Excessive glucose reduces mitochondrial efficiency

The average American eats about 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day—more than three times the recommended amount for women and more than twice the recommended amount for men
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Although this overconsumption is thought to cause type 2 diabetes and other diseases, the exact way in which excessive sugar intake at the cellular level leads to metabolic diseases is still unclear
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Now, a research team led by scientists from the Van Andel Institute has discovered that excess sugar may cause our cellular power plants (called mitochondria) to decrease in efficiency, thereby reducing energy output
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The results of the study published today in "Cell Reports" emphasize the effect of excessive sugar intake on cells and provide an important new model for studying the initial metabolic events that may lead to the development of diabetes
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"The human body needs sugar or glucose to survive, but as the saying goes:'All good things must be in moderation,'" said Dr.
WU Ning, an assistant professor at the Van Andel Institute and corresponding author of the study
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Wu and her colleagues used their new model to prove that excess glucose reduces the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the mitochondrial membrane and reduces the efficiency of the mitochondria
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In contrast, excess glucose is synthesized into a different form of fatty acid, which is not as effective or flexible as polyunsaturated fatty acids
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Wu and her colleagues were able to reverse this harmful effect by feeding their mouse model a low-sugar ketogenic diet, which showed that lowering glucose and restoring normal membrane lipid components support healthy mitochondrial integrity and function
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"Although we may not notice the difference in mitochondrial performance right away, our body will notice," Wu explained, if lipid balance is lost long enough, we may start to feel subtle changes, such as faster Fatigue
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