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The brain uses glucose, or sugar, as its main fuel source. In fact, more than 60 percent of the glucose streaming through our blood is consumed by the brain. It makes glucose usable through a series of steps, where a single misstep can thwart the brain from getting the nutrient. When the brain doesn't get enough glucose, it can become impaired and damaged. Diabetes, when not properly controlled, can interfere with cerebral glucose metabolism and ultimately affect brain functioning. This is why uncontrolled diabetes can be indirectly linked to numerous maladies that are linked to brain functioning and it is…
Digestion of new food affects various processes in the body. First, energy sources are removed from food and either immediately burned or stored as fat for later usage. This depends on your metabolism. Then, based on the type of food you ate, cholesterol levels rise, fall or stay the same.
Insulin is a hormone secreted in the pancreas by specialized cells called islet cells. Once released in the circulatory system, it allows cells throughout the body to metabolize glucose and use it as an energy source.
Energy stored within the chemical bonds of the carbohydrate, fat, and protein molecules contained in food. The process of digestion breaks down carbohydrate molecules into glucose molecules. Glucose serves as your body's main energy source because it can be converted to usable energy more efficiently than either fat or protein. The only type of energy the cells in your body are able to utilize is the adenosine tri-phosphate molecule (ATP). ATP is made up of one adenosine molecule and three inorganic phosphates. Adenosine di-phosphate (ADP) is an ester of adenosine that contains two phosphates, and it's used to make ATP.…
Glucose is the body's main source of calories. The carbohydrates we eat become glucose when broken down during digestion. Then the glucose is metabolized for use as fuel by the cells. Following are the steps for glucose metabolism simplified.
The digestive process breaks down carbohydrates into a sugar compound called glucose. Glucose is your body's primary go to fuel for energy. Not all carbohydrates are created equally. Though all carbohydrates breakdown into glucose, they do not all digest at the same rate. The system which ranks the rate of carbohydrate digestion and its subsequent impact on blood sugar levels is called the Glycemic Index. Carbs that breakdown quickly tend to flood the bloodstream with glucose, triggering a massive insulin response. But this effect can be countered by eating rapidly digesting carbs in combination with fat and protein rich foods.
For diabetics, either Type I or Type II, maintaining steady, lower blood sugar levels is paramount to controlling the disease. Blood sugar levels are regulated by the release of glucose and insulin in the body, usually in response to digestion. If glucose levels rise too rapidly, a diabetic can't produce adequate insulin to counter the response, and the blood sugar levels rise too high. Oral drugs that improve glucose metabolism by increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing the amount of glucose released are crucial for diabetics who can no longer fully regulate the process themselves. These drugs also delay the need…
Metabolizing glucose is a process our body undertakes to provide itself with needed energy. But first we have to consume the carbohydrates (sugars, starches and cellulose) that contain glucose units. And we also have to have an enzyme (insulin) present in our body to metabolize glucose (diabetics don't have this enzyme---or it doesn't work properly if they do).
