Diabetes 101
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What does insulin do?
After you eat, the food is broken down into glucose, the simple sugar that is the main source of energy for the body's cells. But without insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, your cells cannot use glucose. Cells use sugars and other nutrients from meals as a source of energy to run a variety of important processes for the body. Insulin helps the cells take in glucose and convert it to energy. When the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body is unable to use the insulin that is present, the cells cannot use glucose. Excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream.
Insulin in People without Diabetes
The insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas of people without diabetes make small amounts of insulin all day long, even when fasting, to prevent the liver from converting bodily protein (like muscles) to glucose. This is called basal insulin production.
The pancreas also produces an increase in the amount of insulin it releases while meals are being digested (called bolus insulin production) in an amount that is required by the size of that particular meal. When glucose from the bloodstream is moved into cells, the amount of sugar in the blood decreases. Normally this signals the beta cells in the pancreas to stop secreting insulin so that you don't develop low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). This constant secretion of insulin by the pancreas helps keep blood glucose levels within a healthy range.