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A Dysfunctional Liver Can Cause Diabetes – Learn More About The Liver And Its Importance! |
The liver is a very large organ. It is located in the upper right abdomen, is dark reddish-brown and weighs about 3 pounds.
The liver is the largest organ inside the body (skin being the largest organ of all). The liver manages an incredible number
of tasks, including making and storing glucose, digesting fats and serving as the detox center of the body.
A liver which does not function properly can even lead to type 2 diabetes and it might
also worsen the levels of high blood glucose in those people who already have diabetes.
A lot of things is known about the working of the liver but not everything.
It is estimated that the liver may be involved in 500 functions in the body. When it comes to diabetes,
it is important to know how the liver processes carbohydrates and fats from the food we eat!
The liver is basically an organ which is guided by insulin.
The behavior of the liver changes depending of the levels of insulin and how sensitive the liver is to
insulin. When a person eats foods, the blood glucose levels go up. In people who do not have diabetes,
this triggers the pancreas to release more insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin, as you might know,
is basically the signal for the body to absorb the glucose from the bloodstream.
When it comes to glucose, the liver has a special task to do.
If the levels of glucose and therefore also levels of insulin are high in the bloodstream, the liver reacts
to the insulin by absorbing the glucose from the blood. After that it bundles the sugar together into
glycogen, which are basically glucose granules. This means that the liver is a warehouse for glucose!
If the levels of glucose decrease in the body, the levels of insulin also decrease.
This shortage of insulin is a sign that the liver has to liquidate its assets. So it sends its glucose stores
back in the blood glucose to keep the body fed well overnight and during the time between meals!
The liver has a very important ability to dole out stored glucose when needed.
And it also has the crucial ability to create glucose from scratch. This is an essential function which
keeps people alive when food is not available. But people who suffer from diabetes, the liver does
not produce and process glucose like it should, which makes it harder to control blood glucose.
The liver itself can not directly detect the levels of glucose in the blood.
The liver only knows as much as the insulin tells it. This means that if the liver does not notice that
the insulin is there or if there is not enough insulin, the liver automatically assumes that the body
must get more glucose, even if the levels of blood glucose are already high!
This is the reason why people who have diabetes, also have a risk of very high glucose levels right
after waking up in the morning, even though they have not eaten anything.
A dysfunctional liver is also the cause of extremely high glucose levels in the blood in people who
have the diabetic ketoacidosis condition – a condition where there is such a massive shortage of
glucose that the body is unable to process it as energy. So instead of glucose, it uses fats as energy.
When the liver breaks down fat, it creates waste products known as ketones and these can be toxic
in high amounts.
Since the liver is such a vital organ, it is really essential to make sure it stays healthy.
This can be achieved by a healthy diet and lifestyle. Once the liver has become dysfunctional and
caused diabetes for example, it is impossible to make the liver function normally again.