Bogor – Carbohydrates are a source of energy for the human body, but if consumed in excess, it is considered to increase the risk of developing diabetes. Rice is an example of carbohydrates.
Lecturer of the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, IPB University, Dr. Mega Safithri said, the mechanism of metabolism in the human body will depend on the activities carried out, so that the level of carbohydrate consumption will also affect the type of metabolic activity in the body.
Mega explained that the difference in carbohydrate metabolism occurs due to the response to blood glucose levels. “If blood glucose levels increase, it will stimulate glycolysis metabolism, glycogenesis or the pentose phosphate pathway. Excess sugar levels in the blood will also be partially stored as fat,” he said in a written statement, Saturday.
According to him, although a person rarely consumes fried foods that contain fat, consuming foods with a high glycemic index, they will still add fat to the body, because lipogenesis occurs due to increased production of Acetyl Co-A.
“Meanwhile, if the level of glucose in the blood decreases, it will trigger the metabolism of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis,” he said.
Mega also explained that most of the glucose metabolism process is in the liver. Sugar produced from digestion will lead to the liver and then converted into glucose 6-phosphate which is an important intermediate in carbohydrate metabolism.
“This glucose can be polymerized to glycogen, dephosphorylated to blood glucose, or converted to fatty acids via acetyl Co-A, as well as through the citric acid cycle and the respiratory chain to produce energy,” he said.
This doctoral graduate from IPB University said that neurons in the brain only use glucose and beta hydroxybutyrate as energy sources.
Beta hydroxybutyrate, he said, is important during fasting or starvation. For this reason, people with chronic diabetes, if their blood sugar is not controlled, will be a stroke due to bleeding in the brain.
“Cells experience shrinkage because there is quite a lot of blood glucose outside the cell, it will become a hypertonic condition for the cells so that eventually cell shrinkage will occur,” said the researcher at the Center for Biopharmaceutical Studies, Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) IPB University.
According to him, the minimum blood glucose limit is 40 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood. If less than the minimum limit will occur severe hypoglycemia.
“In some diabetics who are given excess insulin, they can experience hypoglycemia due to their sugar levels dropping drastically,” he said.
Fullness and hunger also affect metabolism. The eating-fasting cycle has three stages, post-meal, post-absorption and re-eating at breakfast. This feeding-fasting cycle is important for maintaining glucose homeostasis.
“Actually, to control glucose levels in the blood, it must be maintained by eating foods with a good glycemic index. This glycemic index is a value that shows the ability of a food containing carbohydrates to increase blood glucose levels.
The high and low glycemic index factors include the processing, particle size, and levels of anti-nutrients in the food. For diabetics, the type of food that is recommended for consumption in order to maintain blood sugar levels is resistant starch. (ant/ari)
