Diabetes is not the cause of "sugar", but this hormone in the body

TypDiabetes is a common chronic disease. Related data shows that the incidence of diabetes in China ranks second in the world. This seems to remind us to recognize and pay attention to diabetes because it has become an increasingly serious public health problem. . Despite this, there are still many people who do not understand diabetes. As the saying goes, "knowing what is happening, we must know why." When we understand the root cause of diabetes, we can also know more about how to prevent and treat diabetes.

I believe everyone knows that insulin injection is considered to be one of the most common and effective treatments for controlling blood sugar in diabetic patients. Why? What is the "inexhaustible" relationship between insulin and diabetes?

Insulin: the only hormone in the body that can lower blood sugar

Insulin can lower blood sugar:

blood sugar is an important substance that provides energy for the body's cells, but when sugar enters the cells, it needs to borrow the action of insulin, and through a series of reactions, it can be turned into energy, which can then be used by the body. The reason why insulin can lower blood sugar is mainly that insulin transports sugar into cells and consumes it, and the concentration of sugar in the blood drops accordingly.

Insulin can promote the synthesis of sugar, fat, and protein:

Insulin is also responsible for synthesizing some excess sugar into glycogen, or transporting it into fat cells and converting it into fat for storage. At the same time, it can also carry amino acids into cells and promote protein synthesis.

Insulin can inhibit gluconeogenesis:

Gluconeogenesis means that the human body converts some substances that are not sugars into glucose or glycogen; and insulin has the effect of inhibiting gluconeogenesis, thereby achieving the effect of maintaining blood sugar balance.

A large number of clinical studies have proved that insulin is the only hormone in the body that can lower blood sugar, and it mainly regulates the body's metabolic process. This shows that insulin is also one of the important hormones for the normal functioning of the body.

e 1 diabetes: insufficient insulin secretion

After understanding how insulin acts on blood sugar, let’s take a look at the “intricate connections” between insulin and diabetes. The human body has a gland called the pancreas. It gathers cells that can secrete various hormones. Among them, β cells are specialized in producing insulin, but sometimes, if something goes wrong with this cell, the immune system will mistake it for a "rebel". "Army", then sent troops to "suppress".

In addition to immune problems, viral infections, genetics, and other factors may also cause problems in beta cells, resulting in less insulin secreted and an "absolute deficiency". Without the help of insulin, the cells will not be full, but the blood sugar will increase. More and more, so it becomes type 1 diabetes, and because of this, type 1 diabetes is also called an autoimmune disease.

Type 2 diabetes: insulin resistance and insufficient insulin secretion

If there is a phenomenon of overeating, the body will absorb a lot of sugar, and then insulin will have to "work" day and night, until one day it is "tired" and can no longer handle so much sugar. This is Insulin resistance. Originally it was one-to-one, but now it has become many-to-one. Insulin will be "relatively insufficient", sugar will flow into the blood, unable to feed the cells, and the whole blood sugar level will soar all the way.

At this time, to maintain blood sugar balance, the nerve center will direct all the β cells of the pancreas to work overtime to produce more insulin. Now it is the β cell's turn to "work" day and night, and naturally, there will be "tiredness". "Broken" day. When the beta cells are exhausted, the insulin production rate drops linearly, and the blood sugar rises, so it becomes type 2 diabetes.

Prevention is greater than cure: Doing these 4 points is the key

It can be seen that the occurrence of diabetes is mainly due to β cells and insulin. Therefore, in normal times, we must establish the correct health awareness and develop a healthy lifestyle:

1. Healthy eating habits: increase the intake of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and poultry meat, etc., while reducing the intake of red meat, processed foods, sweet drinks, and starchy foods.

2. Exercise moderately: Insist on exercising for half an hour or more every day, and move more in the process of daily work.

3. Pay attention to the waist-to-hip ratio: the healthy range is that the ratio of women is below 0.85 and that of men is below 0.9.

4. Quit smoking and limit alcohol: This is a necessary condition for a healthy life and the basis for preventing certain diseases.

 

See also:

1. Cholesterol care