How the Body Normally Handles Sugar
The body maintains blood sugar balance using insulin, a hormone that controls how glucose enters cells for energy.
- When we eat food, especially carbohydrates, it breaks down into glucose (sugar).
- Glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream, which raises blood glucose levels.
- The islets of Langerhans in the pancreas release insulin, which binds to cell receptors like a key unlocking the cell.
- Once glucose enters, it is either:
- Used immediately in cellular respiration inside the mitochondria to produce ATP (energy), or
- Stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles for later use.
What Happens in Diabetes
In diabetes, the body has trouble making or using insulin, which causes sugar to build up in the blood.
Type 1 Diabetes: The body’s immune system attacks the pancreas, making little or no insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes: The body makes insulin but doesn’t use it well (insulin resistance).
- Without enough insulin action, glucose stays in the blood instead of entering cells.
- High blood sugar can damage organs, nerves, eyes, and blood vessels over time.
Fun Facts
Here are some interesting facts about diabetes:
- The word “diabetes” comes from a Greek word meaning “to pass through,” referring to frequent urination.
- Over 400 million people worldwide live with diabetes today.
- Exercise helps lower blood sugar because muscles use more glucose when active.
- Banting, Best, Macleod, and Collip in Toronto discovered insulin and used it to treat diabetes in 1922.
Review
Let’s quickly recap what we learned about diabetes:
- What breaks down into glucose in our body? Carbohydrates
- Which organ makes insulin? Pancreas
- In which type of diabetes does the body not make insulin? Type 1
- In which type does the body resist insulin? Type 2
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