Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and assimilated into the body.
Glucose-6-phosphate can then progress through glycolysis. [1] Glycolysis only requires the input of one molecule of ATP when the glucose originates in glycogen. [1] Alternatively, glucose-6-phosphate can be converted back into glucose in the liver and the kidneys, allowing it to raise blood glucose levels if necessary. [2]
The cells release the glucose into the bloodstream, increasing blood sugar levels. Hypoglycemia, the state of having low blood sugar, is treated by restoring the blood glucose level to normal by the ingestion or administration of dextrose or carbohydrate foods. It is often self-diagnosed and self-medicated orally by the ingestion of balanced meals.
Sugar can be a part of a healthy, balanced diet—after all, our brain's primary source of fuel is glucose (aka sugar). The health issues arise only when you eat more sugar than you need.
The brain also uses glucose during starvation, but most of the body's glucose is allocated to the skeletal muscles and red blood cells. The cost of the brain using too much glucose is muscle loss. If the brain and muscles relied entirely on glucose, the body would lose 50% of its nitrogen content in 8–10 days.
A rise in the blood glucose concentration causes them to release insulin into the blood, which has an effect particularly on the liver, but also on fat and muscle cells, causing these tissues to remove glucose from the blood. When the blood sugar falls the pancreatic beta cells cease insulin production, but, instead, stimulate the neighboring ...
Water and minerals are reabsorbed back into the blood in the colon (large intestine) where the pH is slightly acidic (about 5.6 ~ 6.9). Some vitamins, such as biotin and vitamin K (K 2 MK7) produced by bacteria in the colon are also absorbed into the blood in the colon. Absorption of water, simple sugar and alcohol also takes place in stomach.
Then the newly broken down nutrients can be absorbed by the cells nearby. Humans use extracellular digestion when they eat. Their teeth grind the food up, enzymes and acid in the stomach liquefy it, and additional enzymes in the small intestine break the food down into parts their cells can use.