The Cause of Diabetes and the Role of the Pancreas, Insulin, and Homeostasis
The Gland, its Location, and the Hormone Released. The pancreas is located dorsal to the stomach and is long and flat and deep in the abdomen. One hormone released by the pancreas is the insulin. Insulin is responsible for lowering glucose levels. Glucose is sugar. Sugar is needed in your body as fuel to make energy. Without insulin glucose says in your body raising your blood sugar.
The Specific Action of the Hormone and What Regulates it. As said before, insulin aids your body in lowering blood glucose levels. The control of insulin is run by a negative feedback loop involving the pancreas and insulin. When blood glucose levels rise, they rise for a number of reasons like eating carbs, illness, stress, taking certain medicines and having low physical activity. When Blood sugar rises, receptors in the body recognize a change. The pancreas, which is basically the control center, secretes insulin which lowers blood glucose levels. Insulin acts by turning the glucose into energy and storing it in your liver, muscles, and fat cells to use for later. Sugar is needed for energy, but cannot go directly into your cells. Insulin attaches to glucose and signals cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream and use it for energy. The process is only stopped after blood glucose levels return to normal.
How Does This Negative Feedback Loop Aid the Body in Homeostasis?. Homeostasis is how the body remains constant internal status despite outside change. So when you eat something that causes glucose levels to change or if stress is causing them to rise then the negative feedback loop is set in motion to lower the glucose levels and return the body to normal. This aids in homeostasis by returning your body to its normal constant internal state. If glucose levels are not kept constant then disease like diabetes occur.
The Consequences if Homeostasis fails. There are a number of bad things that happen if insulin fails and glucose levels remain high. If the pancreas fails to make enough insulin to regulate glucose levels then glucose remains in the blood stream and eventually it will spill out of the bloodstream through the kidneys and pass as urine; also, high glucose levels pull water out of the bloodstream causing you to pee even more. This often why urinating a lot is often a symptom of diabetes. Diabetes is a result of the pancreas not producing enough insulin for the bodies’ needs. There are different forms of diabetes. Type One Diabetes is when the pancreas is not producing enough or any insulin at all, Type Two Diabetes is when the pancreas is producing some insulin but not enough to satisfy the bodies’ needs, and another form is found in pregnant women called Gestational Diabetes and often disappears after pregnancy.
