Physiology: Action and Function

Insulin and Digestion

After food is ingested, molecules of carbohydrate are digested and absorbed as glucose. The resulting increase in blood glucose concentrations is followed by a 5- to 10-fold increase in serum insulin concentrations, which stimulates glucose uptake by liver, adipose, and muscle tissues and inhibits glucose release from liver tissue. Fatty acids and amino acids derived from the digestion of fat and protein are also taken up by and stored in the liver and peripheral tissues, especially adipose tissue. Insulin also inhibits lipolysis (the breakdown of fat), preventing the mobilization of fat. Thus, during the “fed,” or anabolic, state, ingested nutrients that are not immediately utilized are stored, a process largely dependent on the food-associated increase in insulin secretion.

Fasting

A few hours after a meal, when intestinal absorption of nutrients is complete and blood glucose concentrations have decreased toward pre-meal values, insulin secretion decreases, and glucose production by the liver resumes in order to sustain the needs of the brain. Similarly, lipolysis increases, providing fatty acids that can be used as fuel by muscle tissue and glycerol that can be converted into glucose in the liver. As the period of fasting lengthens (e.g., 12 to 14 hours), blood glucose concentrations and insulin secretion continue to decrease, and glucagon secretion increases. The increase in glucagon secretion and concomitant decrease in insulin secretion stimulate the breakdown of glycogen to form glucose (glycogenolysis) and the production of glucose from amino acids and glycerol (gluconeogenesis) in the liver. After liver glycogen is depleted, blood glucose concentrations are maintained by gluconeogenesis. Thus, the fasting, or catabolic, state is characterized by decreased insulin secretion, increased glucagon secretion, and nutrient mobilization from stores in the liver, muscle, and adipose tissue.

With further fasting, the rate of lipolysis continues to increase for several days and then plateaus. A large proportion of the fatty acids released from adipose tissue is converted to keto acids (beta-hydroxybutyric acid and acetoacetic acid, also known as ketone bodies) in the liver, a process that is stimulated by glucagon. These keto acids are small molecules that contain two carbon atoms. The brain, which generally utilizes glucose for energy, begins to use keto acids in addition to glucose. Eventually, more than half of the brain’s daily metabolic energy needs are met by the keto acids, substantially diminishing the need for glucose production by the liver and the need for gluconeogenesis in general. This reduces the need for amino acids produced by muscle breakdown, thus sparing muscle tissue. Starvation is characterized by low serum insulin concentrations, high serum glucagon concentrations, and high serum free fatty acid and keto acid concentrations.

In summary, in the fed state, insulin stimulates the transport of glucose into tissues (to be consumed as fuel or stored as glycogen), the transport of amino acids into tissues (to build or replace protein), and the transport of fatty acids into tissues (to provide a depot of fat for future energy needs). In the fasting state, insulin secretion decreases and glucagon secretion increases. Liver glycogen stores, followed later by protein and fat stores, are mobilized to produce glucose. Ultimately, most nutrient needs are provided by fatty acids mobilized from fat stores.

(From Encyclopaedia Britannica)