Caffeine, taurine, carnitine, and glucuronolactone are traditional energy drink ingredients. But what is this glucuronolactone exactly? For the Book Excerpt of the Week from the Energy Drink Guide, we look at what this weird, chemical-sounding ingredient is, and what it has to do with glucose.
For last week’s book excerpt from the Energy Drink Guide, we talked about where we get Vitamin B6 (aside from energy drinks, other sports supplements, and fortified foods like breakfast cereals). This week’s book excerpt is about what vitamin B6 does.
Vitamin B6 helps the body make protein. Ever heard of essential and non-essential amino acids? Vitamin B6 helps our bodies make those non-essential amino acids…(through a process called transamination, for you biochem nerds). B6 also helps us maintain optimal blood sugar levels.
Breaking down the stored form of glucose means we can tap into those reserves when we need them. And this isn’t just for emergencies – our bodies go through glycogenolysis all the time. If B-vitamins were all Marvel Avengers, Vitamin B6 would be another star member, like thiamin, riboflavin, and especially (my favorite) niacin.
![1496672235690[1]](https://i0.wp.com/greeneyedguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/14966722356901.jpg?w=382&h=382&crop=1&ssl=1 "1496672235690[1]")
Vitamin B6 has several more jobs that are important and not boring like other vitamins (*cough, #boringbasicbiotin ) BUT we’ll have to talk about that next week and/or you’ll have to get a copy of my book “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks – How They Work, Why They Work, How To Use Them Safely” available on Audible, Amazon, and wherever books are sold.
To learn more about riboflavin and the other B-vitamins, stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide.
Gluco–neo–genesis literally means the creation of new glucose. This process is kind of a big deal because glucose is the primary source of fuel for our bodies and there are times we have to make that fuel ourselves (as opposed to ingesting it). That process of gluconeogenesis relies on enzymes, which are like tiny machines in our bodies that do the work to keep us functioning. Those enzymes/machines rely on the vitamin BIOTIN the way a remote control relies on batteries.
In general, BIOTIN-dependent enzymes are involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins BUT BIOTIN is REALLY BASIC and BORING in the role it plays. We’ll get to that next week…
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Last week we talked about how some energy drinks have B-vitamins, but not all B-vitamins are relevant to the way the body generates energy. If the B-vitamins were the Avengers, then Thiamin would definitely be one of the strongest members. Thiamin is a crucial part of how the body turns glucose into energy.
Glucose is the most basic unit of a carbohydrate and the preferred fuel for the body. As a glucose molecule is broken down to release energy it must become a molecule/metabolite named pyruvate. Thiamin (as its coenzyme form, thiamin pyrophosphate or TPP) keeps that enzyme humming like a well-oiled machine. So without sufficient thiamin, carbohydrate metabolism screeches to a halt. Thiamin as TPP participates in the metabolism of fat, protein, and nucleic acids, but it’s carbohydrate metabolism that’s first to go haywire with a thiamin deficiency.
Stay tuned as we look at other B-vitamins in our page-by-page tour through my book on the science of energy drinks and their ingredients.