Citric acid cycle

Okay kiddo, let's talk about the citric acid cycle!

In our body, we have tiny things called cells that need energy to do their job. The citric acid cycle (also called the Krebs cycle) is one way that our cells can make energy.

First, let's say you have a blueberry. The first thing that happens in the citric acid cycle is that the blueberry gets broken down into smaller pieces by enzymes in our body. These pieces are called pyruvate.

Next, the pyruvate gets broken down even more and gets turned into something called acetyl-CoA.

After that, the acetyl-CoA goes through a bunch of different steps and turns into different compounds. One of these compounds is called citric acid (hence the name "citric acid cycle").

As citric acid goes through more steps, it eventually turns back into the starting compound (oxaloacetate) and a bunch of energy is released along the way. This energy is what our cells can use to do their job.

So, that's the basic idea behind the citric acid cycle. It's a way that our cells can turn small pieces of food into energy.