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Stored Energy, Part 1: Glycogen

Glycogen is glucose molecules bound together and packaged up. When the body starts getting low on available blood sugar, glycogen is at hand, ready to get chopped up into glucose to provide the necessary fuel in the face of a looming shortage. From the liver, glycogen keeps blood sugar at a steady level, this is especially critical for the brain. Liver stores may go from 300 grams to 80 grams over night as glycogen is broken down for this purpose.

In the muscles, glycogen is at attention, ready to be converted to glucose at the snap of a finger to provide the needed energy for muscle contraction.

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Articles of Interest

Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes

The ability of athletes to train day after day depends in large part on adequate restoration of muscle glycogen stores, a process that requires the consumption of sufficient dietary carbohydrates and ample time.

Glycogen – Your Muscle’s Best Friend

Put simply: glycogen is stored glucose (sugar) – a main source of energy for your body. Your body stores single glucose molecules by branching them together to form a larger molecule that can later be broken down when energy is needed.

Sweet! How glycogen is linked to heat generation in fat cells

Unlike in muscle and liver, the role of glycogen in fat has been a mystery. The researchers discovered that glycogen does much more than simply store energy in fat cells. It provides a signal that produces a major shift in how energy is handled.

The dynamic life of the glycogen granule

Glycogen, the primary storage form of glucose, is a rapid and accessible form of energy that can be supplied to tissues on demand. Each glycogen granule, or “glycosome,” is considered an independent metabolic unit composed of a highly branched polysaccharide and various proteins involved in its metabolism.