Blood Glucose

blood glucoseAll body cells need them daily energy intake in order to work properly, regulating vital functions (such as heartbeat, digestion and breathing movements), control body temperature and keep the muscles active.

This requirement is obtained by monitoring diet balanced in nutrients, which include protein, vitamins, fats and sugar, which is one of the main sources of energy. Also called glucose, and is an element belonging to the group of carbohydrates, which are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and were classified as simple and complex.

The first is characterized by sweet, digested from coming into contact with saliva and absorbed quickly into the blood, therefore, provide energy immediately. In turn, are divided into monosaccharides (eg glucose, fructose and galactose, which are major sources of honey, fruit, milk and juices) and disaccharides (eg sucrose, maltose and lactose, found in table sugar , milk, beer and jams).

The complex calls are not sweet, take longer to digest and, therefore, their passage into the bloodstream is slow; among them are the oligosaccharides (maltotriose and dextrins, contained, for example, sports energy drinks or biscuits) and polysaccharides, the latter are divided into starchy foods (starch and starch, for example, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cereals, pasta, bread and bananas) and fibrous (so called cellulose, lignin and pectin, rice, tortilla, wheat bran and oat apples and green vegetables, etc.).

Step through the body

When you eat some food passes along the digestive tract, where it starts chain of chemical transformations it nutrients and when you reach the small intestine, containing glucose into the blood. This fluid is responsible for transport to the liver (as a reserve), brain and body cells, where it is used as energy.

For this to be achieved requires insulin, a substance that serves as the key that unlocks the cell door, while brain and nerve tissue do not require the presence of this element, receiving stream directly from sugar blood.

However, once the glucose into the cells is degraded with the aid of oxygen, ie, enters a state of combustion and as a result becomes water (remove or reuse) and carbon dioxide (which breathe through lungs .) In this way energy is released in our tissues, which allows us to think, study, remember, speak, walk, run, work, breathe, have sex and to rest.

When there is deficiency of blood sugar (hypoglycemia) the body, in an effort to get it, transforms the protein-carbohydrate to prevent irreversible damage to our health, because due to the lack of the “fuel” the body can not function properly which even reaches lead to death of neurons (brain cells).

Moreover, there are people who come to have elevated levels of blood glucose (diabetes), which may be because your body does not produce insulin (type 1) or generated is insufficient or poorly assimilated (type 2).

Possibility Related Posts:

  • Hypoglycemia
    Condition characterized by causing decreased levels of blood sugar (less than 60 milligrams per deciliter of blood), which prevents cells from receivi...
  • Measurement of Blood Glucose
    The endocrinologist usually recommended for people with impaired glucose levels (hypoglycemia and diabetes) to measure these 4 to 6 times a day, it so...

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.