This balancing act by insulin and glucagon function helps keep our blood sugar levels stable, and prevents it from becoming too high, or too low2. But what about persons with diabetes? How does glucagon affect their blood sugar levels?
What About Diabetics?
In persons with diabetes, one concern with glucagon is that it can potentially increase blood sugar levels3. For persons with type 1 diabetes, this can happen as a result of the body not producing insulin to lower blood sugar levels.
Another possible scenario that could happen in type 1 diabetics is if they inject too much insulin in their bloodstream. What this does is it inhibits the production of glucagon in the pancreas. This can cause blood sugar levels to become dangerously low.
Type 2 diabetics on the other hand, can experience elevated blood sugar levels because of glucagon function. This is because in type 2 diabetics, the body has developed a resistance to insulin, so it can no longer effectively counteract the effects of glucagon.
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