What Happens When We Take In More Glucose Than Our Body Needs?
Cells Have a Limited Glucose Capacity
Cells have a stringent capacity threshold and will not respond to insulin if they don’t require any fuel at that time. Cells are not equipped to hold extra glucose for later use.
Your body does, however, have two glucose storage capabilities. Your muscles and your liver are able, to some degree, store glucose.
Your Muscles & Liver Can Store Some Of The Glucose
If there is space available, your muscles and liver will take in some glucose, blood sugar, and convert the glucose to its storage form, glycogen. This is your body’s immediate fuel reserve insurance policy.
The liver preferentially supports your brain’s high energy needs. And your muscles’ glucose stores are primarily reserved for emergency-like, high energy demanding actions.
Let’s return to the initial post-meal blood sugar surge. You know where the glucose goes. But you also know that both the cells and the muscle/liver storage capacities are limited. What happens when we take in more fuel aka blood sugar, than our body requires?
Where Does The Extra Blood Sugar Go?
It goes into adipose tissue where it converts to stored fuel…fat.
We can say, “Carbohydrate is waist weight.”
Carbohydrate IS blood sugar. Blood sugar is fuel. Fuel either gets used or stored.
Protein and fat have other functions within us.
But sugar, or the glucose that was carbohydrate, is only fuel. We either use it or store it.
And here’s the kicker.
Insulin Intelligence
The amount of insulin your body releases is in direct proportion to the amount of sugar you just put into your bloodstream.
Without your even thinking about it, insulin matches your carbohydrate intake. This correlation is what I call insulin intelligence.
Your body matches the amount of added sugar to your blood with the exact appropriate amount of insulin required to move it out of your blood and into your body.
This all sounds quite reasonable and nothing to be so alarmed about.
However, what is alarming is how the rest of your myriad of body functions react to the presence of insulin.
For the purpose of weight loss, we’ll look at just one ill-effect of the presence of elevated insulin.
