A 45-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes presents to her physician with fatigue and unexplained weight loss. Laboratory tests show elevated blood glucose levels and increased ketone bodies in her urine. Her physician explains that due to insufficient insulin signaling, her body is relying on fatty acid oxidation and gluconeogenesis for energy, leading to ketone production. Which of the following best explains why metabolic pathways, such as gluconeogenesis and fatty acid oxidation, continue to proceed in a unidirectional manner despite reversible reactions?
