Glucose

What is glucose ?

Glucose is an important energy source that is needed by all the cells and organs of our bodies. Some examples are our muscles and our brain. Glucose or sugar comes from the food we eat. Carbohydrates such as fruit, bread pasta and cereals are common sources of glucose. These foods are broken down into sugar in our stomachs, and then absorbed into the bloodstream.

Glucose is formed by C6 H12 06. The glucose molecule is unique in that it can be shaped as a long and skinny stick or as an hexagonal ring. In most of the food you eat and inside your body, glucose is in a hexagonal shape.

where can I find the glucose?

Glucose is mostly found in food as a building block in more complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are composed of thousands of glucose units linked together in chains. Our digestive system breaks down complex carbohydrates into many molecules of glucose for use by our cells to create energy.

The majority of our carbohydrates intake should come from complex carbohydrates (starches) and naturally occurring sugars, rather than processed or refined sugars, which do not have the vitamins, minerals, and fiber found in complex and natural carbohydrates. 

how can the glucose enter into the body?

Comes from the carbohydrates in your food. Carbohydrates include sugar and starchy foods such as bread, pasta and rice. When you eat, the carbohydrates pass from your stomach into your small intestines. The carbohydrates are then broken down into glucose. Your body converts some of the glucose into a chemical called “glycogen”, which it stores in your liver and muscles. The remaining glucose will travel through the bloodstream to fuel your body’s cells and organs.

why is it a concern?

Excess glucose not used for energy production converts to triglycerides that are either stored as unwanted body fat or accumulate in the blood where they contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic plaque.

If you were filling your automobile with gasoline and the tank reached full, you would not keep pumping in more gas. Yet most people keep fueling their bodies with excess energy (glucose) with little regard to the deadly consequences.