The Liver & Blood Sugar

The liver both stores and produces sugar

The liver acts as the body’s glucose (or fuel) reservoir, and helps to keep your circulating blood sugar levels and other body fuels steady and constant. The liver both stores and manufactures glucose depending upon the body’s need. The need to store or release glucose is primarily signaled by the hormones insulin and glucagon.

During a meal, your liver will store sugar, or glucose, as glycogen for a later time when your body needs it. The high levels of insulin and suppressed levels of glucagon during a meal promote the storage of glucose as glycogen.

 

 

When your body’s glycogen storage is running low, the body starts to conserve the sugar supplies for the organs that always require sugar. These include: the brain, red blood cells and parts of the kidney. To supplement the limited sugar supply, the liver makes alternative fuels called ketones from fats. This process is called ketogenesis. The hormone signal for ketogenesis to begin is a low level of insulin. Ketones are burned as fuel by muscle and other body organs. And the sugar is saved for the organs that need it.

 

The terms “gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis and ketogenesis” may seem like complicated concepts or words on a biology test. Take a moment to review the definitions and illustrations above. When you have diabetes, these processes can be thrown off balance, and if you fully understand what is happening, you can take steps to fix the problem.

 

Gluconeogenesis? Glycogenolysis? Ketogenesis? What are they? You need to know.