Blood Glucose

American Diabetic Supply recognizes most everyone with diabetes is familiar with the concept of metabolism. After all, diabetes is a disorder or malfunction of your metabolism. A solid understanding of this complex function is critical to correctly monitoring and balancing your blood glucose levels.

Glucose Is Your Body's Energy
Most foods you eat are broken down into glucose. Glucose represents the sugar in your blood. Your body gets most of its energy from glucose, so you can simply look at glucose as the fuel your body needs to run. Cells need glucose for energy and for growth. However, the only way glucose can reach your cells is through insulin. Insulin is the key that opens the door to your cells--or the escort which takes glucose to your cells.

The pancreas is where insulin is produced. In most people, the pancreas knows the proper amount of insulin to produce. People with diabetes may have a pancreas that does not work, or it produces too little insulin for proper functioning. Some individuals may produce insulin, but for some reason the cells do not recognize it, or respond to it. When either of these situations occurs, glucose builds up in your blood. In fact, your blood is saturated with glucose, because it is not being escorted to your cells. This can be very dangerous.

Many diabetics are insulin dependent, meaning they have to inject insulin on a daily basis to keep their blood glucose at normal levels. This injected insulin can be perceived as the substitute escort, or the replaced key. Monitoring blood glucose levels is very important for a diabetic. Fortunately, glucometers have become smaller and more convenient in recent years, making it easier to maintain the proper glucose levels without a hassle or a dramatic change in lifestyle.