Low Carb and Intermittent Fasting
The overall theory in this video is accurate. But the terminology is not exactly correct. The liver processes carbs and stores in itself what it can as glycogen. The liver is the only agent that can convert fructose (a type of carb) and store it as glycogen. The mitochondria of the muscle cells process carbs and store what they can in the muscle cells as glycogen. They cannot process fructose. It’s the mitochondria that process fat and convert it into fuel for the muscle to burn when doing things.
Glycogen stores in the liver get depleted as the glucose level in the blood stream goes down. It’s the glycogen stores in the liver that are used to keep the glucose levels in the blood at an ideal level for brain consumption. Only when the glucose levels in the blood drop below a certain level does the liver start to produce ketones (a glucose substitute) so the brain can be fed.
The glycogen stored in the muscle cells only gets used when you perform higher intensity exercise that cannot use fat as a fuel when being performed. If you don’t strain yourself physically during the day while intermittent fasting, then you probably will not used much of your glycogen stored in the muscles. You will burn stored body fat instead. Fat is the default type of fuel the muscles will burn in order to function. When insulin is present in the bloodstream it is a signal to the mitochondria that there is too much glucose in the blood and the glucose (carb) must be processed instead of fat so the glucose level in the blood can be reduced.
