Lactate is a metabolic product of the so-called anaerobic lactacid glucose metabolism. This metabolic pathway enables the energy supply from glucose without oxygen (? anaerobic).
In addition to the energy carrier ATP (=adenosine triphosphate), lactate, a salt of lactic acid, is also produced. At rest, the lactate reference range is between 0.9 and 2.0 mmol/l. This value can vary slightly from person to person, so 1.8 mmol/l is chosen as a rough guide value.
The lactate / lactate thresholds are usually measured in the capillary blood of the earlobes. Lactate is thus produced, among other things, when the body needs energy quickly. The anaerobic glucose metabolism can provide energy for 20-40 seconds at near peak performance.
In general, the human organism produces about 1.3 mmol/l lactate per hour. This is produced in addition to the skeletal muscle in the brain, skin, intestine, kidney and blood cells. As long as the build-up and breakdown of lactate are in equilibrium, we speak of a so-called “steady-state”.
Incidentally, 60% of the cells of the heart muscle use lactate. However, if the body produces more and more lactate due to intense physical exertion without the organism being able to cope with the breakdown, the so-called lactate threshold is approached. This lactate threshold is approximately 4mmol/l and has the synonyms “anaerobic threshold” or “anaerobic-aerobic threshold”.
As long as this threshold is not yet reached, an increase in performance is possible. However, if the 4 mmol/l are exceeded, the lactate level rises abruptly and the load can no longer be sustained for long, but only for a few minutes, due to overacidification of the muscles. Therefore, an exercise below the lactate threshold is optimal and desirable.
Meaning
The lactate value is of great importance both in medicine and in sports. In medicine, a high lactate value indicates a lack of oxygen in the organism, i.e. it is a so-called ischemia marker that indicates a lack of blood circulation. The pH-value decreases more and more and there is a risk of acidosis (hyperacidity). In the field of sports, lactate value determination has become indispensable for performance diagnostics and control. Lactate value is usually measured in peripheral blood, mostly in the capillary blood of the earlobe.
