Insulin In The Pancreas

Type II Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is also called non-insulin-dependent diabetes or aadult onset diabetes. It is a medical disorder that, due to a number of factors codependent with the modern world, is characterized by higher than normal blood glucose levels that play havoc with insulin deficiency and resistance. Insulin resistance means that cells do not respond appropriately when there is free insulin in the blood system. Essentially, they body is reacting to an improper balance of sugars and insulin. Because obesity is often present, research suggests that even thought the mechanisms controling glucose and insulin are unclear, the adopose tissue likely

Glucose is the main source of energy in cells. It is soluble in water meaning it would increase the concentration of a cell contents and draw water in by osmosis. It is therefore converted into a storage product, starch, which;

Diabetes, Diabetes Mellitus, is a chronic illness this means that it has no cure and the symptoms persist over a long period of time. This illness is a result of an imbalance of hormones, insulin, produced in the pancreas. Insulin plays an important role in how the body uses food. Insulin enables the cells in the bloodstream to absorb and use glucose for fuel. If the pancreas produces too little or no insulin or if the insulin doesn’t work properly the person may become diabetic. Therefore, diabetics are not able to properly convert food into fuels needed by the body to function, which can seriously lead to physical consequences.

Cells get their energy from two main sources; this can be through the breakdown of glucose and the breakdown of triglycerides. Glucose molecules contain energy, the brain and red blood cells are high in glucose molecules.

Insulin resistance is the first physiological change occurring in type two diabetes. In these type two diabetic patients, insulin is unable to move glucose into liver, kidney and muscle cells although insulin is able to attach properly to the cell surface receptors. In order to rectify this, most patients with type two diabetes start secreting normal to very high levels of insulin, which can initially overcome this resistance. After a while, the pancreas cannot keep up with this high insulin production and the cells become resistant to glucose intake. Persistent hyperglycemia or high blood glucose levels are not desirable since this causes damage to the beta cells of the pancreas that produces the insulin hormone. This damage to beta cells further hampers insulin synthesis and patients at this stage are categorized as full-blown diabetic. Such patients consistently show a hyperglycemia state even after hours of fasting ( Hinkle & Cheever,

Type 2 diabetes results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors (Diabetesaustralia.com.au, (2013). Although diabetes may run in the family, the risk is greatly increased when associated with lifestyle factors such as not enough physical activity, unhealthy diet, high blood pressure, over weight and obesity and extra body weight that is carried around the waste (Diabetesaustralia.com.au, 2013). All these cause the body to be unable to make enough insulin. If beta cells don’t produce enough insulin, or the body doesn’t respond to the insulin that is present, glucose builds up in the blood instead of being absorbed by cells in the body, leading to diabetes (Shuldiner, 2014).

It is no secret that Diabetes type II is rapidly becoming a public health problem that is attacking epidemic proportions worldwide. In fact, according to an online article by the Washington post titled, “CDC Says Diabetes Numbers Increasing,” Author Stein, Rob claims that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that as of the year 2012, approximately 26 million Americans were clinically diagnosed with type II diabetes. Not to be confused type I diabetes however. Type I diabetes is where the body is typically insulin-dependent as beta cells are constantly attacked and destroyed by the immune system. Type II diabetes on the other hand, is where the body, may or may not make enough insulin; a hormone that serves to regulate the movement of sugars into the cells, and if it does make enough insulin, the body tends to not respond to it properly. In other words, one suffering from type II diabetes does not convert sugar into energy, but rather stores it in their bloodstream. This has caused type II diabetes to be the most common form of its type. As a result, those who suffer from type II Diabetes normally result in extra body-fat, hypertension, and high cholesterol.

Insulin has been used for diabetes since 1922. “Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy dying from diabetes in a Toronto hospital, became the first person to receive an injection of insulin” (“The History of a Wonderful Thing We Call Insulin” 1). Without insulin, thousands of people with diabetes would die. Insulin is available for people who need it because it was initially tested on animals. Oskar Minkowski and Joseph von Mering removed a pancreas gland from a dog in 1889, and it ended up dying later (“The History of a Wonderful Thing We Call Insulin” 1). Animals like dogs, have hormones in their blood so the experiment worked on them. It wasn’t safe for humans yet (Parry 1). Although putting an animal’s life at risk for medical research might

The body consists of millions of cells. In order to make energy, these cells need food. As you eat and drink, a lot of the food is turned into glucose, which is a simple form of sugar. Glucose is then transported via the bloodstream to the cells. Once glucose enters the cells, it provides the body with the energy it needs every day.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a condition in the body that is related to a faulty metabolism. It means that the body’s metabolism is not functioning properly, which leads to adverse effects in the health. The food we ingest, gets broken down into blood sugar (glucose), which is what fuels our body in the form of energy. This converted glucose needs to enter our cells so that it can be used for energy and growth. And in order for the glucose to enter our cells, there needs to be insulin present, which the beta cells of the pancreas is responsible for producing. This hormone is responsible for maintaining glucose level in the blood. It allows the body cells to use glucose as a main

Insulin resistance is a rather complicated phenomenon. First, it is important to note that insulin is a very important hormone in the human body and too much or too little of it leads to problems. Insulin governs appetite, satiety and blood sugar levels. It also appears to regulate fat accumulation on the body. When a person eats, the pancreas releases insulin and this insulin then pushes glucose from the consumed food into the cells. Any excess glucose is stored in the fat cells. When a person suffers from insulin resistance however, glucose cannot enter the cells. After many attempts, insulin finally manages to push some glucose into a few cells, but the excess is stored in fat

Diabetes type 2 is a condition in which blood sugar levels are too high. After eating foods that contain carbohydrates, chemicals in the small intestine break down the carbohydrates into simple sugar molecules called glucose. The cell lining in the small intestine absorb the glucose, which then passes into the bloodstream. When the blood reaches the pancreas, beta cells inside the pancreas detect the rising glucose levels. To reduce the glucose level, beta cells release insulin into the bloodstream. As the blood circulates through the body, the insulin and glucose exit the bloodstream into tissue to reach the body’s cells. Most cells of the body have certain receptors on their surface that bind to the circulating insulin. Insulin acts like a key in a lick to open up the cell so that the circulating glucose can get inside the cell. The cell can use the glucose to produce the energy it needs to function properly. If a person has insulin resistance, insulin cannot unlock the cells to let glucose in because the locks, called receptors, are abnormal and/or missing. As a result, glucose is locked out of the cells. The amount of glucose builds up in the bloodstream in a condition called hyperglycemia. To compensate for hyperglycemia, the pancreas produces more and more insulin. Overworked beta cells try to keep with the demand, but gradually lose their ability to produce enough insulin.

A sugar called glucose enters the bloodstream. Glucose is a source of fuel for the body.

Glucose in your body comes from three major nutrients: fat, protein, and carbohydrate. About, 10 percent of the fat and 50 percent of the protein you eat eventually brakes down into it and 100 percent of the carbohydrates you eat. When a person who does not have diabetes eats any food, their blood glucose level rises; the beta cells detect this rise and release more insulin. The insulin goes into the liver telling it to make less glucose and to the muscles, fat cells to take up more.

Glucose – or sugar – is the main energy source for cells in the human body, in red blood cells and immune cells it is the only source of energy. Glucose is also the ’fuel’ for respiration and brain cells are especially sensitive to low glucose levels. Neurons also rely mostly on glucose for energy.