Insulin is a hormone your body makes that helps it control your blood sugar level and metabolism — the process that turns the food you eat into energy.
Your pancreas makes insulin and releases it into your bloodstream. Insulin helps your body use blood sugar, also called blood glucose, for the energy it needs. It also tells your liver to store the rest for later.
For some people, their pancreas can’t make enough insulin, or their body can’t use the insulin it makes the right way. When either happens, it can cause hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar levels, which leads to diabetes.
Insulin injections, or shots, help people with diabetes control their blood sugar levels. Insulin made in the U.S. comes from a laboratory.
After you eat, your intestines break down carbohydrates from food into glucose, a type of sugar. That glucose goes into your bloodstream, raising your blood sugar level.
Your pancreas is an organ that sits just behind your stomach. It releases insulin to control the level of glucose in your blood.
Your body makes and releases insulin in a feedback loop based on your blood sugar level. At its most basic level, it’s similar to your home's heating and cooling system, which releases cool or warm air as the temperatures rise or fall.
High blood sugar stimulates clusters of special cells, called beta cells, in your pancreas to release insulin. The more glucose you have in your blood, the more insulin your pancreas releases.
Insulin helps move glucose into cells. Your cells use glucose for energy. Your body stores any extra sugar in your liver, muscles, and fat cells. Once glucose moves into your cells, your blood sugar level goes back to normal.
Insulin and glucagon
Low blood sugar prompts a different cluster of cells in your pancreas to release another hormone called glucagon.
Glucagon makes your liver break down the stored sugar, known as glycogen, and release it into your bloodstream.
Insulin lowers blood sugar levels. Glucagon helps increase blood sugar levels. Insulin and glucagon alternate their release throughout the day to keep your blood sugar levels steady.
When you have high blood glucose, it can cause problems in your eyes, brain, heart, and kidneys. Over time, high blood sugar can lead to kidney disease and kidney failure.
To get the benefits of insulin treatment, you need to inject insulin into the fat under your skin. This helps it get into your blood where it can help lower blood sugar levels. The best places to inject insulin are in your:
But don’t inject your insulin in the same spot each time. Change the arm and the side of your belly you use for each injection. Injecting insulin in the same spot too often can cause hard lumps or fatty deposits to form in these areas. Not only do these lumps and bumps look bad, but they can also make the insulin shot less effective.
Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas that helps control your blood sugar levels and metabolism -- the process that turns the food you eat into energy. People with diabetes often can’t make enough insulin or their body can’t use the insulin it makes the right way. If you have diabetes, you need manufactured insulin to help control your blood glucose. Everyone should have their levels checked as part of regular health checkups to avoid complications of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) or high blood sugar (hyperglycemia).
