The Three Major Nutrients and Obesity
The three major nutrients
- Carbohydrates
- Fat
- Protein
Carbohydrates, fat, and protein are the three major nutrients usually found in our daily meals.
These nutrients are known as energy-producing nutrients and serve as energy sources for our bodies.
Fat is commonly found in various foods such as meat, dairy products, and cooking oils. Carbohydrates are present in foods such as bread, rice, and potatoes. We take these nutrients almost every day and they are essential for energy. The excess fats and carbohydrates that have not been used for energy are transformed into body fat, which is then stored in the body.
Global Increase in Obesity Rates
In 2022, one in eight people in the world were living with obesity with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, according to the WHO report of March 2024.
Obesity is typically caused by an excessive intake of high-fat, high-sugar, or high-carbohydrate foods and a lack of physical activity. Overweight increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases. Healthy eating habits, moderate exercise, adequate length and quality of sleep, and other healthy practices are important to prevent obesity and overweight.
Source: WHO report : Obesity and overweight
An excessive intake of fat and carbohydrates may cause …
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Obesity -
Heart diseases -
Diabetes
Acetone in Breath!?
Human breath may contain acetone.
When body fat is used to generate energy, acetone is produced and released through the mouth. The body fat is hydrolyzed into fatty acids, which are further converted into ketone bodies (acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate). Acetone is one of the ketone bodies and breathed out of the lungs when ketone bodies are used for energy. The other ketone bodies, acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate, are exported through the blood to produce energy.
Acetone is a kind of ketone bodies, but most of acetone is exhaled from the lungs because it can easily evaporate at normal temperature and under normal pressure, and it is not used for energy.
Because of the properties of acetone, it is expected that the burning rate of body fat can be monitored by measuring acetone concentrations in breath.
TGS1820 Acetone Sensor
TGS1820 is a hot wire semiconductor type acetone gas sensor. TGS1820 has a high sensitivity to acetone with small interference from ethanol and hydrogen, making it ideal for acetone detection in the breath.
Its small size and low power consumption*1 make it easy to incorporate into portable devices.
⊿ VOUT ＝ Vb*2 (Gas) - Vb (Air)
*2 Vb is the output voltage from the bridge circuit for the sensor.
※For more details of the bridge circuit, please refer to the TGS1820 product information
Various Applications of TGS1820 Sensor
Monitoring of fat burning rate
Calories are burned and some acetone is exhaled with breath even at rest.
The greater the body fat burns, the higher the concentration of acetone in the breath.
A breath acetone analyzer with the TGS1820 acetone sensor inside can track the burning rate of body fat indirectly. This will make your dietary control easier.
Physical exercise helps burn more body fat and the concentration of acetone in the breath will increase. Taking low-intensity exercises, such as walking, for a long time is effective in burning more body fat.
Therefore, an easy monitoring of body fat burning rate with the TGS1820 acetone sensor will help encourage keep exercising.
Monitoring effectiveness of carbohydrate-restricted diet
The acetone sensor will also be useful for monitoring the effectiveness of a carbohydrate-restricted diet and for controlling health conditions during dieting. Both carbohydrates and fat are used in the body to provide energy. The ratio of their use varies depending on intensity of exercise. Carbohydrates are the main energy source for high intensity exercise that requires high power for a short period, such as a short-distance sprint.
If carbohydrate intake is limited, the capacity of muscles to burn body fat for energy will become higher. Therefore, a carbohydrate-restricted diet may be used as one of the methods of reducing body fat and weight.
Recently, an even stricter carbohydrate-restricted diet, called the ketogenic diet method, has also received attention. Reducing carbohydrate intake will result in the burning of more body fat and a noticeable increase in the acetone concentration in the breath. During the ketogenic diet, acetone concentration in the breath will increase, as illustrated in the figure.
It is expected that monitoring acetone concentrations in the breath by an acetone analyzer using an acetone sensor would be useful for evaluating the effectiveness of a carbohydrate-restricted diet and for health control during dieting.
Monitoring Blood Glucose Levels of Diabetics
An acetone sensor has the potential to be used for easy measurement and monitoring of blood glucose levels for people with diabetes.
According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas 10th edition, about one in ten adults in the world were living with diabetes in 2021, and this number was expected to rise. It is generally difficult to fully recover from diabetes once it has developed. However, the following health risks can be reduced through SMBG (Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose), which involves regularly measuring and controlling blood glucose levels on a diabetic’s own.
Reference: IDF (International Diabetes Federation) Diabetes Atlas 10th edition
- Chronic high blood glucose levels may result in the need for amputation of a leg or dialysis treatment.
- If a person with diabetes is not aware of their insulin deficiency, they may at increased risk of diabetic complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis, or a life-threatening coma in the worst case.
- Taking medication for high blood glucose may increase the risk of low blood sugar. The worsening of hypoglycemia is very dangerous, increasing the risk of dementia, stroke, coma, or heart attack.
There are two types of glucose meters. A blood glucose meter for SMBG measures blood glucose levels with a small blood sample that is obtained by prickling a finger with a lancet device. And a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system can measure and record blood glucose levels continuously by setting the sensor with a needle into a body. The disadvantages of meters for SMBG include the pain when pricking every time of SMBG and the need to dispose of used needles.
The breath analysis using an acetone analyzer with an acetone sensor has the potential to serve as an alternative to blood glucose measurements from blood samples by current SMBG meters.
It is known that there is a correlation between blood glucose levels and acetone concentrations in the breath. It is expected that the pain of SMBG and the need to dispose of used needles would be eliminated if blood glucose level could be easily measured without blood sampling by measuring acetone concentrations in the breath using a breath acetone analyzer with an acetone sensor.
Click below for more details on acetone sensor.
