Cellulose Question..?

Question

I read on this website

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/547cellulose.html

That Humans are unable to digest cellulose because the appropriate enzymes to breakdown the beta acetal linkages are lacking.

So does that mean we don't digest cellulose... Right? So in, Lets say a cabbage, where cellulose is present... We wont digest it? So it wont hold any nutritional value for us? I dont understand.. Please explain this to me

Answer 1

The Cellulose is actually broken down to be digested. I'm not quite sure about that website, but in a nutshell, Cellulose is a substance containing some enzymes that cen be broken down and some that can't.

Cellulose holds little nutritional value, anyhow.

If you get confused try these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose

http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/hycel.html

Answer 2

Right.  You won't digest the cellulose.  Still, the cabbage has quite a bit of material that isn't cellulose, and you WILL digest the rest of it.  Carbohydrates, protein, lipids, all of that will be digested just fine, vitamins will be absorbed.  So it's not true that there's no nutritional value, except for the cellulose content itself.

Answer 3

(its fake)