Why does the small intestine absorb more monosaccharides via secondary active transport than facilitated diffusion after a carbohydrate-rich meal?

💡 Explanation

A high carbohydrate meal leads to increased glucose in the intestinal lumen. The sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT1) uses the electrochemical gradient of sodium to pull glucose into the cell via secondary active transport, because this process maintains a high glucose concentration inside the enterocyte against its concentration gradient; therefore, active transport is favored rather than facilitated diffusion, which would rely solely on the concentration gradient and become saturated.

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