Answer:
The substances that help the organism in vital metabolic functions, but are not a source of energy, are vitamins and minerals.
Step-by-step explanation:
Vitamins and minerals are considered essential nutrient molecules, because the body requires them, not produces them, and they must be obtained through food.
Both vitamins and minerals contribute to the metabolism and participate in the process of obtaining energy, but they are not an energy substrate.
- Vitamins such as C, B complex, folates, A, D, E and K are used as coenzymes, since they collaborate with the enzymes in the metabolic processes.
- Minerals, including calcium, iron, potassium, sodium, chlorine, sulfur, and magnesium, among others, are necessary cofactors for vital metabolic functions.
The other options, although they are nutrients, have specific functions in the body, in addition to being energy sources:
- Simple and complex carbohydrates are the main energy source of the organism, since the glucose that composes them is the energy substrate par excellence.
- Proteins contribute to the formation of tissues, metabolic, immunological and regulatory functions, as well as being an alternative energy source.