Energy Storage and Nutrient Interconversion

Vocabulary terms covering biological energy storage forms, macronutrient metabolism, and the role of the liver in nutrient interconversion.

Glycogen

The storage form of glucose in animals, categorized as a polysaccharide consisting of many glucose molecules bonded together.

Triglycerides

A type of fat stored in adipose tissue that represents the majority of energy storage in the body due to a greater storage ability and more potential $kcal$ per gram compared to glycogen.

Liver Glycogen

Approximately $1/3$ of the body's glycogen, which can be broken down into glucose and released into the bloodstream for cells and tissues throughout the body.

Skeletal Muscle Glycogen

Glycogen used as fuel specifically by the muscles where it is stored; it is not released into the bloodstream for the rest of the body.

Energy yielding macronutrients

Sources of calories including carbohydrate, protein, and fat that can all yield energy in the form of ATP.

Fat storage (mechanism)

The process where any excess calories, regardless of whether they come from carbohydrate, protein, or fat, are stored as fat when consumption exceeds expenditure.

Excess amino acids

The result of consuming more protein than needed for building body structures; these are either burned as fuel or stored as fat.

Liver (in metabolism)

The organ responsible for metabolism, storage, and nutrient interconversion, allowing one form of nutrient to be converted into another.