What is insulin?
Q: What is insulin?
A: Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas in the body that controls the glucose level in the blood. It promotes the absorption of sugar from the blood and stores it as fat cells.
Q: What is diabetes?
A: Diabetes is a disease where people cannot make enough insulin for their needs or are unable to produce any insulin at all.
Q: How does the human body use stored sugar as an energy source?
A: When blood glucose levels fall below a certain level, the human body begins to use stored sugar as an energy source through glycogenolysis. This process breaks down the glycogen stored in the liver and muscles into glucose which can then be used as an energy source.
Q: What other effects does insulin have on our bodies?
A: In addition to being a central metabolic control mechanism, insulin also acts as a control signal to other body systems (such as amino acid uptake by body cells) and has several other anabolic effects throughout our bodies.
Q: Where is insulin produced in our bodies?
A: Insulin is produced by specialized cells called Islets of Langerhans located within our pancreas.
Q: How many amino acids does human insulin contain?
A: Human insulin contains 51 amino acids and has a molecular weight of 5808 Da.
Q: Can people with diabetes take in insulin from animals instead of producing their own?
A: Yes, porcine (pig) insulin is especially close to the human version so people with diabetes can take in this type of animal-derived insulin instead of producing their own.
