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What Exactly Is Insulin?

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 4:04:00 AM Posted by Diabetes

By Mary Greene

Think of insulin as a courier. The package this courier is carrying is glucose. Insulin works for the pancreas; this is where it will start its journey. It sets out to pick up the package of glucose from the blood stream and intends on delivering it to the cells of the body.

This delivery is essential to the body for a number of reasons. The first is to keep the blood sugar of the body at a normal level. The second reason is to be able to give the cells the energy they need to help you lead a healthy life.

In a normal, healthy body, insulin will have no problem completing this task. But for people with type two diabetes, the package gets rejected and stays waiting in the blood stream. For people with type 1 diabetes, there is no courier at all and the job is left undone.

For people who suffer type 1 diabetes, the body is incapable of producing natural insulin. So the solution is to have insulin put into the body to do the work.

Insulin that is injected has three defining characteristics. The first is how long it will take to reach the blood stream and begin lowering your sugar levels. The second is the length of time it will be most effective at doing its job and the third is how long it will continue to be effective in your body for.

The type you will be prescribed will depend on your unique condition. You may need rapid-acting insulin that gets to work fast and will last for two to four hours. Or you may be given long-acting insulin that doesn't become active until six to ten hours after the injection and will be effective for up to 24 hours.

Insulin therapy is demanding but you don't have to let it compromise your lifestyle. It is all about finding the right program for you. You and your doctor will devise a plan that will decide when you take insulin and what type of program is right for you. There are countless success stories of people who manage their diabetes and have gone on to do great things.

Halle Berry managed her diabetes and went on to become the hugely successful movie star she is today. Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb, had the condition. Steve Redgrave had type 1 diabetes and still became a world-class athlete, winning five Olympic gold medals.

Talk to your doctor about the program that is right for you or your child. With the right program and a positive attitude, there is no reason why you or your child can't go on to do great things like previous diabetes sufferers, or perhaps, even greater.

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