Metabolism is the process your body uses to get or make energy from the food you eat. Food is made up of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Chemicals in your digestive system break the food parts down into sugars and acids, your body’s fuel. Your body can use this fuel right away, or it can store the energy in your body tissues, such as your liver, muscles, and body fat.

A metabolic disorder occurs when abnormal chemical reactions in your body disrupt this process. When this happens, you might have too much of some substances or too little of other ones that you need to stay healthy. There are different groups of disorders. Some affect the breakdown of amino acids, carbohydrates, or lipids. Another group, mitochondrial diseases, affects the parts of the cells that produce the energy.

You can develop a metabolic disorder when some organs, such as your liver or pancreas, become diseased or do not function normally. Diabetes is an example.

Histidinemia is an inherited condition characterized by elevated blood levels of the amino acid histidine, a building block of most proteins. Histidinemia is caused by the shortage (deficiency) of the enzyme that breaks down histidine. Histidinemia typically causes no health problems, and most people with elevated histidine levels are unaware that they have this condition.The combination of histidinemia and a medical complication during or soon after birth (such as a temporary lack of oxygen) might increase a person’s chances of developing intellectual disability, behavioral problems, or learning disorders.

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