Homeostasis – Diabetes
By: Darcy Schnarr
Diabetes is the lack of the body’s ability to produce insulin or the lack of the
cell’s response to insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is released from the pancreas. It
causes the cells in the blood, “including muscle, red blood cells, and fat cells”1, to
absorb glucose out of the blood.
In the case of diabetes, the issue is that the body is incapable of regulating
low blood sugar. In a healthy individual, insulin is typically released after a meal to
bring the body’s blood sugar back to a regular level.
When a person has diabetes, the body is incapable of fixing a positive
imbalance of blood sugar levels. The sensor that causes insulin to be released is the
sensor that measures the body’s blood sugar level. When the blood sugar gets over
approximately 110 milligrams of glucose per 100 milliliters of blood1, which it
usually does after a meal, the body pancreas releases insulin. This causes the cells
listed above to absorb the glucose in the blood restoring the body to homeostasis
In this loop, ingesting glucose into the body causes the imbalance. The
glucose is what causes the blood sugar level to fluctuate. During homeostasis, a
combination of insulin and glucagon are released. Glucagon is a hormone secreted
by the pancreas that “[makes] the liver release the glucose it has stored in its cells
into the blood stream, with the net effect of increasing blood glucose.” 1 The
combination of these two hormones together maintains a steady blood sugar level of
between 70 and 110 milligrams of glucose per 100 milliliters of blood.
The official medical diagnosis for diabetes is when an individual’s blood
sugar level is measured twice at 200 milligrams of glucose per 100 milliliters of
blood after a glass of sugar water1. This being said, the term hyperglycemic applies
when an individual’s blood sugar is higher than 180 milligrams of glucose per 100
milliliters of blood1. At these levels, the lens in the eye becomes distorted, severely
impairing vision. As well, people suffering from hyperglycemia feel the need to
constantly urinate in an attempt by the body to purge excess glucose from the blood
stream through the urine.
Depending on the type of diabetes, there are practical and medical solutions
to diabetes. Diabetics must take frequent measures of their blood sugar levels to
ensure their blood sugar levels are within the appropriate range. For some types of
diabetes, the individual must maintain a specific diet that is low in certain
substances like glucose. Other people take insulin pills to assist their bodies in
maintaining a healthy level of blood sugar.
Diabetes is an excellent example of a case where the body has a difficult time
maintaining homeostasis. Fortunately there are treatments for diabetes that allow
people with this condition to maintain healthy, normal lives.
Works Cited
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1 http://www.maexamhelp.com/id149.htm
Regulation
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