What is insulin and how does it help people with diabetes?
Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at
4:44 pm
Basically as simply as possible, what is it, and how does it help people with diabetes?
Filed under: Diseases And Conditions
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Insulin is basically a hormone that is produced in the pancreas in specialised cells that allow your body to use the glucose in the cells of the body for energy. Without insulin the amount of glucose in the blood stream will rise but the cells will be unable to use it and if it stays high for long enough or goes to high it will lead to death. Insulin lets the glucose enter the cells where it is used for energy. Insulin is destroyed by the gastric acids so it has to injected several times a day
Think of insulin as a key that unlocks a door so the insulin can get into the cells. It does not matter if the meal you eat is not sweet your body will digest and break it down into glucose
Insulin is a chemical in the body that counters sugar (from what you eat / drink) to keep your blood sugar at a moderate level. People with diabetes do not make (or make very little) insulin, therefore, they must get it from another source (either taken from an animal or chemically synthesized).
Too high or too low of blood sugar is bad and can be lethal. This is why insulin is VERY important.
You are here: Health & General Section ยป What Is Insulin?
Welcome to http://www.free-online-health.com
What Is Insulin And What Does It Do?
Insulin is a hormone and is found in even single-celled organisms and has been around for several billion years. Insulin is also a protein just like many other hormones. The pancreas has a group of cells called islet cells. It is the islet cells that secrete insulin.
The pancreas is an organ that sits behind the stomach and has many functions in addition to insulin production. The pancreas also produces digestive enzymes and other hormones.
When you eat, the food is digested and then broken down into glucose. Glucose is the simple sugar that is the body’s main source of energy, otherwise known as blood sugar. Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and are absorbed from the intestines into the bloodstream after you eat.
The pancreas then secretes insulin in response to the increase in blood sugar. Most cells of the body have insulin receptors which bind the insulin to the cell. When a cell has insulin attached to it, the cell then is able to activate the other receptors. These receptors are designed to absorb glucose from the blood stream and move the glucose into the inside of the cell for energy.
Without insulin, the cells in our bodies would not be able to process the glucose and therefore have no energy for movement, growth, repair, or other functions. Insulin is key to unlocking the door of the cell to allow the glucose to be transferred from the bloodstream into the cell.
Ordinarily, when glucose enters our blood, the pancreas automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move glucose into our cells.
There are two types of insulin errors that the pancreas makes. The first is type 1 diabetes which produce no insulin. The second is type 2 diabetes. The pancreas in people with type 2 diabetes does not always produce enough insulin.
With the type 1 insulin deficiency, you can eat lots of food but your body can be actually in a state of starvation. This happens because without insulin our cells can not be easily opened in order to be able to extract the energy contained in the glucose that came from the food that was eaten.
This is why Type 1 diabetics who do not make insulin can become very ill without insulin shots. If the body’s cells do not get fed, they become sick. Insulin is a necessary hormone for survival. Those who develop a deficiency of insulin must have it get into the body somehow. With type one diabetes, insulin can be added into the body through shots or pumps.
Type 2 diabetes is more common. According to the World Health Organization, over 90% of diabetic cases worldwide are type 2.Type 2 people will develop what is known as insulin resistance. This is not a true insulin deficiency. When this happens the levels of insulin in the blood are similar or even a little higher than in normal, non-diabetic bodies. The body’s cells become resistant to the insulin almost like type 1 diabetes, but what happens is that because the body is resistant to insulin the body over secretes insulin in order to try to feed its cells. It can become an ever increasing cycle that can escalate out of control.
The main problem with Type 2 diabetes is that the cells respond sluggishly to the insulin and that means the cells cannot absorb the glucose molecules well. This makes blood sugar levels run higher than they should be. When the body can no longer get the energy from the glucose into the cells, the body stores the extra energy in fat cells. This is why diabetics tend to gain weight easily and find it difficult to lose it. Most of the time this condition will correct itself, but sometimes type 2 diabetics will have to have an insulin shot.
Insulin is a hormone made in your pancreas (an organ under your stomach,) and sent through the bloodstream all over the body to help glucose (sugar) in the blood get into the cells in your muscles and liver so they can be used.
In type 1 diabetics, the pancreas does not function properly due to autoimmune disease or injury, and doesn’t make any insulin. The type-1 diabetic person has to be very carefully managed on insulin to stay alive.
In type 2 diabetes, the person has genetic and lifestyle (diet and exercise) problems that lead to too much sugar being in the blood. The pancreas puts out insulin, but when there is too much blood glucose, the cells in the muscles and liver can become insulin resistant, not allowing the insulin to get the glucose into the cells. (This is insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition.)
The pancreas puts out more & more insulin, which works for a while. The person will still have some health issues, because too much insulin in the blood stream isn’t good, either. He or she may have problems with hypoglycemia, (low blood sugar,) and other problems.
If the person doesn’t change health habits and/or get medication, eventually the pancreas cannot put out enough insulin, and becomes diabetic. Lots of sugar circulates in the blood, which is very bad for the person’s organs. The body tries to fix itself by getting rid of sugar through the urine, which causes a lots of trips to the bathroom and dehydration.
The type-2 diabetic person can have his natural insulin supplemented with injectable insulin, but will also need to take his doctor’s advice about diet and exercise for the best outcome.
Diabetes:
Symptoms:
-Increased frequency of urination
-Unusually high desire for fluids
-Weight loss
-Blurred vision
-Weakness and fatigue
-Skin infections
-Complications that may include vascular disease and nerve damage
Insulin which is produced by the pancreas facilitates the absorption of glucose into muscles for food. Glucose provides power to the body,but id kept under control by insulin. When the body acts normally, insulin bonds to the surface of cells,as glucose travels throughout the body,glucose is able to penetrate the cell and and be used effectively. Insulin determines how much glucose is produced by the liver and between meals. It does this by countering another hormone, glucagon, also produced by the pancreas. Glucagon sends a message to the liver to convert glycogen to glucose.
Type1 diabetes is less prevalent and occurs when there’s a complete failure of the pancreas to produce insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is when there’s a partial failure from the pancreas to produce insulin.
And no I didn’t copy this from a website or book-I’m studying to be a doctor.