First i’m new so sorry if this was answered before, in a quick forum search i couldn’t find it.
I try to understand the process better regarding cell fuels; carbs/sugar vs fat.
Most I read is that these are 2 different process, the non keto way so where sugar or carbs is converted to sugar, is used to feed the cells and on the other hand the keto way were fat is used to feed the cells.
But if you dig a little deeper, I read that fat is converted to glycerol and fatty acids, after which the liver converts the glycerol to glucose.
Does this mean that in the end what enters the cell is sugar (glucose) anyway?
And if that is the case, than how does eating fat help against cancer cells?
So bottom line.
Is there a site/link were this is explained in a way a no MD can understand it ?
“… One expert explained glutathione as “the place where sulfur and selenium meet up to protect us from cancer.” In addition, there are simply so many vital immune support functions that glutathione plays a part in that the immune system itself simply would not be able to function properly without it. …” …More
Okay, we can and do convert fat to glucose. Protein (most of the amino acids) can be broken down and made into glucose, and fat - stored mostly as triglycerides in the body - can be broken down into glycerol and fatty acids, and the glycerol can be made into glucose - this is what gluconeogenesis is.
Fat is not a great source of glucose for us - triglycerides are one puny little glycerol molecule and three comparatively large fatty acids. The fatty acids get oxidized into acetyl-CoA, and then a couple things happen - some of it goes into the Citric acid cycle (also known as the Krebs cycle or TCA cycle) where it’s further oxidized to produce energy at the cellular level - and some of it gets converted into ketones.
We do not need much glucose, though - most of the body runs fine on ketones. So we’re fine with what glucose we’re producing from fat.
PaulL
(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?)
#5
Firstly, yes, glycolysis (sugar-burning) and lipolysis (fat-burning) are distinct processes. Although the mitochondria can metabolize glucose, cells without mitchondria—such as our red blood cells—can also metabolize glucose. Lipolysis, however, can only take place in a mitochondrion.
Table sugar, sucrose, is composed of a molecule of glucose linked to a molecule of fructose. These are metabolized separately, the glucose in any cell of the body that grabs hold of it, but the fructose only in the liver. Too much fructose gets converted into fat (de novo lipogenesis) by the liver and sent to the fat cells for storage. All other carbohydrates are very little more than chains of glucose molecules.
The glucose not consumed by other cells gets sent to the fat cells and converted into triglycerides for storage. The liver can, if necessary, turn protein or fat into sugar, sugar and protein into fat. It can’t make protein, because that requires nitrogen, which only comes in the form of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The other organs take the amino acids from our food and turn them as needed into muscle and organ tissue.
The reason that a ketogenic diet can help fight some cancers is not because of the fat, but because of the low amount of glucose in the blood, which results from not eating much carbohydrate. But be aware that some cancers thrive on ketone bodies, so a ketogenic diet is not going to be helpful against them.
?