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.
The liver makes sugar when you need it…. When you’re not eating – especially overnight or between meals, the body has to make its own sugar. The liver supplies sugar or glucose by turning glycogen into glucose in a process called glycogenolysis. The liver also can manufacture necessary sugar or glucose by harvesting amino acids, waste products and fat byproducts. This process is called gluconeogenesis.
From what I have gathered, the interesting thing about the liver is that it cannot do all things at the same time...it seems to have a preferred sequence.
1. process alcohol
2. store carbs as glycogen and fats
3. release glycogen when glucose/insulin is low
So if we keep it overly busy with carbs and alcohol...we get fatty liver.
From what I have gathered, the interesting thing about the liver is that it cannot do all things at the same time...it seems to have a preferred sequence.
1. process alcohol
2. store carbs as glycogen and fats
3. release glycogen when glucose/insulin is low
So if we keep it overly busy with carbs and alcohol...we get fatty liver.