Food intake is sporadic and, in many cultures, occurs in three daily boluses. At the same time, energy expenditure is continuous and can vary to a large extent independently of the pattern of energy intake, although fixed or predictable demands (e.g. through occupation) means that in most persons food intake and energy expenditure are soon balanced. The body has developed complex systems that direct excess nutrients into storage pools; as they are needed, they also regulate the mobilization of nutrients from these pools. Carbohydrate, lipid, and protein (the latter a source of amino acids) are the three types of energy supply that are stored variably and assimilated from food each day. That we can carry on our daily lives without thinking about whether to store or mobilize fuels, and which to use, attests to the remarkable efficiency and refinement of these systems of metabolic control.
J. K. AITKEN (red.), The T&T Clark Companion to the Septuagint, Bloomsbury T&T Clark, London-New Delhi-New York-Sydney 2015.