Does the body burn fat or carbs first?

Have you ever wondered how our body actually works when we consume food? Let’s face it, pondering about such stuff is only for those who have some extra time on their hands. But hey, since you’re here already, let me tell you something interesting – our body burns fat and carbs as fuel.

Now comes the big question – which one does it burn first? Is that a heads up for another snooze fest? Trust me, it’s not! In this article (oops), we’ll explore everything there is to know about this topic in an engaging and fun way.

The Science behind Burning Fuel

Before diving into answering your query lets understand how our body utilizes energy. Our cells require glucose to generate Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). ATP is used by every living cell to power up all its operations- think of them as cellular batteries if that makes sense.

Hence whenever we eat food be it fats or carbs they are converted into glucose molecules during digestion. Now what happens next depends upon various mechanisms which your high-school biology lectures might have mentioned but probably got skipped by both-teacher and students alike (Sorry Mrs.Alexander!)

The quick conversion of glucose into ATP releases lots of energy within seconds making this method suited for tasks requiring immediate bursts of strength like running from a charging wild animal (things don’t happen nowadays) thus called anaerobic reaction whereas on the other hand slow release of energy over extended periods through Aerobic Respiration provides stamina required for long term activities like riding a bike(yeah wonder why cyclists always munch on pasta before races?)

So How Do We Store Fuel Anyway?

Most diets contain macronutrients including carbohydrates , proteins and fats which play essential roles in processing stored fuels(i.e., glycogen vs triglycerides).

Our liver stores 80 – 100 grams of glycogen and acts as a backup source for glucose whenever the levels go down. The muscles have stashed an additional 300 – 500 grams which can only be used by them. Once that glycogen is all consumed, we first begin to burn carbs from our bloodstream, and then insulin levels drop- fat burning begins!

The Body’s Natural Mechanisms

Ingesting fats provide us with high-density energy stores capable of providing sustained fuel despite low carb diets hence consuming enough lipids helps maintain healthy blood sugar. With time, it becomes easier for our body to switch between using one or the other depending on what we consume.

Breaking Down Fats vs Carbs

Here comes another relatable thing – Burning Fuel works much like pumping gas into your car’s engine (No fancy electric cars yet!). So how does this analogy help? Our bodies use two kinds of ‘fuel tanks’ (the liver & muscle) containing different types of ‘fuels,’ having their advantages and drawbacks.

When you run on almost empty according to New York City-based dietitian Sarah Lewis placing some food in these tanks should again become a priority. Your body needs somewhere between half-gramme of fat and/or carbohydrate per pound each day, she says,(That’s about 120 grams) now isn’t that cool?

When Does Fat-Burning Begin?

Remember those bullies who called themselves ketone enthusiasts who asked if living off protein bars are within keto range well they do make sense! Ketosis inhibits glycolysis ultimately inducing the liver cells to produce more ketones leading to breaking up stored triglycerides converting them into usable forms ready at hand(bringing out inner hulk eh?)

Different Types Of Diets

Various people opt for different diet plans that aim towards either gaining mass or losing it but when talking about fats versus carbohydrates particularly ketogenic diet grabs attention since it’s trendy these days not to miss those funky ketone test strips.

As per Nicole Parker owner of Rooted Garden “The body will burn carbs first because it is an easier source of fuel.” but when on a Keto (high fat) diet the liver cells switch from using glucose as the primary supply and instead focused attention on fats stored in adipose cells.

Increasing carbohydrate Intake

When starting with a low carb diet, your carbs-to-fat-burning ratio changes with time ultimately hitting your metabolism inducing you to incorporate carbohydrates back into meals as most people can’t sustain such strict diets hence results start getting bizarre unless again they think limiting their carbs for life makes them superhero .

Is Protein Somehow In The Game Too?

We often tend to forget protein even being one-third component along with Fats & Carbs holds equal significance in breaking down during digestion thus affecting muscle rebuilding efforts made by gym enthusiasts!

Breaking Down Fat vs Muscle

While discussing exercise-related diets, people focus mostly on burning calories at the expense of preserving muscles which can lead to bad stuff like accelerated aging yeah right we get it Aunt Martha absence of lack thereof adequate nutrition harms muscles more than exercise itself ever could just shutting online sites preaching workouts-by-any-means necessary #RIPArnie), So if weight loss is what you’re aiming for let’s explore some ways –

This table Summarizes everything till now:-
| Macro-nutrients | Production Pathways | Consequence |
| — | — | — |
| Glycogen | Liver & Muscle | Run out ? Burn Blood Sugar?|
| Triglycerides | Adipose Tissue | Fuel Even If Low Carb Diets?|

And another thing – It may seem surprising that our bodies use both the glycogen AND triglycerides pathways simultaneously.

Final Words !

So coming straight towards answering your question “Which does better?”

Here’s the answer in plain English – “It largely depends on where you are, what kind of activity you’re doing, and what kind of diet you follow.”

So folks! there you’ve it straight from A fun-loving AI writer (That’s me!). Keep your diets healthy and simple so as to avoid a 3 AM panic attack because body isn’t burning fat

As they say- overindulgence is often just our biology trying to survive #StayHealthy #stayhappy

(Hint? ->health tips coming next )

Random Posts