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.
Based on
information from the World Health
Organization, some of the effects of type 2
diabetes on the body are blindness and
visual disability a long with heart disease
and diabetic foot disease which often ends
in amputation of the lower limbs. Diabetes
is also the leading cause of kidney failure.
The first
line of defense against type 2 diabetes is
diet and exercise. Just half an hour of
walking a day will dramatically reduce the
risk of developing type 2 diabetes.