In the human body, everything is thought out to the smallest detail. Each organ or system is responsible for certain processes. By disrupting the work of one of them, you can say goodbye to good he alth once and for all. Of course, many of us have heard of hormones as certain substances that are produced by certain glands. They are different in their chemical composition, but they also have common properties - to be responsible for the metabolism in the human body, and therefore for its good work.
Insulin is a hormone of which gland?
It should be noted right away that all the processes occurring in any organ are a very complex, but, nevertheless, interconnected system.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, or rather, formations located in its very depths. In medicine, they are also called the islets of Langerhans-Sobolev. By the way, note that insulin is a hormone that affects almost all functions in the human body. It belongs to the peptide series and was created for high-quality saturation of all body cells with essential substances. The pancreatic hormone insulin is capable of transportingblood potassium, various amino acids, and most importantly, glucose. The latter is responsible for the balance of carbohydrates. The scheme is as follows: you eat food, the level of glucose in the body rises, therefore, the level of insulin in the blood increases. We often hear in medicine about such a substance as insulin. Everyone immediately associates it with diabetes. But to answer a simple question: “Insulin is a hormone of what, organ or tissue? Or maybe it is produced by the whole system? - not everyone can.
Insulin (hormone) - functions in the human body
Think for yourself, the action of the hormone insulin is to ensure the normal nutrition of all body cells. It is primarily responsible for balancing carbohydrates in the human body. But if the pancreas fails, protein and fat metabolism simultaneously suffers. Keep in mind that insulin belongs to protein hormones, which means that it can get into the human stomach from the outside, but it will be quickly digested there and will not be absorbed at all. The action of the hormone insulin is to influence most enzymes. But its main task, according to scientists and physicians, is the timely reduction of blood glucose. Often, doctors prescribe a special analysis that will clearly reveal whether the hormone insulin is elevated or not in the patient. Thus, it is possible to determine whether the patient's ailments are associated with incipient diabetes mellitus or with another disease. Of course, one can live with such a diagnosis, the main thing is to detect it in time and start supporting therapy.
Medical norms for insulin
Any indicator has a certaina scale of values by which one can judge the condition of the patient. If we say that insulin is a pancreatic hormone, it should be understood that after each meal it can be increased. Therefore, there are some standards for testing. You must not eat 1.5 hours before them, or come for the study strictly on an empty stomach.
Then there is a high probability of a reliable result. The most important thing that the doctor is trying to understand is whether the patient has diabetes mellitus, and if other problems arise, prescribe appropriate additional studies and medications. We note right away that each medical laboratory or institution is able to indicate its individual values of the studied indicator, which in the end will be considered normal. In principle, the hormone insulin, the norm of which on an empty stomach will average 3-28 mcU / ml, can also vary slightly. Therefore, when receiving the results of the analysis, try not to panic, but it is better to visit a competent specialist to decipher them. For example, pregnant women have indicators that differ from other people (average 6-28 mcU / ml). When a doctor suspects diabetes, it makes sense to mention its two main types:
- the hormone insulin is lowered - the pancreas does not cope with its work and produces it in insufficient quantities - type 1 diabetes;
- the hormone insulin is increased - the reverse situation, when there is a lot of the corresponding substance in the body, but it does not feel it and produces even more -type 2 diabetes.
Does insulin affect human growth?
Currently, it may be easy to get various drugs to increase muscle and bone tissue. This is usually practiced by athletes who need to gain weight in a short time and make their body more prominent. I would like to immediately note that insulin and growth hormone are closely interconnected. How this happens is difficult to figure out, but possible. Growth hormone is a certain drug belonging to the peptide series. It is he who is able to cause accelerated development of muscles and tissues. Its action is as follows: it has a powerful effect on muscle growth, while burning large amounts of fat. Of course, this cannot but affect the carbohydrate metabolism in the body. The mechanism is simple: growth hormone directly increases blood glucose levels. In this case, the pancreas, normally functioning, begins to work hard, producing insulin in large quantities. But if you use this remedy in uncontrolled doses, the above-described organ cannot cope with the load, respectively, blood glucose rises, and this is fraught with the appearance of a disease called diabetes mellitus. Remember one simple formula:
- low blood sugar - growth hormone enters the body in large quantities;
- high blood sugar levels - insulin is produced in large quantities.
Growth hormone - the course and its dosage should be prescribed to athletes only by experienced coaches or doctors. Because excessive use of this drug can lead to terribleconsequences for future he alth. Many are inclined to believe that when injecting yourself with growth hormone, you should definitely help your own pancreas work by using the appropriate doses of insulin.
A woman and a man - are their insulin levels the same?
Naturally, many tests are directly dependent on the gender and age category of the patient.
It has already become clear that the hormone of the pancreas (insulin) is responsible for controlling blood glucose levels. Therefore, in order to evaluate the work of this body, it will be enough to donate blood for sugar. This study is carried out by taking blood from a vein strictly on an empty stomach. Remember the following indicators by which you can assess whether your body produces the hormone insulin in sufficient quantities. The norm for women and men is the same: the concentration of glucose in the blood will be 3.3-5.5 mmol / l. If it is in the range of 5, 6-6, 6 mmol / l, then it would be advisable to follow a special diet and conduct additional research. This is the so-called borderline state, when it is still pointless to talk about diabetes. You need to start worrying even then if the blood glucose level is close to 6.7 mmol / l. In this case, doctors advise taking the next test - glucose tolerance. Here are slightly different numbers:
- 7.7 mmol/L and below is normal;
- 7, 8-11, 1 mmol/l - violations in the system are already observed;
- above 11, 1 mmol / l - the doctor can talk aboutdiabetes mellitus.
From the above results, it becomes clear that insulin norms are approximately the same for women and men, that is, gender does not have any effect on this. But pregnant ladies should remember that in their interesting position there are specific deviations from the current norms. This is often due to the fact that the pancreas does not produce enough of the hormone insulin, and blood sugar rises. Usually everything is regulated by a special diet, but sometimes doctors in this case talk about diabetes in pregnant women. Children are still a separate category, since at their early age, due to the underdevelopment of the nervous system and the insufficiently active functioning of all organs, the level of glucose in the blood can be lowered. But even with its increase (5, 5-6, 1 mmol / l) it is necessary to understand in more detail, because this may be due to a violation of the rules for passing the analysis itself.
What is glucagon?
So, from the above it follows that insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. But, in addition to this, this body is responsible for the production of other substances, such as glucagon and C-peptide. We are very interested in the functions of the first of them. After all, in fact, they are directly opposite to the work of insulin. Accordingly, it becomes clear that the hormone glucagon raises blood sugar levels. Thus, these substances maintain the glucose level in a neutral state. It is worth noting that the hormones insulin and glucagon are substances that are produced by just one of the many organs of the human body.organism. In addition to them, there are still a huge number of tissues and systems that do the same. And for good blood sugar levels, these hormones are not always enough.
High insulin - what is the risk?
Of course, an increase in this indicator will not always lead to the onset of diabetes.
One of the most common consequences can be obesity, and only then the disease of high blood sugar. Often, doctors and nutritionists, in order to explain to their patients a simple mechanism for the formation of excess weight, begin their story with an answer to a simple question: “Insulin is a hormone of which gland?” After all, people who eat a large amount of carbohydrate foods (for example, flour and sweet dishes) do not think about what kind of load their pancreas experiences at the same time. Of course, you can eat these products, but in moderate portions, then the whole system works organically. In general, with this diet, the following happens: insulin rises constantly (i.e., this process becomes chronic), but sugar enters the body in unlimited quantities, as a result, it is simply deposited in fat. And remember that in this case, the appetite is greatly increased. A vicious circle from which it will be very difficult for you to get out is provided: eat a lot of unhe althy food and tight - insulin is increased - fat is deposited - appetite increases - again we eat in unlimited quantities. It is best to contact specialists in time, who will prescribe the appropriate diets and all the necessarytests.
Diabetes
This is a terrible disease that became the so-called plague of the 20th century. And not only because of the large number of patients, but also because of the reasons for its appearance and the decrease in the age of patients. Now diabetes mellitus can occur not only in an elderly person, who, in principle, is prone to this disease due to the deterioration in the functioning of all his organs, but also in young children. Scientists around the world are trying to find the answer to this complex question. After all, it turns out that a child with diabetes must maintain a normal level of insulin throughout his subsequent life. It is not difficult to identify this disease, an experienced doctor should prescribe a few simple studies. To begin with, blood is taken for sugar and it is determined whether it is elevated. With a positive result, they already act as follows: they conduct a glucose tolerance test and make an appropriate diagnosis. When diabetes is confirmed, the doctor needs to understand how much of the studied hormone is lacking in your particular body. To do this, you need to take an insulin test. Here you need to understand that there are only two types of diabetes:
- 1st: insulin is reduced, while, accordingly, blood glucose is increased. As a result, urination increases and sugar is detected in the urine;
- 2nd: there is an increase in insulin. Why is this happening? There is also glucose in the blood, insulin is produced, but the body's sensitivity to it decreases, that is, it does not seem to see it. In this case, it makes sense to assign special studies, such as analysisblood for immunoreactive insulin.
Since insulin is a hormone of the pancreas, it would be logical to assume that in the case of diabetes, the doctor will also prescribe drugs for the normal functioning of this organ. But the insulin coming from the outside, the body will also need. Therefore, it is necessary to purchase the necessary medicines. By the way, when the diagnosis is made and you will need to independently measure the level of glucose in your blood at home every day, it would be advisable to purchase a device known to everyone - a glucometer. It allows you to easily find out the required value in a few seconds. With disposable needles, you make a small puncture on your finger and collect blood with a test strip. Insert it into the glucometer, and the result is ready. It usually turns out to be reliable.
What drugs contain insulin?
Immediately it is worth mentioning that all preparations containing insulin should be prescribed strictly by your doctor, there should not be any self-treatment, its consequences are too dangerous. A person with diabetes simply needs insulin (hormone) coming from outside.
The functions of the pancreas, which cannot cope with its work on its own, must be constantly maintained. How to understand how much insulin a particular patient will need? This figure is measured in special carbohydrate units. Simply put, you count how many carbohydrates are in each meal, and, accordingly, understand how much insulin you need.will have to be injected to lower blood sugar. Of course, there are various analogues of preparations containing insulin. For example, when it comes to a reduced hormone, when in fact the pancreas does not cope with its work, it is worth resorting to drugs that can activate its activity (say, the drug "Butamid"). In principle, we can say that this is not insulin purely introduced into your body, but only a substance that will somehow help the body recognize this hormone produced by its own corresponding organ. Anyone who has ever encountered the problem of diabetes is well aware that at present all drugs aimed at combating it are produced in the form of injections for injections. Naturally, scientists around the world are puzzled over how to make this procedure easier and find a cure in a different form (for example, pills). But so far to no avail. In principle, for those who are accustomed to daily procedures of this type, they already seem to be absolutely painless. Even children are able to make themselves such an injection under the skin on their own. Usually, the injected insulin begins its work in an average of half an hour, it will concentrate in the blood to the maximum after about 3 hours. The duration of its work is about 6 hours. Those who have already been accurately diagnosed with diabetes need to give themselves such injections three times a day: in the morning (always on an empty stomach), at noon, in the evening. Of course, the action of the injected insulin sometimes needs to be extended (in medical parlance, this is called prolongation). You can do this with the followingsuspensions: zinc-insulin (duration 10-36 hours), protamine-zinc-insulin (24-36 hours). They are administered subcutaneously or intramuscularly.
Is it possible to overdose on insulin?
We know that in the dosage form insulin is a hormone. What you cannot do with it exactly is assign or cancel its introduction yourself.
If there was a situation when there was too much insulin in the blood - this is the so-called overdose or hypoglycemia - the situation should be urgently corrected. First of all, you must clearly understand what is happening to a person: he may suddenly want to eat strongly, start sweating and get irritated, show inexplicable aggression, or even faint. The worst thing in this case is hypoglycemic shock, when convulsions inevitably occur and the activity of the heart is disturbed. Mandatory actions in this situation:
- you need to replenish blood sugar, that is, eat something containing it: a piece of sugar, a sweet cookie or a slice of ordinary white bread - this is done when the very first symptoms appear;
- when the situation is very critical and shock is imminent, an urgent need to inject intravenous glucose solution (40%).
Be sure to watch how your body basically behaves in response to the use of insulin injections. After all, each of us is individual. Some people may experience a severe allergic reaction, manifested not only at the injection site in the form of a red spot, but also throughout the body (urticaria or dermatitis). Be careful, contact immediatelyyour doctor, he can simply replace your current drug with suinsulin. In no case should you do this yourself, then a sudden lack of insulin can lead to coma and death.
Insulin is the hormone responsible for your he alth. Remember that diabetes can develop in anyone. Sometimes this is directly related to the abuse of sweet and starchy foods. Some people are not able to control themselves in such matters and eat a large amount of carbohydrates every day. Thus, their body lives in constant stress, trying to independently produce more and more insulin. And now, when he is completely exhausted, this disease sets in.
