Understanding Insulin And Why It Is Used

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Insulin is a word individuals with diabetes mellitus know all too well. Diabetes mellitus treatment commonly uses insulin as diabetes is a disease of which causes a lack of insulin being produced by the body. Therefore when a diabetic individual eats food, it is less likely it will be broken down as it should in order to nurture the body. As a result these individuals are prescribed insulin shots in order to keep their body working the way it should. However there are some who do not understand what insulin is and why it is so important.

Insulin is a hormone created in the pancreas which allows cells in the body to absorb glucose from the blood stream. Glucose is glycogen when stored in the liver and muscle. The glycogen in turn prevents the body from using fat as energy. If insulin levels are low or absent then the glucose is less likely to become absorbed by most body cells. Due to low glucose levels, the body will begin to use fat as a source of energy.

Insulin is a key element in allowing the body to normally function. It also serves as a communicator to other body systems by sending a control signal to those systems. It is created in the endocrine pancreas and also when glucose appears in the blood.

Insulin is made by particles within the pancreas called Islets of Langerhans that contain beta cells which in turn make the insulin. The Islets of Langerhans make 1/5 of the pancreas mass. There are about one to three million Islets of Langerhans within the pancreas.

When a diabetic receives shots of insulin or receives insulin through a pump, they are receiving the insulin their body has stopped producing on their own allowing for glucose to form and normal body processes to succeed.