Updated on October 22, 2024.
Blood glucose and insulin are vital for normal bodily functions. But in those living with diabetes, the body doesn’t respond to insulin—or stops producing it entirely. Learn how it affects the body in this 360-degree video from Sharecare’s reality labs.
Medically reviewed in October 2018.
Transcript
NARRATOR: In a healthy individual, digestion of carbohydrates such as fruit, cereal, bread,
and pasta, introduces sugar-- glucose-- into the bloodstream. Your body carefully regulates the amount
of glucose in the blood. Insulin is a hormone secreted by your pancreas.
Its job is to keep blood glucose at healthy levels. When you consume a meal, glucose rises.
Insulin causes extra glucose to exit from the blood and inner tissues. Some glucose is stored in the liver for later use.
In between meals, the pancreas slows insulin production because it is no longer needed. Instead the pancreas stimulates the liver
to release glucose and maintain normal blood levels. Now, that's how it works for a healthy person with a functioning pancreas.
However people with diabetes face different realities. Type 1 diabetes is a disease that
occurs when the pancreas secretes little to no insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas either
does not produce enough insulin, or the body no longer responds to the action of insulin. Left untreated diabetes can cause
serious medical conditions, such as blindness, nerve damage, and kidney damage.
A person with diabetes requires a treatment plan tailored to him or her as advised by a doctor.
In general, those with type 1 diabetes require insulin injections several times a day. It's also important to those with type 1 diabetes
to maintain a consistent diet and exercise regularly. For those with type 2 diabetes, treatment centers
on diet and regular self monitoring of blood glucose levels, but on occasion oral medications
