Introduction to Insulin / Chemical Structure / Methods of Production and Administering / Diabetes / Insulin Affects History / History Affects Insulin
- Insulin is a polypeptide hormone that regulates the metabolism and several other body systems, such as the vascular system.
- insulin = Latin insula, “island” as it is produced in the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas
- insulin control the amount of sugar in the blood. When a person eats or drinks, food is broken down into materials, including sugar, that the body needs to function. Sugar is absolved into the blood stream and stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin.
- insulin allows sugar to move from the blood into the cells. Once inside the cells, sugar is converted into energy, which is either used immediately or stored until it is needed
- if the body does not produce enough insulin to move the sugar into the cells, the resulting high levels of sugar in the blood and the inadequate amount of sugar in the cells together produce the symptoms and complications of diabetes.