The glucose molecule is an important carbohydrate, essential for the

production of ATP, or the molecule of energy in the body. Glucose is

tightly regulated, and both excessive and inadequate glucose levels
result in disease states.

What Is Glucose?
The name glucose is from the Greek word for 'sweet' , which is
'glukus.' Glucose is a monosaccharide, which is another term for a
simple sugar. It is one of three monosaccharides that are used by the
body, but it is the only one that can be used directly to produce ATP.
ATP is used by the body for energy; in fact, ATP is the only molecule
that can be used for energy. Thus, adequate glucose levels are
essential.
Glucose is both helpful and harmful to organisms. As mentioned,
glucose is used by cells to make ATP and power the body.
Hyperglycemia (high blood glucose), however, is cytotoxic (cellkilling) and can induce severe inflammation throughout the body.
Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) occurs when there is not enough
glucose in the blood. This too is harmful and potentially deadly.
The body has several ways to detect changing glucose levels and
mechanisms to correct harmful situations. When the body cannot
regulate glucose levels, diseases such as diabetes occur.

Regulation
When you eat, the carbohydrates in your food are either already
simple sugars or are re-broken down into simple sugars. The simple
sugars are readily absorbed into your bloodstream from your
digestive system, causing your blood glucose level to rise. Your
pancreas detects rising blood glucose and responds by secreting
insulin. Insulin is a regulatory molecule whose purpose is to control

carbohydrate and fat metabolism.

Once released into the blood, insulin directs cells of the liver, skeletal
muscle, and fat tissue to absorb glucose from the blood. Once blood
glucose levels decrease to a safe level, insulin secretion from the
pancreas stops.
Can you feel hyperglycemia? Usually, you cannot feel that your
blood sugar is above normal levels. However, in extreme cases, you
can feel very thirsty, very hungry, urinate frequently, and even lose
consciousness. Sudden onset of hyperglycemia is an emergency
situation that usually only affects insulin-dependent diabetics.
Alternatively, when you go for a while without eating, the glucose
levels in your blood drop. This situation is also sensed by the
pancreas, which releases a different molecule called glucagon.
Glucagon stimulates the liver to convert glycogen (a starch-like stored
form of glucose) to glucose and release it into the blood. Glucagon
release stops when blood glucose levels rise back into a safe range.
Can you feel hypoglycemia? Yes. When your blood sugar drops
below a critical threshold you can feel dizzy, have trouble thinking,
your hands shake, and you can lose consciousness.
Insulin and glucagon work oppositely but in a coordinated way to
regulate blood glucose levels. Their function is to maintain blood
glucose levels within an acceptable range. Symptoms and
complications of hypoglycemia are as mild as dysphoria (feeling
unwell) to as serious as seizures, unconsciousness, brain damage,
and death. Symptoms and complications of hyperglycemia are kidney
damage, brain damage, heart damage, eye damage, and nerve
damage in the feet and hands. The complications of hypoglycemia
occur within minutes to hours of the onset of hypoglycemia. In
contrast, the complications of hyperglycemia can take months to
years of chronic excessive blood glucose exposure to develop. Here
is a diagram of the glucose regulatory loop.