What generates the heat in a human body?

Question

what is it that gives us a core temp of 37'c?

Answer 1

Respiration...the conversion of glucose (simple sugars) to energy.  The enzymes that control respiration work most efficiently at about 37' C, therefore some of the energy produced is used to keep the core of warm blooded organisms at the optimum temperature.  

Answer 2

To generate heat, warm-blooded animals convert the food that they eat into energy. They have to eat a lot of food, compared with cold-blooded animals, to maintain a constant body temperature. Here's a really good website explaining in detail:

Answer 3

metabolism is the basic heating element in your body.

Answer 4

glucose

Answer 5

The heat in your body comes from the burning of different forms of carbon, mostly glucose. The body breaks the glucose down in many steps to harness as much energy as possible, but there is excess energy and that goes to heating your body.

Answer 6

geez...it seems as if everyone just wants you to think that sugar in and of itself is the only major source of heat.  

MANY of the chemical reactions in your body are exergonic and most are exothermic (releasing heat)....not just breaking down sugar.  It is because of the breaking of these chemical bonds during thesee exothermic reactions that heat is released.  This is the major source of heat in our bodies.  Environment plays a very small role on this, but can have some effect (hot day vs cold day).  

Now your brain (specifically the hypothalumus) picks up signals from your body and then talks to the body about whether to retain more heat or generate more heat. It is a very complicated feedback mechanism that works beautifully.  :)

Answer 7

heat is a byproduct of every metabolic process our body conducts. due to this, our body has a stable temperature when in rest. observe how your body temperature increases as you run or jog, this is because the breaking down of carbohydrates and the formation of energy, in the form of ATP, is continuously occurring which also produces heat as its by-product.

body insulators like lipids or fat also conduct heat. notice how bears hibernate for a long period despite the cold weather? that's because their fat layer is thick acting like a shield to the cold environment.

i hope i was able to answer your question. :D  

Answer 8

When we consume and digest food, the chemical reactions that occur are very similar if not identical to combustion.  As everyone knows in the case of combustion, an abundance of heat is released as a by-product and warm blooded organisms use this heat constructively to maintain a consistent internal temperature.  You'll notice that when we are cold, we often will shiver or run in place.  We do this to heighten our metabolic rate and combust fat reserves to generate additional heat to maintain our core temperature.  We will die if our core temperature goes too low because we will be unable to produce enough energy fast enough to power our vital organs or neurons.

The evolutionary reason we have a consistent core temperature involves metabolism as well.  In chemistry, the rate at which a chemical reaction is completed depends on the temperature of the reactants.  The higher the temperature, the higher the rate of reaction.  Animals that are warm blooded can consistenly generate plenty of energy whenever they'd like, and animals that need more or less energy on a regular basis have higher or lower core temperatures.  

You may have noticed that cold blooded animals are slow or lethargic during times of day that are cold or if they have not "sunned themselves" to warm up.  This is because the metabolic reactions that are generating the power to get them moving are progressing at a slower rate.