Glucose and Energy

How would you explain the connection between glucose entering the body and energy created by the body to a friend, using your new biochemistry knowledge? The foods that we eat are mixed with acid and enzymes on the way from our mouth into the stomach and finally the intestines, where the majority of the breakdown takes place. By 'breakdown', what I am referencing is the process by which the energy you ingest in the form of whatever food it is that you eat is subjected to these acids and enzymes which break the food up into molecules of sugars, called glucose. This glucose is absorbed by the stomach and small intestines and then released into the bloodstream, where it can be utilized as an immediate source of energy, or it can be stored back in our bodies to be used at a later time. The hormone insulin plays a key role in regulating the amount of glucose in the bloodstream at any given time. Insulin that is released from the pancreas travels through the bloodstream to the body's cell and orders that the glucose be let inside. Inside the cell, the cellular respiration set of metabolic reactions takes place and the glucose can either be utilized or stored. For example, if a large meal is eaten, and the body doesn't need that much glucose right away, insulin will act to help the body store the glucose so that it can be converted into energy later. The method by which insulin helps to store glucose involves larger packages of glucose, called glycogen. These glycogen packages are stored in both the liver and the muscles. One more important note about insulin is that in addition to helping us store the glucose from the meal, it can also help store the fat and the protein too. As discussed in class, although glucose is the preferred energy source, the body will also resort to fat stores and even protein if it is in a state where it requires the extra energy.