Insulin, as incredible as it is in terms of its ability to help regulate blood sugar levels, may be worthy of even greater praise. That's because scientists (A.K.A. those smart people who went to a better college than I did) have discovered that applying insulin directly to wounds my actually help them heal more quickly.

Tests performed first on rats and then on human skin cells in culture resulted in the interesting discovery that wounds treated topically with insulin healed faster than wounds left untreated. The scientists examined the molecular impact of the topical application of insulin on keratinocytes, which are the cells responsible for regenerating the epidermis after wounding. The scientists also looked at microvasular endothelial cells, which are the cells that restore blood flow to a wounded area.

The evidence from these examination is what lead the scientists to their conclusions. Further, they speculated that this apparent link between insulin and healing may work to explain why many people with diabetes heal very slowly when wounded. Given the fact that people with diabetes suffer from impaired production or utilization of insulin, it stands to reason that this may be one of the reasons behind why healing may be impaired.