We Really Can Make Glucose From Fatty Acids After All! O Textbook, How Thy Biochemistry Hast Deceived Me!
Biochemistry textbooks generally tell us that we can’t turn fatty acids into glucose. For example, on page 634 of the 2006 and 2008 editions of Biochemistry by Berg, Tymoczko, and Stryer, we find the following: Animals Cannot Convert Fatty Acids to Glucose It is important to note that animals are unable to effect the net synthesis of glucose from fatty acids. Specficially, acetyl CoA cannot be converted into pyruvate or oxaloacetate in animals. In fact this is so important that it should be written in italics and have its own bold heading! But it’s not quite right. Making glucose from fatty acids is low-paying work. It’s not the type of alchemy that would allow us to build imperial palaces out of sugar cubes or offer hourly sweet sacrifices upon the altar of the glorious god of glucose (God forbid!). But it can be done, and it’ll help pay the bills when times are tight. All Aboard the Acetyl CoA! When we’re running primarily on fatty acids, our livers break the bulk of these fatty acids down into two-carbon units called acetate. When acetate hangs out all by its lonesome like it does in a bottle of vinegar, it’s called acetic acid and it gives vinegar its characteristic smell. Our livers aren’t bottles of vinegar, however, and they do things a bit differently. They have a little shuttle called coenzyme A, or “CoA” for short, that carries acetate wherever it needs to go. When the acetate passenger is loaded onto the CoA shuttle, we refer to the whole shebang as acetyl CoA. As acetyl CoA moves its caboose along the biochemical railway, it eventually reaches a crossroads where it has to decide whether to enter the Land of Ketogenesis or traverse the TCA cycle. The Land of Ketogenesis is a quite magical place to which we’ll return in a few moments, but n Continue reading >>
- International Textbook of Diabetes Mellitus, 4th Ed., Excerpt #82: Insulin Actions In Vivo: Glucose Metabolism Part 9 of 9
- World's first diabetes app will be able to check glucose levels without drawing a drop of blood and will be able to reveal what a can of coke REALLY does to sugar levels
- International Textbook of Diabetes Mellitus, 4th Ed., Excerpt #59: Mechanisms of insulin signal transduction Part 3 of 8
Can Fats Be Turned Into Glycogen For Muscle?
The amount of fat in the average diet and the amount of stored fat in the average body make the notion of converting that fat into usable energy appealing. Glycogen, a form of energy stored in muscles for quick use, is what the body draws on first to perform movements, and higher glycogen levels result in higher usable energy. It is not possible for fats to be converted directly into glycogen because they are not made up glucose, but it is possible for fats to be indirectly broken down into glucose, which can be used to create glycogen. Relationship Between Fats and Glycogen Fats are a nutrient found in food and a compound used for long-term energy storage in the body, while glycogen is a chain of glucose molecules created by the body from glucose for short-term energy storage and utilization. Dietary fats are used for a number of functions in the body, including maintaining cell membranes, but they are not used primarily as a source of fast energy. Instead, for energy the body relies mostly on carbohydrates, which are converted into glucose that is then used to form glycogen. Turning Fats Into Glucose Excess glucose in the body is converted into stored fat under certain conditions, so it seems logical that glucose could be derived from fats. This process is called gluconeogenesis, and there are multiple pathways the body can use to achieve this conversion. Gluconeogenesis generally occurs only when the body cannot produce sufficient glucose from carbohydrates, such as during starvation or on a low-carbohydrate diet. This is less efficient than producing glucose through the metabolizing of carbohydrates, but it is possible under the right conditions. Turning Glucose Into Glycogen Once glucose has been obtained from fats, your body easily converts it into glycogen. In gl Continue reading >>
Why Fats (and Not Carbs) Are The Body's Preferred Fuel Source
Why Fats (And Not Carbs) Are The Body's Preferred Fuel Source #dmt , #healthandfitness , #lifehack , #occult , #superfoods , #synchro , #transhumanism , #yoga , anti-inflammatory , fitness , health , nutrition Insulin. Not only does it look cool...it's also the key to understanding how your body stores fat. If you keep up with the Synchro Life Design System, you'll know by now that I'm a huge advocate of eating a diet that is low-glycemic load and fuels the body primarily with high-quality, easily digested fats. Switching to this diet was hugely transformative for me, and if you look around a bit online, you'll find it's a rapidly growing movement that has produced similar results for hundreds of thousands of people. If your goals are stable vibrant energy, high cognitive performance and low body-fat - this diet produces results better than any other I have come across. Initially, it looks a little counterintuitive. Why does eating lots of fat produce high energy and low body fat? First, it's important to make a distinction between types of fat. There are a lot of undesirable types of fat out there - but even many types of fats commonly regarded as "healthy" turn out to be closer to "OK" than "beneficial". Secondly, understanding how our body precesses fats and carbohydrates differently is key to understanding why certain types of foods make you feel or look a certain way. We'll cover both in detail below. Sugar in your food generally requires little to no digesting or processing and will be in your bloodstream inside 60 minutes after eating. In response, blood sugar shoots up for a bit before coming back down rapidly a short while later. Other carbohydrates, referred to as complex carbohydrates, will be sugar in your bloodstream as well eventually. It takes your diges Continue reading >>
Fatty Acid Metabolism
Fatty acid metabolism consists of catabolic processes that generate energy, and anabolic processes that create biologically important molecules (triglycerides, phospholipids, second messengers, local hormones and ketone bodies).[1] Fatty acids are a family of molecules classified within the lipid macronutrient class. One role of fatty acids in animal metabolism is energy production, captured in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). When compared to other macronutrient classes (carbohydrates and protein), fatty acids yield the most ATP on an energy per gram basis, when they are completely oxidized to CO2 and water by beta oxidation and the citric acid cycle.[2] Fatty acids (mainly in the form of triglycerides) are therefore the foremost storage form of fuel in most animals, and to a lesser extent in plants. In addition, fatty acids are important components of the phospholipids that form the phospholipid bilayers out of which all the membranes of the cell are constructed (the cell wall, and the membranes that enclose all the organelles within the cells, such as the nucleus, the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and the Golgi apparatus). Fatty acids can also be cleaved, or partially cleaved, from their chemical attachments in the cell membrane to form second messengers within the cell, and local hormones in the immediate vicinity of the cell. The prostaglandins made from arachidonic acid stored in the cell membrane, are probably the most well known group of these local hormones. Fatty acid catabolism[edit] A diagrammatic illustration of the process of lipolysis (in a fat cell) induced by high epinephrine and low insulin levels in the blood. Epinephrine binds to a beta-adrenergic receptor in the cell membrane of the adipocyte, which causes cAMP to be generated inside Continue reading >>
How Our Bodies Turn Food Into Energy
All parts of the body (muscles, brain, heart, and liver) need energy to work. This energy comes from the food we eat. Our bodies digest the food we eat by mixing it with fluids (acids and enzymes) in the stomach. When the stomach digests food, the carbohydrate (sugars and starches) in the food breaks down into another type of sugar, called glucose. The stomach and small intestines absorb the glucose and then release it into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, glucose can be used immediately for energy or stored in our bodies, to be used later. However, our bodies need insulin in order to use or store glucose for energy. Without insulin, glucose stays in the bloodstream, keeping blood sugar levels high. Insulin is a hormone made by beta cells in the pancreas. Beta cells are very sensitive to the amount of glucose in the bloodstream. Normally beta cells check the blood's glucose level every few seconds and sense when they need to speed up or slow down the amount of insulin they're making and releasing. When someone eats something high in carbohydrates, like a piece of bread, the glucose level in the blood rises and the beta cells trigger the pancreas to release more insulin into the bloodstream. When insulin is released from the pancreas, it travels through the bloodstream to the body's cells and tells the cell doors to open up to let the glucose in. Once inside, the cells convert glucose into energy to use right then or store it to use later. As glucose moves from the bloodstream into the cells, blood sugar levels start to drop. The beta cells in the pancreas can tell this is happening, so they slow down the amount of insulin they're making. At the same time, the pancreas slows down the amount of insulin that it's releasing into the bloodstream. When this happens, Continue reading >>
How Fat Cells Work
When you are not eating, your body is not absorbing food. If your body is not absorbing food, there is little insulin in the blood. However, your body is always using energy; and if you're not absorbing food, this energy must come from internal stores of complex carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Under these conditions, various organs in your body secrete hormones: pancreas - glucagon pituitary gland - growth hormone pituitary gland - ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) adrenal gland - epinephrine (adrenaline) thyroid gland - thyroid hormone These hormones act on cells of the liver, muscle and fat tissue, and have the opposite effects of insulin. When you are not eating, or you are exercising, your body must draw on its internal energy stores. Your body's prime source of energy is glucose. In fact, some cells in your body, such as brain cells, can get energy only from glucose. The first line of defense in maintaining energy is to break down carbohydrates, or glycogen, into simple glucose molecules -- this process is called glycogenolysis. Next, your body breaks down fats into glycerol and fatty acids in the process of lipolysis. The fatty acids can then be broken down directly to get energy, or can be used to make glucose through a multi-step process called gluconeogenesis. In gluconeogenesis, amino acids can also be used to make glucose. In the fat cell, other types of lipases work to break down fats into fatty acids and glycerol. These lipases are activated by various hormones, such as glucagon, epinephrine and growth hormone. The resulting glycerol and fatty acids are released into the blood, and travel to the liver through the bloodstream. Once in the liver, the glycerol and fatty acids can be either further broken down or used to make glucose. Losing Weight and Losin Continue reading >>
How Does Fat Get Converted Into Energy - _
This is perhaps a little on the 'nerdy' side of questions, but is something I don't quite understand. It's not really necessary to fully understand it, to follow a 'whole foods' diet, or an 'ssos' lifestyle, but still, I would like to get my head around it. So in that regard... I understand that carbohydrates are converted into glucose, which is then used as energy in the body, and whatever energy the body does not use, it then moves into the adipose tissue, with the help of our friendly hormone called insulin. I understand that protein gets converted into amino acids, that the body then uses to restore, rebuild, and construct muscle tissue, along with other healthy tissues throughout the body. Whatever protein is not used for amino acids, is then moved into the liver, where it is converted into glucose, and at that point, the body can then use this glucose for energy. Just like our buddy, carbohydrate up above, whatever glucose (that originated from protein) that is not used for energy, can then be shuffled on over to the adipose (fat) tissue, with the help of insulin, where it is stored as body fat. Now, with Fat, this is where things get a little confusing, because my understanding, is that fat molecules can not be converted into glucose. In fact, step 1 on this journey, is that fat is utilized by the body, for fatty acids, which are required and needed for proper metabolism and biology. Whatever fat is not used for fatty acids, is then converted to triglycerides (do I got that right?), and moves on over to our adipose tissue, where it is stored as body fat. So, with that in mind, how does the body convert fat into energy, if it does not convert fat into glucose? Let me give you an example; Let's say we have a person who chooses to eat a 100% all fat diet, no protei Continue reading >>
Gluconeogenesis
Gluconeogenesis (GNG) is a metabolic process of making glucose, a necessary body fuel, from non-carbohydrate sources such as protein (amino acids), lactate from the muscles and the glycerol component of fatty acids. Blood glucose levels must be maintained within a narrow range for good health. If blood sugar is too high, it results in tissue and organ damage. If it is too low, cellular respiration and energy production can suffer, especially if the body is "carbohydrate-adapted," meaning the body uses glucose as it's primary fuel. Therefore, the ability of the liver and kidneys to “make new sugar” and regulate blood sugar levels is critical. The main advantage of this process is that it helps the body maintain steady blood sugar levels when foods containing carbohydrates or stored sugars (glycogen reserves) are unavailable. Without gluconeogenesis, you wouldn't live very long, especially without food, as your body must have a constant and steady level of blood glucose to keep the brain and red blood cells going. Mold Test Kits Easy to Use, Fast Results Available Interpretive Lab Report moldtesting.com Glucose and Ignorance If you decide to stop eating, or you decide to follow a low carb ketogenic diet, carbohydrate intake drops. To make up for the missing carbohydrate in your diet, the liver creates the blood glucose it needs by breaking down the glycogen stored in your muscles and liver from your last meal. This process is called glycogenolysis. After about 30 hours with no food, a great deal of this stored glycogen is broken down, and the body must then begin making glucose by breaking down stored fatty acids or amino acids from the protein in your muscles. Some dietitians and trainers insist that this process is the reason that carbohydrates are "essential foods" Continue reading >>
Carbohydrates, Proteins, Fats, And Blood Sugar
The body uses three main nutrients to function-carbohydrate, protein, and fat. These nutrients are digested into simpler compounds. Carbohydrates are used for energy (glucose). Fats are used for energy after they are broken into fatty acids. Protein can also be used for energy, but the first job is to help with making hormones, muscle, and other proteins. Nutrients needed by the body and what they are used for Type of nutrient Where it is found How it is used Carbohydrate (starches and sugars) Breads Grains Fruits Vegetables Milk and yogurt Foods with sugar Broken down into glucose, used to supply energy to cells. Extra is stored in the liver. Protein Meat Seafood Legumes Nuts and seeds Eggs Milk products Vegetables Broken down into amino acids, used to build muscle and to make other proteins that are essential for the body to function. ADVERTISINGinRead invented by Teads Fat Oils Butter Egg yolks Animal products Broken down into fatty acids to make cell linings and hormones. Extra is stored in fat cells. After a meal, the blood sugar (glucose) level rises as carbohydrate is digested. This signals the beta cells of the pancreas to release insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin helps glucose enter the body's cells to be used for energy. If all the glucose is not needed for energy, some of it is stored in fat cells and in the liver as glycogen. As sugar moves from the blood to the cells, the blood glucose level returns to a normal between-meal range. Several hormones and processes help regulate the blood sugar level and keep it within a certain range (70 mg/dL to 120 mg/dL). When the blood sugar level falls below that range, which may happen between meals, the body has at least three ways of reacting: Cells in the pancreas can release glucagon, a hormone that signals the b Continue reading >>
How Does Fat Get Converted To Calories?
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Answer by Bart Loews , passionate exercise enthusiast, on Quora : How is fat being converted into calories at cellular level? First lets get some term clarification: A calorie is a measure of energy, specifically heat. Its a measurement of an indirect use of your biological fuels. Your body doesnt really convert things to calories, it converts them to ATP which is used as energy. Calories are, sadly, the best way we have to measure this process.Ill assume that the point of this question is: How does fat turn into energy? Fat is a term used interchangeably with lipids and with adipose tissue. Lipids are molecules that consist of a hydrophobic tail with a hydrophilic head. Because of this polarized set up, they are able to cluster together to form barriers between water and non water, like bubbles. Your cell membranes are composed of lipids. Adipose tissue is what makes you fat. Adipose tissue stores lipids in the form of triglycerides or 3 fatty acid chains with a glycerol backbone. These triglycerides are what is broken down to be used for energy. Adipose tissue is made up of collections of adipocytes or fat cells. Adipose tissue is used for insulation, cushioning, and energy storage. You get a particular number of fat cells (between 30 and 300 billion) during adolescence and childhood. You don't lose them naturally, but you can gain more if they grow more than 4 fold from their original size. They grow and shrink as they take on more energy. Fat cells have a few other roles in the endocrine system, they release the hormone, Leptin when they receive energy from insulin. Leptin signals to your body that you're full. The more fat cells you have, the more leptin is released. It's been found that obese people are lep Continue reading >>
How Our Bodies Turn Food Into Energy
All parts of the body (muscles, brain, heart, and liver) need energy to work. This energy comes from the food we eat. Our bodies digest the food we eat by mixing it with fluids (acids and enzymes) in the stomach. When the stomach digests food, the carbohydrate (sugars and starches) in the food breaks down into another type of sugar, called glucose. The stomach and small intestines absorb the glucose and then release it into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, glucose can be used immediately for energy or stored in our bodies, to be used later. However, our bodies need insulin in order to use or store glucose for energy. Without insulin, glucose stays in the bloodstream, keeping blood sugar levels high. Insulin is a hormone made by beta cells in the pancreas. Beta cells are very sensitive to the amount of glucose in the bloodstream. Normally beta cells check the blood's glucose level every few seconds and sense when they need to speed up or slow down the amount of insulin they're making and releasing. When someone eats something high in carbohydrates, like a piece of bread, the glucose level in the blood rises and the beta cells trigger the pancreas to release more insulin into the bloodstream. When insulin is released from the pancreas, it travels through the bloodstream to the body's cells and tells the cell doors to open up to let the glucose in. Once inside, the cells convert glucose into energy to use right then or store it to use later. As glucose moves from the bloodstream into the cells, blood sugar levels start to drop. The beta cells in the pancreas can tell this is happening, so they slow down the amount of insulin they're making. At the same time, the pancreas slows down the amount of insulin that it's releasing into the bloodstream. When this happens, Continue reading >>
Why Can't Fat Produce Glucose?
Tousief Irshad Ahmed Sirwal Author has 77 answers and 106.2k answer views Acetyl CoA is NOT a substrate for gluconeogenesis in animals 1. Pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction is irreversible. So, acetyl CoA cannot be converted back to pyruvate. 2. 2C Acetyl CoA enters the TCA cycle by condensing with 4C oxaloacetate. 2 molecules of CO2 are released & the oxaloacetate is regenerated. There is no NET production of oxaloacetate. Animals cannot convert fat into glucose with minimal exceptions 1. Propionyl CoA derived from odd chain fatty acids are converted to Succinyl CoA Glucogenic 2. Glycerol derived from triglycerides are glucogenic. Answered Mar 26, 2017 Author has 942 answers and 259.1k answer views Yijia Xiong pointed out that the glycerol portion of triglycerides (fats) can indeed be converted to glucose. It is not so energy-inefficient that it is avoided by our bodies. If nutritionally, we are in a gluconeogenesis mode (building up glucose stores rather than consuming them), glycerol would be a perfectly acceptable precursor. However, I think the original question had more to do with the vast bulk of the triglycerides that are not glycerol, but are fatty acids. And it is true that we cant produce glucose from fatty acids. The reason is that the catabolic reactions of fatty acids break off two carbon atoms at a time as Acetyl-CoA. But our metabolic suite of pathways has no way to convert a two-carbon fragment to glucose. The end product of glycolysis is pyruvate, a three-carbon compound. Pyruvate can be back-synthesized into glucose. But the committing reaction for the Krebs cycle is the pyruvate dehydrogenase step, forming acetyl-CoA. That reaction is not reversible. Once pyruvate loses a carbon atom, it cant go back. The three main macronutrients are carbohydrates, pr Continue reading >>
The Science Behind Fat Metabolism
Per the usual disclaimer, always consult with your doctor before experimenting with your diet (seriously, go see a doctor, get data from blood tests, etc.). Please feel free to comment below if you’re aware of anything that should be updated; I’d appreciate knowing and I’ll update the content quickly. My goal here is to help a scientifically curious audience know the basic story and where to dive in for further study. If I’m successful, the pros will say “duh”, and everyone else will be better informed about how this all works. [UPDATE: based on a ton a helpful feedback and questions on the content below, I’ve written up a separate article summarizing the science behind ketogenic (low-carb) diets. Check it out. Also, the below content has been updated and is still very much applicable to fat metabolism on various kinds of diets. Thanks, everyone!] tl;dr The concentration of glucose in your blood is the critical upstream switch that places your body into a “fat-storing” or “fat-burning” state. The metabolic efficiency of either state — and the time it takes to get into one from the other — depends on a large variety of factors such as food and drink volume and composition, vitamin and mineral balances, stress, hydration, liver and pancreas function, insulin sensitivity, exercise, mental health, and sleep. Carbohydrates you eat, with the exception of indigestible forms like most fibers, eventually become glucose in your blood. Assuming your metabolism is functioning normally, if the switch is on you will store fat. If the switch is off, you will burn fat. Therefore, all things being equal, “diets” are just ways of hacking your body into a sufficiently low-glycemic state to trigger the release of a variety of hormones that, in turn, result in Continue reading >>
- This Incredible Detox Drink Helps You Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism, Fight Diabetes And Lower Blood Pressure.
- This Incredible Detox Drink Helps You Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism, Fight Diabetes And Lower Blood Pressure
- This Incredible Detox Drink Helps You Burn Fat, Lower Blood Pressur,Fight Diabetes And Boost Metabolism
Fat For Fuel: Why Dietary Fat, Not Glucose, Is The Preferred Body Fuel
Contrary to popular belief, glucose is NOT the preferred fuel of human metabolism; the fact is that burning dietary fat for fuel may actually be the key to optimal health Carbohydrate intake is the primary factor that determines your body's fat ratio, and processed grains and sugars (particularly fructose) are the primary culprits behind our skyrocketing obesity and diabetes rates According to experts, carbs should make up only 20 percent of your diet, while 50-70 percent of your diet should be healthy fats. Fat is far more satiating than carbs, so if you have cut down on carbs and feel ravenous, this is a sign that you need more healthy fat to burn for fuel By Dr. Mercola While we may consider ourselves to be at the pinnacle of human development, our modern food manufacturing processes have utterly failed at improving health and increasing longevity. During the Paleolithic period, many thousands of years ago, our ancestors ate primarily vegetables, fruit, nuts, roots and meat—and a wide variety of it. This diet was high in fats and protein, and low in grain- and sugar-derived carbohydrates. The average person's diet today, on the other hand, is the complete opposite, and the average person's health is a testament of what happens when you adhere to a faulty diet. Humans today suffer more chronic and debilitating diseases than ever before. And there can be little doubt that our food choices play a major role in this development. Quite simply, you were not designed to eat large amounts of refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, cereal, bread, potatoes and pasteurized milk products. As Mark Sisson states in the featured article:1 "If you want to live a better life and eat the best foods nature provided for health and fitness, then it's time to ditch the old paradigms an Continue reading >>
The Liver & Blood Sugar
During a meal, your liver stores sugar for later. When you’re not eating, the liver supplies sugar by turning glycogen into glucose in a process called glycogenolysis. The liver both stores and produces sugar… The liver acts as the body’s glucose (or fuel) reservoir, and helps to keep your circulating blood sugar levels and other body fuels steady and constant. The liver both stores and manufactures glucose depending upon the body’s need. The need to store or release glucose is primarily signaled by the hormones insulin and glucagon. During a meal, your liver will store sugar, or glucose, as glycogen for a later time when your body needs it. The high levels of insulin and suppressed levels of glucagon during a meal promote the storage of glucose as glycogen. The liver makes sugar when you need it…. When you’re not eating – especially overnight or between meals, the body has to make its own sugar. The liver supplies sugar or glucose by turning glycogen into glucose in a process called glycogenolysis. The liver also can manufacture necessary sugar or glucose by harvesting amino acids, waste products and fat byproducts. This process is called gluconeogenesis. When your body’s glycogen storage is running low, the body starts to conserve the sugar supplies for the organs that always require sugar. These include: the brain, red blood cells and parts of the kidney. To supplement the limited sugar supply, the liver makes alternative fuels called ketones from fats. This process is called ketogenesis. The hormone signal for ketogenesis to begin is a low level of insulin. Ketones are burned as fuel by muscle and other body organs. And the sugar is saved for the organs that need it. The terms “gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis and ketogenesis” may seem like compli Continue reading >>
