Paediatric 12 Hour First Aid Level 3 (VTQ) - Online Blended Part 1

132 videos, 6 hours and 7 minutes

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How is Glucose Stored in the Body?

Video 106 of 132
2 min 7 sec
English
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To make sure that we constantly have enough glucose ready to be transmuted into energy, our bodies store as much of it as possible. To do this, the body changes single, small molecules of glucose into very long chains of what’s called glycogen. After eating food, our bodies digest it into its constituent molecules and the molecules are then absorbed into the bloodstream, travelling around the body to where they are needed. The exact same thing happens with glucose, it’s transported to the places in the body where it can be converted into glycogen. 

Glycogen is a highly branched molecule, which allows for not only its ability to be made back into single glucose molecules quickly, but this also makes it a lot more compact. This is very beneficial due to the fact that more of it can be stored in a smaller space. Glycogen is stored in the liver and in skeletal muscles and the conversion of glycogen to glucose occurs via the Second Messenger Model, and it is enabled by the enzyme Glucagon. The conversion of glucose into glucagon however is enabled by an enzyme called Insulin. Both of these enzymes are produced in the Pancreas and secreted by groups of cells called the Islets of Langerhans. When the body has a level of blood sugar that’s too high, more insulin is secreted, and vice versa for glucagon. Both of these instances are what are called negative feedback loops. The storage of glucose is a part of homeostasis, which is the regulation and control of substances and environments in the human body. With diabetes, we see problems with the enzyme Insulin. In simple terms, Type 1 diabetes occurs because the body doesn’t produce insulin, whereas Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body loses its sensitivity to insulin. Because there are problems relating to insulin, the levels of glucose in the blood need to be regularly monitored. This is why people with diabetes test their blood sugar frequently. A non-diabetic person should have a blood glucose level of between 4.0 to 5.4 millimoles per litre without eating, and up to 7.8 millimoles per litre up to 2 hours after eating.