Hypoglycemia: The TRuth

1. By Paige Pajarillo, Haley Duscha, and Emma Graley Hypoglycemia: The TRuth

2. Hypoglycemia is low blood sugar in the body due to an excessive amount of insulin. Hypoglycemia can also occur if one misses a meal and does not intake food or nutrition. Many people with diabetes (disease in which one cannot process glucose) suffer from hypoglycemia due to the fact that they cannot appropriately break down glucose in their body. Several symptoms of hypoglycemia are dizziness, pale skin, perspiration, fatigue, shallow breathing and anxiety. What is hypoglycemia?

3. Pancreas- The pancreas is the long organ of both the endocrine and digestive system. It secretes numerous hormones such as insulin and glucagon. One major function of the pancreas is to control blood sugar levels. The islets of Langerhans are the tissues that secrete these two hormones into the bloodstream. If a person has hypoglycemia, one factor may be that the pancreas does not secrete enough glucagon or too much insulin. Glands affected

4. Insulin- Insulin is the main hormone involved in hypoglycemia. It lowers the blood glucose level when secreted into the blood. This hormone increases the intake of glucose by specific cells such as those found in the liver, the muscles and adipose tissue. Hormones involved • Glucagon- Glucagon is the hormone that counteracts insulin and increases blood sugar level. It initiates the breakdown of glycogen, which releases glucose into the blood. This is important as it provides a source of energy to the body on a cellular level.

5. In hypoglycemia, the hormone that is unbalanced is insulin. If the quantity of the hormone is the cause for this disease, then the overabundance of insulin drastically affects the blood sugar level. This excess amount of hormone will break down too much glucose and result in a lower blood sugar level. In the human body, glucagon is often used to counteract the effects of insulin. Hypoglycemia: Hormone Balance

6. In the human body, blood sugar is controlled through a negative feedback loop. In a negative feedback loop, a variable is kept close to a particular value, or set point. In this case, the blood sugar level is kept to a specific Homeostatic Feedback Loops value. This type of loop is also known as an antagonistic loop. This loop is when two or more hormones counteract one another's’ effects upon a specific variable. In this particular example, insulin and glucagon work against each other. The insulin decreases the blood sugar level while glucagon increases the blood sugar level in order to maintain dynamic equilibrium.

7. Pictures • http://www.masshealthly.com/healthy-living/the-health-rewards-of-eating-fruit/ • http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1366&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=OIKaQzsti18TsM:&imgrefurl=http://www.revolutionp.com/user-understands-hypoglycemia-without-diabetes_2338/&docid=EF9e0sbEjfsEsM&imgurl=http://www.revolutionp.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Hypoglycemia-Blood-Test.jpg&w=436&h=327&ei=eeNxT4HDOung0QHwi_SkAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=521&vpy=149&dur=281&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=169&ty=116&sig=111261520753104255430&page=1&tbnh=133&tbnw=186&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0 • http://images.yourdictionary.com/pancreas • http://goldenmuscles.com/steroids/insulin/ • http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/diabetes/normal-regulation-blood-glucose • http://www.morning-earth.org/graphic-e/Balance-intro.html • Mader, Sylvia S., Understanding Human Anatomy & Physiology, Fifth edition, New York, MCGraw Hill Companies, Inc., 2005 Works Cited