Type 2 Diabetes – The Important Role Of Insulin in Your Body

Insulin is a hormone with remarkable functions in your body: without insulin, you do not survive for long. It’s produced by the beta cells in the pancreas and travels via the bloodstream to a distant part of your body where it works to regulate blood sugar levels, particularly to prevent elevated levels on a chronic basis, or in other words – hyperglycemia.

Conversely, glucagon is a hormone produced by the alpha cells in the pancreas, and has similar functions. It also works to regulate blood sugar levels, though its main function is to prevent hypoglycemia, or a deficiency of blood sugar in your bloodstream.

Both conditions instigate physiological changes that may cause immediate effects or pose a significant threat to your well-being.

People diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are more likely aware of hyperglycemia because this form of diabetes comes about due to chronically elevated levels of blood sugar. This is a natural occurrence resulting from excessive insulin responses following meals, especially those high in carbohydrates. The body becomes accustomed to the constant spikes and the pancreas repeatedly compensates by secreting more insulin. Insulin resistance develops over time as the body’s receptors at the cellular level become desensitized to the hormone. It then becomes increasingly difficult for insulin to manage blood sugar fluctuations.

Insulin activates cellular receptors in order to uptake nutrients in the bloodstream into your body tissues. It’s imperative for the body to remove these circulating nutrients as some forms have damaging internal effects when unregulated. This certainly applies to sugars. Type 2 diabetics can certainly attest to the harmful effects as the result of accumulated internal damage brought on over the years by hyperglycemia. Although Type 2 diabetes may be a condition lacking any type of immediate health risk in its early stages, it’s evidently a disease with potentially major complications over the long-term, especially in the absence of treatment.

The best way to ensure your body’s insulin maintains its efficiency is to avoid high levels of blood sugar to begin with. Your fasting measurements are crucial and may indicate whether or not you are at serious risk for even developing Type 2 diabetes. In any case, diabetics and the undiagnosed alike can implement measures to improve the effectiveness of their body’s insulin.

Exercise is extremely effective in improving the function of insulin as it directly decreases insulin resistance, making it easier to control blood sugar fluctuations. Additionally, losing weight is an essential part of your Type 2 diabetes control plan. Being overweight will further expose you to hyperglycemia: losing weight will also lower insulin resistance.

Insulin is a delicate hormone with vital functions. We must ensure it works solely in our favor and never against us, especially when our health lies in the balance.