What you need to know about insulin

[MUSIC PLAYING] Insulin is a crucial hormone in our body. It allows our cells to absorb glucose out of our bloodstreams and either use it for energy or store it away as fat

for a future need.

Patients with type 1 diabetes have to take insulin, since they don't have it in their body naturally. Many patients with type 2 diabetes

will also have to take insulin at some point in their lives. When it comes to insulin, there are many different forms.

Which form you take depends on your current health status and even the time of day. For example, there's long acting insulin,

like glargine which is used for a basal level. There's intermediates, such as MPH, which provides an effect over the course of a few hours.

And then there's short acting or rapid acting insulins, often taken with meals, enabling the body

to react to the typical bump in blood sugar after eating. There are many other forms of insulin, all differing by how long they last in your body.

Factors like your type of diabetes, your body's response to insulin, your health status, lifestyle, and more