[Cell-biology] metabolism of fatty acids

aegis via cellbiol%40net.bio.net (by aegis At mad.scientist.com)
Thu Nov 2 17:03:59 EST 2006

When the body runs low on glycogen stores it
diverts to an energy supplying pathway of
breaking down triglycerides. A by product
of tapping your fat stores for energy is
ketones in the blood. Does the body incorporate
some natural mechanisms that handle ketones?
If so, what are they? Otherwise, if it didn't, then
there could possibly be risks in burning fat.

Also, the steps to burn fat, from my understanding,
are that first the body uses up the available glucose
in the body, then taps into the glycogen stores, and
then once those are used up, uses triglycerides. What
is stored in adipose cells. Now my question. I've
read that when we work out a specific body region,
fat from that region is not necessarily used for energy.
This means 'spot reduction' in exercise, is false
(e.g., work your abs to burn fat around the midsection).
However, I'm curious as to how cells communicate to
utilize the fat stored in adipose cells. Is selective gene
expression at work here? or something else?


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