Today I compose an ode in remembrance for our islets of Langerhan. Their job is far more complex than balancing blood sugar. They balance everything in our metabolism, starting with the hormones that tell us to eat or stop eating. The islets of Langerhan house 4 critical cell groups: beta cells, alpha cells, delta cells, and gamma cells - also referred to as the PP cells and D1 cells.

Beta cells are activated by a rise in glucose which results in secreting insulin. As this insulin lowers the blood glucose, amylin is also released. Amylin supports the stability of blood glucose levels by slowing the rate that digested glucose enters the bloodstream. The alpha cells are the opposite - they are responsible for preventing hypoglycemia by secreting glucagon. Glucagon helps maintain the level of glucose by causing the liver to release stored glucose. Delta cells secrete somatostatin, which is like the hold button of the alpha-beta cell connection, restraining the release of insulin and glucagon. The last of our Langerhan lineup, and seemingly the least understood, is the gamma cells, PP and D1. These cells affect appetite through the secretion of ghrelin or leptin. Ghrelin is a stimulant for appetite and feeding. Leptin is a hormone that suppresses appetite and speeds up metabolism.

To recap Team Langerhan: beta cells respond to rising blood glucose with insulin, alpha cells respond to falling blood glucose with glucagon. Delta cells respond to perfect balance in blood glucose by suppressing insulin and glucagon, and the gamma cells keep an appetite on an even keel with ghrelin and leptin. If the initial blood glucose lowering medicine prescribed affects any one of these hormones (as you can see it does) - it is definitely causing an imbalance in metabolism. As we memorialize the islets of Langerhan- let us consider all they have done for us. Pay tribute to your islets of Langerhan by doing all that is naturally possible to restore metabolic balance in the future. I have a few ideas - but your job today is complete. You are enlightened. Please have a happy and safe Memorial Day!

It's logical that the Nation is up-in-arms about putting genetically modified meats and produce on the shelves in grocery stores and getting due diligence from the government for it. It makes a lot of sense to test something you will use to fuel your body before it is permitted to penetrate the market. So how did genetically modified human insulin overtake the market again? Oh - there must not be any side effects like a diabetes epidemic or something crazy like that, right?

But I digress on the topic in honor of springtime, when "love is in the air". As we all know, love is one of the strongest forces of nature. So is it fair that it went unnoticed by the FDA that human synthetic insulin results in a loss of awareness of hypoglycemia, among other natural responses to hormonal precursors? This is due to a significant suppression of tachycardia.

Tachycardia refers to a rapid beating of the heart. This event may be a perfectly normal response to stress. A stressful event may cause the endocrine system to release hormones that regulate body functions related to mood, growth and development, tissue function, and metabolism, all of which are governed by blood sugar. The hormone that is critically important in tachycardia is epinephrine (adrenaline).

Epinephrine is a fight or flight hormone which is released from the adrenal glands when danger threatens (hypoglycemia, mating rituals, survival of the fittest). When secreted into the bloodstream, it rapidly prepares the body for action in emergency situations. The hormone boosts the supply of oxygen and energy-giving glucose to the brain and muscles; some bodily processes not vital to the response are suppressed. This is exactly what happens when animals become twitterpated in the spring (Bambi, Walt Disney - 1942).

As the birds and the bees go about their business, pollinating and procreating - I ask you think about the adulterated pharmacological intervention that has impaired such a natural phenomenon as love. Celebrate the body's natural response to tachycardia, and realize that our Creator made us perfectly. The longer you spend in the lab genetically modifying His work - the more you are fighting the forces of nature. Now please, put it back the way you found it.