Normal Insulin and Glucose Control (Nursing)

00:01 Hi, welcome to our series on Diabetes.

00:03 Now in this one, I'm going to help you understand normal insulin and glucose control.

00:09 I want you to understand how it's supposed to work in your body.

00:12 So be much clearer when you're helping patients with diabetes.

00:15 So let's start at the very beginning.

00:17 What is glucose? Well, glucose is the main carbohydrate that the body uses for energy.

00:24 It's always present in the blood ready for the tissues to use when they need it.

00:29 So that's glucose, main source of energy.

00:32 Now, glucose needs friend.

00:34 Glucose needs insulin.

00:37 Insulin is a hormone that allows glucose to be absorbed by the cells or the muscles.

00:42 So ready watch this.

00:44 We've got some pretty cool special effects for you here.

00:48 So you see insulin just bound to the receptor site on the plasma membrane of the cell.

00:53 Ready, let's watch it again, I love this part.

00:55 So I've got insulin that's that kind of golden colored shape.

00:59 It's heading toward the receptor.

01:01 Boom, there you go.

01:03 Now, it's on the plasma membrane of the cell.

01:06 Watch what happens next.

01:08 Okay, so see that? That's opening and the cells can absorb the extra glucose from the bloodstream.

01:14 That's how the glucose makes it into the cell.

01:18 So the insulin hits the receptor site that opens the pathway for glucose to make it from the bloodstream into the cell.

01:26 Remember, patients that are insulin resistant doesn't function that way in their bodies.

01:32 But let's walk through the steps of exactly what happens in your body.

01:36 What's the response that food triggers in your body? So let's say you're hungry.

01:42 Do you think your blood glucose is high or low? Well, when you're hungry, it's likely low.

01:49 So, let's eat pizza.

01:51 I love pizza.

01:53 Now, what happens to your blood glucose after you eat all these carbs? Yes, I've seen you guys in class at one o'clock trying to lecture to you after you've eaten pizza.

02:03 And here's what it was on.

02:05 So you've had that pizza, right? It was delicious.

02:08 What's going on in your body? Well, we're going to continue this discussion.

02:13 But I want to make sure you're very clear what postprandial means.

02:17 So, if you wouldn't mind go ahead and underline postprandial in the notes there.

02:23 Perfect! Because there's a very important criteria you need to understand and so do your patients.

02:29 Postprandial means after a meal.

02:32 But it's a very specific window of time.

02:34 It is two hours after the first bite, okay, or the start of the meal.

02:39 So not two hours after the patient finishes, but it's two hours after the first bite of the meal.

02:47 Now, if I was a non-diabetic client their blood sugar will likely be less than a 140.

02:53 For a diabetic client, their blood sugar target is for it to be less than 180.

02:58 But I'm just going to tell you it takes a lot of effort for a diabetic client who's having difficulty keeping their blood sugar's maintained to keep it less than 180 after eating a meal.

03:09 We'll get into more of that later, but just have those numbers in mind.

03:13 Postprandial for non-diabetic, 2 hours after the first bite, less than 140.

03:18 For a diabetic client, we're shooting for less than 180.

03:23 So, let's break this down step-by-step, what happens when your body eats food? What response does food trigger in your body? So blood glucose levels rise after that delicious rich carbohydrate meal we call pizza, right? So in response to that glucose, that blood sugar level getting higher beta cells in the pancreas are stimulated.

03:46 Now, they're stimulated to release insulin into the bloodstream.

03:50 See the pancreas down there? Yes, it's not a particularly attractive organ, but it is very efficient.

03:56 It's endocrine function involves hormones and the hormone we're talking about is insulin.

04:03 Eat the pizza, blood sugar goes up, body responds by the beta cells in the pancreas releasing insulin.

04:10 Now remember what insulin can do? I know, there's our cool special effects right there.

04:14 Because of insulin hitting those receptor sites, it opens up the pathway.

04:19 So the body cells can take up the glucose from the bloodstream.

04:24 What's going to be the result? Well, then the blood glucose levels return to normal right around 90 to 100 and the stimulus for insulin diminishes.

04:33 So blood sugar rises, beta cells in the pancreas release insulin.

04:37 Insulin allows the body cells to take up the glucose from the bloodstream.

04:41 Then the blood glucose levels return back to normal.