Normal Glucose Metabolism in the Body

The body in a way is like a machine. As all machine need fuel in order to function, our body also needs fuel. So, what is the fuel to the body? There are several energy sources to the body. They are,

• Glucose
• Fat
• Proteins

Among these energy sources, glucose plays a major role, since it is the only energy source for red blood cells, and an essential energy source for the brain. In diabetes glucose metabolism is affected mainly.

We gain these fuels from our food. Once absorbed from the gut, first these molecules are transported to the liver, which is one of the major metabolic organs in our body. In the liver some are metabolized and some are converted to other storage forms.

As we are mainly considering about glucose, we’ll see what happens to glucose. Once absorbed from the gut, glucose is taken to the liver. In the liver, most of these molecules are metabolized. It means that it is burned mainly through glycolysis. This is one place where insulin comes in to action.

Some are converted to the storage form, glycogen. The rest is released again in to the circulation, by which glucose is transported though out the body. The glucose concentration in the blood should be kept with in an optimal range, unless it will lead to many problems.

 Then glucose is taken up into almost all of the cells in the body. Skeleton muscle cells and adipose tissue cells (fat cells) are two of such important cells, which play major roles in regulating the blood glucose levels. The uptake of glucose into these cells is also tightly regulated by insulin.

In this way, glucose concentration in the body is tightly regulated by insulin. Any derangement in insulin production or its action gives rise to diabetes.

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