What is Glucose? THE glucose is a chemical molecule belonging to the group of carbohydrates, is a simple carbohydrate. Glucose is the basic unit used as fuel by a complex cellular enzyme system that degrades that molecule to obtain energy for all the functions of the Human Body. Glucose also participates as a precursor to other important substances.
In addition to glucose there are other simple carbohydrates such as fructose and the galactose, all have small differences in their molecules, but for the purposes of clarifying diabetes, these small differences are not very important and we assume that they are all the same, I will only mention glucose without going into very specific details of the biochemistry , since this is not our current interest. Later, when we will discuss the issue of diets for diabetics these small differences will be of some importance.
Glucose is produced by plants through a process called photosynthesis, where glucose molecules are formed through the union of molecules of water and carbon dioxide with the aid of solar energy and release of oxygen. THE glucose (sucrose and starch, among other carbohydrates that accumulate in fruits, seeds, stems, leaves and roots, each plant has its own particular form of reserve) and for the formation and growth of the plant itself. plant (all its parts are made from the union of the glucose molecules forming the cellulose that gives structures the plants).
We humans directly or indirectly feed on the reserves created by plants and use glucose as a means of obtaining energy. All the carbohydrates (or also called sugars) simple or complex, the fats and even the proteins, they are all transformed into our organism in its simplest possible form that looks like the maximum with the glucose molecule so that cells can take advantage of all these substances in the process of cellular respiration to obtain the energy necessary for all functions responsible for maintenance of life. Each gram of glucose provides four calories.
