To understand diabetes, you must understand what insulin is and how glucose is normally processed in the body.
At least, this is how I understand it.
Insulin is a hormone.
Hormones are molecules in your body that are produced by glands that help regulate processes in the body. They regulate things like your heartbeat, growth, metabolism, mood, sleep, energy, reproduction and so much more.
The pancreas is a gland located a bit behind and then below your stomach that secretes insulin and dumps it into the bloodstream. In the bloodstream, insulin helps the sugar get to your cells. Insulin should therefore lower the sugar in your bloodstream. As your sugar is utilized, the insulin in your pancreas levels off or drops.
You eat and drink again and it starts all over. Also, exercise affects this process and sugar levels too.
Glucose is a sugar that your cells (which make up everything in your body) uses for energy. You get glucose from what you eat and drink and from your liver. You eat and sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream. Insulin helps cells receive the sugar which lowers sugar in the bloodstream. Your liver will also store and then make glucose if needed. When you haven’t eaten, your liver comes to the rescue to keep your sugar levels… well… level. When this chain reaction is broken and too much sugar is dumped into the bloodstream, this balance is upset. It’s when those insulin levels are out of whack and can’t compensate for the amount of sugar in the bloodstream that creates problems like diabetes.
Follow this link for more information:
Mayo Clinic – Insulin & Glucose
