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Ball-and-stick model of a glucose molecule. Blood sugar regulation is the process by which the levels of blood sugar, the common name for glucose dissolved in blood plasma, are maintained by the body within a narrow range. The regulation of glucose levels through Homeostasis. This tight regulation is referred to as glucose homeostasis.
The fluctuation of blood sugar (red) and the sugar-lowering hormone insulin (blue) in humans during the course of a day with three meals. One of the effects of a sugar-rich vs a starch-rich meal is highlighted. [1] The blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, blood glucose level, or glycemia is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood.
Glucose (blood sugar) is distributed to cells in the tissues, where it is broken down via cellular respiration, or stored as glycogen. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] In cellular (aerobic) respiration, glucose and oxygen are metabolized to release energy, with carbon dioxide and water as endproducts.
Frequent hunger without other symptoms can also indicate that blood sugar levels are too low. This may occur when people who have diabetes take too much oral hypoglycemic medication or insulin for the amount of food they eat. The resulting drop in blood sugar level to below the normal range prompts a hunger response. [citation needed]
Cellular uptake of glucose occurs in response to insulin signals, and glucose is subsequently broken down through glycolysis, lowering blood sugar levels. However, insulin resistance or low insulin levels seen in diabetes result in hyperglycemia, where glucose levels in the blood rise and glucose is not properly taken up by cells.
“Sugar — and particularly processed sugar — is the most available form of glucose we get from food,” says Ian Brathwaite, a London-based emergency medicine doctor and founder of Habitual ...
Glucose-6-phosphate can be used in other metabolic pathways or dephosphorylated to free glucose. Whereas free glucose can easily diffuse in and out of the cell, the phosphorylated form (glucose-6-phosphate) is locked in the cell, a mechanism by which intracellular glucose levels are controlled by cells.
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