Pancreas Glucagon

Ugh, right!?! What a phrase. I'm a simple girl with simple taste. How do phrases like 'pancreas glucagon' pop up in my world? Well, I'll tell ya! Chronic pancreatitis has the tendencies to expand the horizons of one's vocabulary, even that of a simple girl like me.

While I'm making light, Glucagon is worth noting and paying attention to. The more I learn the more I realize how vulnerable my pancreas may have been by factors beyond alcohol. This does not mean I can drink alcohol or that alcohol wasn't the trigger. It means that other factors within my body may have made me more vulnerable to alcoholic pancreatitis.

Glucagon is a hormone secreted by the pancreas. It raises blood sucrose levels and has the opposite effect of insulin. When blood sugar (glucose) levels fall too low the pancreas releases glucagon. Glucagon affects the liver causing it to convert stored glycogen into glucose, which is then released into the bloodstream.

Noteworthy: What is interesting here is that problems with the pancreas often cause trouble with the liver. Glucagon affects both the liver and pancreas.

Also NOTEWORTHY: Glucagon is a hormone. a) I have a thyroid imbalance which is said to be hormonal. Glucagon is a endocrine hormone molecule. b) The pancreas is part of the endocrine system. One of the questions might be: Does my swollen thyroid weaken my pancreas glucagon?

The glucagon hormone is synthesized and secreted from alpha cells of the islets of Langerhans, which are located in the endocrine portion of the pancreas.

NOTEWORTHY: a) Steve Jobs has Islet Pancreatic Cancer. He has also had a liver transplant. b) For me, it is important to note that the glucagon hormone is located in the endocrine portion of the pancreas because my endocrine system is weak and therefore this could be related or a trigger point.

Glucagon helps maintain the level of glucose in the blood. Glucose is stored in the liver.

Glucagon production appears to be dependent on the central nervous system through pathways yet to be defined.

One of the regulatory mechanisms of pancreas glucagon is that an increased secretion of glucagon is caused by an increased plasma amino acid (to protect from hypoglycemia if an all-protein meal is consumed).

NOTEWORTHY: I tend to prefer 'all-protein meals' and happen to be hypoglycemic.



Source: Wikipedia: Glucagon