How Your Body Works: Your Pancreas

Your body is a complex system, made up of many other complex systems which all work together.

Two of these systems are the endocrine and exocrine systems.

The endocrine system controls your hormones.

Hormones are responsible for everything from metabolism, mood, growth, and reproduction.

RELATED: Naturopathic Solutions For Hormonal Health

Your exocrine system is responsible for releasing substances such as oil, sweat, mucus, and digestive enzymes.

While most organs are part of either the endocrine or exocrine system, some are part of both.

These are called “heterocrine glands”, and include your liver, your kidneys, and of course, your pancreas.

I’m a naturopathic doctor in Toronto, and I want to help you better understand how your body works, including your endocrine and exocrine systems.

Today, we’re going to take a closer look at your pancreas, what it does, and what happens when things go wrong.

Let’s take a closer look at this important gland.

What Is Your Pancreas?

Your pancreas is located near your small intestine and liver, in your abdomen.

It’s considered both and organ and a gland.

At approximately six inches long, your pancreas sits just below your stomach, in front of your spine.

What Does Your Pancreas Do?

As noted above, your pancreas is a unique organ, as it’s a part of both your endocrine and exocrine systems.

It produces hormones responsible for regulating your blood sugar, and also releases enzymes that help in digestion.

Let’s look closer at how it functions in each of these roles.

As An Endocrine Organ

As an endocrine organ, your pancreas releases the following hormones:

• Glucagon: Raises blood sugar
• Insulin: Lowers blood sugar
• Pancreatic polypeptide: Regulates digestion
• Somatostatin: Reduces secretion of other hormones, including insulin and thyroid hormones

As An Exocrine Organ

As part of the exocrine system, the pancreas also releases digestive enzymes into your small intestine.

These include chymotrypsin and trypsin which help you digest proteins.

Other digestive enzymes released by the pancreas are amylase, that breaks down carbohydrates, and lipase, that does the same for fat.

Pancreas Disorders

There are a number of conditions which can affect the health of your pancreas.

We’ll look at some of the common ones here.

1. Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the cells in your pancreas that produce insulin are destroyed.

Because of this, your body is unable to make insulin.

This means your body is unable to process glucose, resulting in high blood sugar levels.

Common symptoms of type 1 diabetes include:

• Chronic fatigue
• Frequent urination
• Extreme hunger
• Blurry vision
• Excess thirst
• Losing a large amount of weight in a short time

If you have type 1 diabetes, you’ll have to take insulin for the rest of your life.

However, you can still live a healthy life regardless.

2. Prediabetes

Prediabetes, also called insulin resistance, is the term used when blood sugar levels are elevated, but not considered high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

It happens when your cells aren’t responsive to insulin.

As the name suggests, prediabetes can be a precursor to eventually developing type 2 diabetes.

But it doesn’t have to be.

If managed properly, prediabetes can be reversed.

3. Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a condition where sugar builds up in your bloodstream.

RELATED: Is Sugar Really As Bad For You As They Say?

When this happens, your body is either unable to produce enough insulin, or you’re unable to react to the insulin you do make.

This is far and away the most common form of diabetes.

Here in Canada, 90% of diabetics are type 2.

However, in many cases, type 2 diabetes is both preventable, and reversible.

In conjunction with insulin supplementing, naturopathic approaches to type 2 diabetes can include:

• Nutritional counselling
• Eat foods high in protein and fibre
• Eating foods high in zinc and chromium
• Take apple cider vinegar

The symptoms of type 2 diabetes are very similar to those of type 1 diabetes.

4. Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer occurs when there are cancerous cells in the pancreas.

In addition, if there is cancer in an organ adjacent to the pancreas, such as the liver, it can also extend to the pancreas.

The two types of pancreatic cancer are pancreatic adenocarcinoma and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the most common.

This type of cancer occurs in endocrine cells and affects the release of hormones.

In some cases, pancreatic cancer can alter blood sugar levels and lead to diabetes.

5. Pancreatitis

The suffix “itis” means diseases and conditions related to inflammation.

Think of diseases like ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, for example.

What do each of them have in common? Inflammation.

As such, pancreatitis is a condition where your pancreatic tissue is inflamed.

Causes of pancreatitis include high alcohol consumption, infection, injury, and gallstones which block the pancreatic duct.

Acute pancreatitis tends to have a fast onset, but also generally clears up after a few days.

Chronic pancreatitis can lead to the development of scar tissue due to prolonged inflammation.

This can damage the cells which produce insulin, leading to diabetes.

How Do I Know If I Have A Pancreas Disorder?

The most common sign of pancreatitis is feeling pain, swelling, and tenderness in the upper left or centre of your abdomen.

This pain might get worse when you eat or drink.

High fat foods in particular can make this pain worse, which can last for several days.

Other symptoms associated with a pancreas disorder include:

• Vomiting and nausea
• Build up of fluid, or edema, in your stomach area
• Tachycardia (fast heart rate)
• Jaundice (yellow skin and eyes)
• Fever
• Hypotension (low blood pressure)

Can You Live Without Your Pancreas?

If you have damage to your pancreas, due to factors such as cancer or inflammation, you may need pancreatic surgery.

In most cases, however, they won’t have to remove your entire pancreas.

In fact, there are some cases where your pancreas can partially regenerate itself, though the way this happens isn’t yet fully understood.

However, in some cases, you may need a full pancreatectomy – a full pancreas removal.

This will cause type 1 diabetes.

As a result, you’ll need to start taking insulin regularly, as well as medications to replicate its other functions.

Natural Solutions To Keep Your Pancreas Healthy

There are a number of natural measures you can take to keep your pancreas healthy.

Some of these include:

• Maintain a healthy weight
• Avoid crash diets or yo yo dieting
• Quit smoking if you smoke, and avoid tobacco products if you’re a non smoker
• Limit how much alcohol you drink
• Avoid too much processed sugar and unhealthy fats in your diet

Book Your Appointment With Dr. Sheila Dyer, ND, Today

Are you concerned about the health of your pancreas?

Perhaps you are at a higher risk of a condition such as diabetes, and want to take steps to prevent if from developing?

Or maybe you have had type 1 diabetes since you were a child, and are looking for ways to help you feel better and manage your condition.

I’m Dr. Sheila Dyer, ND, a naturopathic doctor in Toronto.

I can help by creating a plan to help you keep your pancreas, and the rest of you, healthy and happy.

Book your appointment with me, Dr. Sheila Dyer, ND, today.