Random Fact:
Did you know that your liver weighs approximately 3-4 lbs?
It’s your largest gland. Think: a football.
Also – your pancreas is pretty important too – its main
function includes secreting juices that contain digestive enzymes.
It also helps produce:
- Insulin (regulates how fats and carbohydrates are metabolized in the body, helps muscles and fat tissue take in glucose from your blood. It also slows down the release of glucagon), and
- Glucagon (is released when blood glucose is too low – think “glucaGONE – so we’ll give you more glucose!” heehee… It does this by helping the liver turn glycogen into glucose)
Both of which are important for keeping your blood glucose
levels in check. It’s a balanced system when working functionally, and each one
is present to make sure the other one doesn’t go crazy on your system.
In short: Insulin is the glucose-downer, and glucagon is the
glucose-upper.
Food for thought:
There was a study in Sweden to learn what helps with
pancreatitis. Vegetables appeared to help in preventing the development of
pancreatitis due to the high levels of antioxidants. Unfortunately, fruit doesn’t
quite help as (it’s believed that) the fructose content is too high to be of benefit.
Interesting article that gives more info about the study, and worth a read:
