Glucose it is a monosaccharide (simple sugar) used by the body as main source of energy for the body. Glucose is sugar found in the blood and obtained through food, where it exists in the form of more complex molecules.
Glucose is present in sweet foods (fruits, soda, cake, pudding) in starches (potatoes, cassava, flour, rice, corn) and also in carbohydrates (bread, cake, cereals, pasta).
While the glucose found in sweet foods takes a few seconds to be metabolized, molecules in other foods can take up to an hour to be "broken down".
Ingested food is transformed into smaller particles during digestion and transformed into nutrients, including glucose.
The human body uses only the necessary amount of glucose. The excess part is stored in the liver and transformed into glycogen. Excess glycogen is sent into the bloodstream.
The blood glucose level is controlled by the pancreas. Insulin produced by the pancreas has the function of transforming glucose into energy. The high level of glucose remaining in the blood (hyperglycemia) can be indicative of diabetes.
Excess blood glucose can also be turned into triglycerides and stored as fat, resulting in obesity, cardiovascular disease, etc.
The level of glucose present in the blood (blood glucose) is measured by testing blood collected after fasting. Normal values for an adult should be between 70 to 99 mg/dl.
