All cells of your body need glucose to fulfill their energy needs. For their proper functioning, the body has to maintain the levels of glucose in your blood within a normal range. While too little blood glucose can exhaust your cells, too much...
Biology Online explains that the body requires glucose in order to create adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. ATP provides the energy that fuels most of the biochemical reactions in the body. Since the demand for ATP fluctuates according to exercise,...
Glucose is the primary source of energy for the body. In fact, it is normally the only fuel used by the brain’s nerve cells, called neurons. Neurons can’t store glucose for back-up energy, so a constant supply must be available in the blood....
Glucose, or blood sugar, is the body's main source of energy. The pancreas is an organ which contains tiny clusters of tissues called islets of Langerhans. The cells found on the islets produce hormones that regulate the blood sugar levels in the...
Glucagonoma is a pancreatic tumor of the pancreas' islet cells. In up to 80% of all cases, this type of pancreatic tumor is malignant (cancerous). The islet cells of the pancreas produce the hormones insulin and glucagon. If a patient has a...
Your pancreas serves two purposes, according to the American Diabetes Association. It helps break down the food you eat into energy and regulates how your body uses the energy. The pancreas plays a vital role in regulating your blood chemistry to...
Blood glucose, a primary source of fuel for cells, is maintained within narrow boundaries by hormones. Hormones are chemicals released by cells into the bloodstream to have effects on cells distant from their site of release. In diabetes, the...
Blood glucose levels are kept in a narrow range in the body by hormone regulation. Blood glucose levels below 70 mg/dL can cause symptoms of hypoglycemia ranging from shakiness, clamminess, headache, nausea and confusion to coma and death. On the...
Diabetics use the medication insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels. Insulin lowers blood glucose (sugar). If too much insulin is taken--or if the normal insulin dose does not match a person's level of activity and recent food intake--the...
With diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin to use the sugar that we consume in or diets. As a result, people with diabetes have to administer their own insulin. Because insulin needs vary by individual, and even by circumstance,...
Regulation of blood sugar level is imperative to health, because everyone needs energy to survive. Blood sugar levels are regulated physiologically by hormones within our body. For diabetics, frequent checking of the blood is required to help with...
Sugar appears in the blood mainly as glucose, which is also the basic unit involved in carbohydrate transport and storage in the body. Thus, the regulation of sugar is actually the regulation of glucose. The breakdown of glucose provides the main...
Blood sugar is to your body what gas is to your car --- fuel. Your body uses several mechanisms to regulate your blood sugar level, ensuring an adequate circulating supply and storing excess for future use. When all of the control systems function...
Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, occurs when the body's glucose levels drop below standard levels. The condition occurs with most diabetic patients at one time or another, but is rare for people without diabetes. A person with blood sugar levels...
Your body is made for survival, which means it can store nutrients for later use. While this may have been helpful when meals were few and far between, in a society where overindulgence rules, it is not as useful. When you eat, the response to...
Blood glucose regulation is primarily controlled by two different hormones, insulin and glucagon. Secondary hormones such as epinephrine are also involved. Normally blood glucose is kept within a narrow range, approximately 70 to 100 mg per 100 ml...
Blood sugar, or blood glucose, is the result of carbohydrate metabolism. The sugar is the food for all the cells of the human body; it powers the heart, other organs and, in particular, the brain. If the brain lacks adequate sugar, brain damage...
The liver is the heaviest and largest internal organ that is located in the upper right side quadrant of the abdomen. It is formed of specialized cells called hepatocytes that are arranged in layers around a network of channels and ducts inside...
Blood sugar provides a quick source of energy whenever your body needs it, whether it is for essential life processes or exercise. Your glucose levels fluctuate in response to the degree in which fuel is needed. The fluctuations occur as a result...
Developed by Barry Sears, Ph.D, the Zone Diet emphasizes eating a balanced ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fat. The "zone" refers to the optimal mental and physical state of athletes in peak performance. Dr. Sears believes that a diet...
Sudden insulin shock is another name for severe hypoglycemia, a condition in which an individual's blood sugar drops to dangerously low levels. Sudden insulin shock is a risk for people with diabetes and can be caused by a number of factors...
The endocrine system is the functional part of the body that produces hormones, substances that act at locations remote from the glands that produce them. Many hormones play a role in physical exercise; without them, exercise would be severely...
A low-carb diet manipulates your body into using stored fat as energy. Your body primarily runs on the glucose inside of your blood. Following a low-carb diet limits the amount of blood sugar, forcing your body to rely on its storage of energy --...
It was held for a long time by the medical community that there were only two hormones responsible for maintaining blood glucose within physiologically normal ranges. These hormones were insulin, which controls the rate of glucose disappearance...
Diabetes is a disease that affects the body's ability to regulate blood sugar. There are two types of diabetes that vary slightly in their chemistry and manifestations, as well as in their methods of management and treatment. Regardless, both type...
Appetite suppressants, also referred to as anorectics, are a common form of treatment for those who are overweight and trying to get healthy by losing weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2006 72 million Americans were...
You directly affect your glucose or sugar levels when you eat. As glucose is absorbed from the small intestine into the bloodstream, beta islet cells in the pancreas secrete a hormone called insulin. This hormone transports glucose into the...
The pancreatic hormone insulin regulates the amount of sugar, or glucose, in the blood. The hormone glucagon also plays an important role. Together, insulin and glucagon help to maintain blood sugar homeostasis, keeping blood sugar at a stable...
Your liver is responsible for the energy and nutrients given to all of your cells. This is a very demanding job when you think about all of the different cells, systems and organs your body has. Your cells need energy for everything they do and...
Hypoglycemia is the medical term for a low blood sugar level. Diet can help control hypoglycemia. Learn more about nutrition for hypoglycemia in this health video.
Pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition that occurs when pancreatic digestive enzymes become active within the gland and attack the pancreas itself. Learn about the different causes of, symptoms of, and treatments for pancreatitis in this...