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Question: What is the name of a hormone produced by the pancreas which regulates the sugar level in blood?...

What is the name of a hormone produced by the pancreas which regulates the sugar level in blood?

Explanation

Solution

Our pancreas plays an important role in digestion. It is situated inside your abdomen just behind our stomach. It is about the size of our hand. During digestion our pancreas secretes pancreatic juices called enzymes. They break down sugars, starches and fats. Our pancreas also supports our digestive system by producing hormones. They are chemical messengers that travel through our blood. Pancreatic hormones help to control our blood sugar levels and appetite. They stimulate stomach acids and tell our stomach when to empty.

Complete answer:
Insulin and glucagon are hormones that are secreted from the pancreas, which help to regulate the levels of blood glucose or blood sugar in our body. Glucose which comes from the food that we eat and moves through our bloodstream to help fuel our body.
Insulin and glucagon work together to balance our blood sugar levels, keeping them in the fine range that our body needs. These hormones are like the ‘Yin and Yang’ of our blood glucose maintenance.

Additional Information:
How Insulin works-
Foods that comprise carbohydrates are transformed into glucose during digestion. Most of this glucose is sent into our bloodstream resulting in a rise in blood glucose levels. This upsurge in blood glucose signals our pancreas to produce insulin.
Insulin tells cells all over our body to absorb glucose from your bloodstream. As the glucose moves into our cells our blood glucose levels drop. Some cells of our body use glucose as energy. Some other cells like cells in our liver and muscles store excess glucose as a substance called glycogen. Our body uses glycogen for fuel between meals or during the fasting time.
How Glucagon works-
Glucagon works to balance the actions of insulin.
About four to six hours after we eat the glucose levels in our blood are reduced and trigger our pancreas to produce glucagon. This hormone signals our liver and muscle cells to convert the stored glycogen back into glucose. These cells then discharge the glucose into our bloodstream so that our other cells can use it for energy.
The whole feedback loop with insulin and glucagon is continuously in motion. It keeps our blood sugar levels from getting too low and ensures that our body has a stable supply of energy.

Note:
Our regulation of blood glucose in our body is an amazing metabolic feat. Though for some people the process doesn’t work in the proper way. Diabetes mellitus is the best-known health condition or disease that causes difficulties with blood sugar balance. Diabetes is a group of diseases. If a person has diabetes or prediabetes then his/her body’s use or production of insulin and glucagon are off. It can lead to unsafe levels of glucose in our blood if the system lacks its balance.