The hormone insulin plays a key role in the potentially serious chronic condition diabetes. That’s why it’s so important to understand how your body produces and uses insulin, how insulin connects to weight gain and weight loss, and how your body’s insulin production and usage can go wrong.
At Nation’s Best Family Health Care, Dr. Roman Nation and his team can help you learn more about how your body uses insulin. If you show signs of insulin resistance or diabetes, our team can diagnose and treat your condition from our locations in Panama City, Florida.
What is insulin?
Your pancreas, a gland in your abdomen, naturally produces insulin, unless you were born with the condition Type 1 diabetes.
Your body needs to access the energy stored in the food that you eat. This energy powers your vital functions. And insulin is the key your cells need to be able to transport and use that energy. Without insulin, your cells can’t “eat.”
How insulin works
When you eat or drink, your digestive system breaks the carbohydrates in your food intake down into glucose. Glucose is a sugar that can appear in many carbohydrates. The lining of your small intestine allows glucose to enter your bloodstream.
Your body’s cells need insulin for the glucose in your bloodstream to be usable. Insulin gives your cells the signal they need to absorb and utilize glucose.
Without insulin, your cells can’t access the energy in glucose, and your blood sugar levels can become dangerously high. You need insulin to keep your blood sugar levels in balance, or you risk complications including nerve damage.
Insulin deficiencies and insulin resistance
If you have the chronic autoimmune condition Type 1 diabetes, your body doesn’t produce sufficient insulin to supply your needs due to damage to the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas. You will likely need ongoing insulin supplementation if you have this condition.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body makes sufficient insulin, but develops insulin resistance. Your body then can start to make too much insulin, trying to compensate for reduced insulin effectiveness.
You develop Type 2 diabetes over time. In the early stages, Type 2 diabetes is often reversible. Type 2 diabetes typically progresses through stages of insulin resistance and prediabetes. Healthy weight loss may be able to reduce your insulin resistance.
The team at Nation’s Best Family Health Care can help you with your insulin-related care needs. We can test for insulin resistance, assist you with finding and administering the best insulin supplementation strategies for you, or support you in slowing the progression of prediabetes.
Schedule your appointment with a member of our team with our online booking tool, or call today.