Research
Energy balance
Lactate is a primary energy substrate for mitochondrial respiration and a major gluconeogenic precursor, formed under fully aerobic conditions rather than solely during oxygen deficiency.
Stop fearing lactate. It is not a waste product or the cause of fatigue; it is a primary fuel your body uses for energy during exercise and recovery. Your body continuously produces and uses lactate, even at rest, to fuel your heart, brain, and muscles.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
Mistakenly thought to be the consequence of oxygen lack in contracting skeletal muscle we now know that the L-enantiomer of the lactate anion is formed under fully aerobic conditions and is utilized continuously in diverse cells, tissues, organs and at the whole-body level. By shuttling between producer (driver) and consumer (recipient) cells lactate fulfills at least three purposes: 1] a major energy source for mitochondrial respiration; 2] the major gluconeogenic precursor; and 3] a signaling molecule.
Why this rating
Based on extensive review of human in vivo studies, isotope tracers, and arterial-venous difference measurements.
Source
Lactate as a fulcrum of metabolism
George A. Brooks · Redox Biology · 2020
DOI 10.1016/j.redox.2020.101454
narrative_reviewCited 691×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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