How Energy Is used In The Body

John Hopkins Medicine, U.S. News (2010, April 7). Retrieved from http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/living_well/weight_control/how_does_the_body_use_and_stor.htm

In order for your metabolism to convert food into energy, your body requires a certain amount of calories and when more calories are consumed they store and turn into fat. When your body digests, enzymes start to break down carbohydrates into sugars that will eventually produce glucose. It also converts proteins into amino acids, and triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol. Any extra proteins and carbohydrates that are not being used immediately for energy they quickly turned into glycogen and triglycerides. Then, the simple sugars and amino acids are quickly being absorbed from the small intestine into the bloodstream. A good source of energy comes from the liver. The liver converts other sugars, like lactose and fructose, into glucose. Amino acids are also being used as an energy source, but serve mainly used for proteins in the body. Fatty acids combine with bile salts and form tiny droplets, as they enter as cells in the intestinal wall, and then again they are formed into triglycerides. The triglycerides transport lipoproteins, which carry the triglycerides to the fat tissues for storage. When you diet the body uses the fat stored in these cells as a source of energy. Once fat cells are formed they can shrink, but will never be eliminated.