce pepsin. The pepsin enzyme then breaks down the protein via a process known as hydrolysis. This is where a water molecule is inserted between two amino acids, causing their bonds to break.

The hydrochloric acid breaks down the bonds between proteins, and the proteins are disintegrated into amino acids. Protein digestion continues in the small intestine, where trypsin joins the pepsin in further breaking down the proteins into amino acids. Amino acids are absorbed in the stomach and jejunum, which is the middle part of the small intestine.

Meanwhile in the pancreas, protease enzymes are secreted that assist in fat digestion. These are trypsin and chymotrypsin, and they digest the milk fat in both the stomach and in the small intestine.

Vitamins and minerals are first broken down in the stomach, and then they are absorbed into the body in the small intestine. There is a difference, however in the absorption of water-soluble vitamins, which are absorbed right away, and fat-soluble, which the body can store. Many vitamins in milk are of the fat-soluble type, and therefor they need fat-digesting bile acids, which are produced in the liver, to break them down and then move them through the intestinal wall -- with the fat -- where they go to the liver and the body fat (Layton, 2014).

2.

Renal failure is a serious medical condition. To understand its effects one must understand what the function of the kidney is. The kidney is an organ that removes certain molecules from the blood, including excess glucose and waste products. The kidney therefore is critical to maintaining a healthy blood pressure, and acid-base balance. The kidneys also help in the absorption of amino acids. Thus, there are many outcomes of renal failure, none of them good.

Renal failure can cause fluid buildup in the chest, and the kidneys are an essential part of the urinary system. If the kidneys cannot filter excess water out of the body, then the fluid buildup could cause complications, including shortness of breath. Chest pains may also occur as the result of renal failure.