Controlling blood glucose

• The hormone insulin is used to control the blood glucose concentration.
• There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.
• In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin.
• In Type 2 diabetes, the body cells stop responding to the insulin produced by the pancreas.
• People with diabetes monitor their blood glucose concentration and inject themselves with insulin if blood glucose levels rise too high.
• The pancreas releases the hormone glucagon into the bloodstream if the blood glucose concentration falls too low.
• Glucagon triggers liver cells to convert glycogen stores back to glucose and this glucose is released into the blood, causing the blood glucose concentration to return to normal.
• If the blood glucose concentration rises, the pancreas releases the hormone insulin, causing the glucose concentration to fall.
• When the glucose concentration falls to a certain level, the pancreas releases glucagon, causing the glucose concentration to rise again.
• Insulin and glucagon have opposite effects on the blood glucose concentration, forming a negative feedback cycle.
• Blood glucose concentration is the amount of sugar in our bloodstream, which needs to be kept in a certain range for our cells to function properly.
• Excessive blood glucose levels can damage tissues and lead to health problems, while low blood glucose levels can cause symptoms such as dizziness and confusion.
• The hormones insulin and glucagon work together to control blood glucose concentration, with insulin decreasing blood glucose levels and glucagon increasing them.
• Insulin is released from the pancreas in response to high blood glucose levels, binding to receptors on certain cells to tell them to take in some of the glucose floating around in the blood.
• Glucagon is released from the pancreas in response to low blood glucose levels, binding to receptors on liver cells to cause them to break down glycogen and release glucose into the blood.
• Insulin and glucagon create a negative feedback loop, where glucose levels get too high then insulin is released which causes the glucose to drop down again but if it drops too low then glucagon is released which causes the glucose levels to increase again.
• Our bodies constantly release insulin and glucagon to ensure that the amount of glucose in our bloodstream is always kept around the right levels, which is why our blood glucose concentration constantly fluctuates rather than being a flat line.