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May 25, 1999

Hypoglycemia

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Question from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada:

What prevents non-diabetics from having hypoglycemic reactions? Is it mainly due to very precisely regulated excretions of natural insulin in response to glucose in the body

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

Glucose homeostasis is complex but insulin and glucagon secretion is controlled by continuous monitoring of blood sugar levels at beta cell level. Other hormones involved include cortisol, thyroxine and growth hormone. In other words, there is nothing special about the insulin molecule — you are injecting the same substance from a syringe but into the wrong place in the wrong amount at the wrong time. That’s why you can’t hope to have perfect ‘non-diabetic’ blood sugar control.

KJR