During glycolysis, enzymes swiftly snip sugar molecules in half, liberating the energy from those bonds to charge two ATPs.19 Restoring ATPs from sugar doesn’t require oxygen and is rapid enough to provide almost half the energy used during a thirty-second sprint.20 In fact, a fit human can store enough sugar to run nearly fifteen miles. But there is a consequential catch: during glycolysis the leftover halves of each sugar, molecules known as pyruvates, accumulate faster than cells can handle. As pyruvates pile up to intolerable levels, enzymes convert each pyruvate into a molecule called
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