Like glucose, insulin is essential to life. This hormone acts like a key, unlocking cells so glucose — their main source of fuel — can enter.
Insulin is effectively an energy-storage hormone. Because glucose fuels cellular energy, the body is wired to detect sweetness. When sensors in the tongue taste something sweet, they signal the pancreas to release insulin. That insulin spritz relocates sugar from the blood to the cells in anticipation of incoming nutrients, including more sugar.
When sensors in the tongue taste something sweet, they signal the pancreas to release insulin. That insulin spritz relocates sugar from the blood to the cells in anticipation of incoming nutrients, including more sugar.
Called anticipatory insulin response, this process is critical for our health, says Paul Breslin, PhD, a nutritional sciences professor at Rutgers University and researcher at Monell Chemical Senses Center. He likens it to how an airport prepares for a plane’s arrival.
“Imagine what air travel would be like if every time a plane landed at the airport, it was a big surprise. It would be total chaos,” he says. “The same is true for human physiology. If you wait for nutrients to show up in your blood, it’s too late — you would have sky-high blood sugar that requires a huge amount of insulin to move out of the blood.”
The body keeps blood-sugar levels within a narrow range, says integrative psychiatrist Henry Emmons, MD, author of The Chemistry of Calm. “If blood sugar is consistently elevated, even by a slight amount, it can create long-term problems.”
Consistently elevated blood sugar can weaken the ability of cells to respond to insulin in the bloodstream. This is known as insulin resistance, a hallmark of most metabolic disorders. If cell doors stay closed when insulin knocks, glucose builds up in the bloodstream. This is what spurs type 2 diabetes: The body loses its ability to regulate blood-sugar levels without supplemental insulin. (Here are “6 Strategies to Manage High Blood Sugar.”)
For More on Sugar
Learn what you need to know about the sweet stuff’s effects on your health at “12 Common Questions About Sugar and Your Health — Answered,” from which this article was excerpted.
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