Why is glucose regulation important?
Maintaining a certain level of glucose is a matter of life and death.
Some tissues can use a range of energy sources such as fats and amino acids, but several important tissues in the body can only use blood sugar (glucose). These tissues need a constant supply of glucose to function properly.
Key cells, tissues and systems that rely on glucose to function properly are:
- immune cells (eg Macrophages, lymphocytes)
- red blood cells
- brain and nervous system (Note: when blood glucose levels fall below about 2.5nM, people get seizures and can go into a coma as the brain doesn’t function properly. nM, or nanomolar, is a measurement of amount-of-substance concentrations).
What factors increase and decrease blood sugar?
There are some key things we do that increase and decrease blood sugar. Let’s take a look:
| Increase | Decrease |
|---|---|
| Eating food | Exercising |
| Drinking a fizzy drink | Not eating for several hours |
| Having a malfunctioning pancreas that doesn’t produce enough insulin | Having a liver that does not release glycogen effectively |
The liver
Note: You may recall from week 2 (Step 2.4 What is the liver’s function in homeostasis?) that the liver has a central role in carbohydrate metabolism including:
- the production of glucose from non-carbohydrate sources
- the interconversion of glucose and glycogen.
Revisit Step 2.4, for fuller information about liver function.
Finding the Body’s Balance: Understanding Homeostasis
Finding the Body’s Balance: Understanding Homeostasis
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