Renzo, the dancer in the photo, is perfectly balanced, yet a slight movement in any direction would cause him to adjust his position. The human body adjusts its balance among all its parts through a process called homeostasis. Let’s imagine that Renzo has a blood sugar disorder. Earlier, just before this photo was taken, he’d eaten an energy bar. As an energy bar is digested, blood sugar rises. Normally, tiny collections of cells embedded in the pancreas respond to the rise in blood sugar by secreting the chemical insulin. Insulin increases the movement of sugar from the blood into his cells. However, Renzo did not feel satisfied from his energy bar. He felt dizzy and was still hungry, all symptoms he worried could be due to a family history of diabetes. Fortunately, the on-site trainer tested his blood sugar and noted that it was much higher than normal.
After a visit to his regular physician, Renzo was outfitted with an insulin pump, and his blood sugar levels are more consistent. After reading about homeostasis in this chapter, fill in the blanks below regarding Renzo’s blood sugar levels before and after his visit to the doctor.