2006-12-29 11:36:52 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Diabetes
It is a peptide and would get digested.
2006-12-29 11:38:51 · answer #1 · answered by Mubz 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oral insulin is something of the holy grail in diabetes treatment, but so far we don't know how to make it work. The problem, as has been noted elsewhere, is that insulin is a protein, so if you take it via the digestive system, rather than being able to diffuse whole into the blood, it will be digested into inactive substances. Intravenous and subcutaneous insulin have existed for some time now, and recently inhaled insulin became available, but so far nobody has figured out how to put it into a pill, there's billions of dollars waiting for the person who does.
2006-12-29 12:28:23 · answer #2 · answered by The Doc 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Insulin is a protein and when we take proteins orally, the acids in our stomach break it down and de-activate them. Therefore, if you were to take insulin orally, it won't be insulin at all once your stomach is done with it. To get around this problem, we will need to by-pass our digestive system. The best way to do that is to either inject the insulin, or to deliver it intra-nasally. There are other ways to by-pass the digestive system, such as administering medicines rectally, but I'd wager not many diabetics will be very fond of that idea!
So, subcutaneous injections are the best. They are quickly absorbed by the bloodstream and they will not get broken down by digestive enzymes and stomach acid.
Hope this helps.
2006-12-29 14:04:20 · answer #3 · answered by Lawrence L 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
insulin cannot be taken by mouth because we would digest it and it would never make it to the parts of the body where it does the most good.
2006-12-29 12:22:35 · answer #4 · answered by kat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there is an article in the january issue of nursing2007 talking about a new inhaled type of insulin so the advancement is there
2006-12-29 11:40:40 · answer #5 · answered by charmel5496 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
an injection will decrease the sugar a lot faster then by mouth but there are some diabetics who can take a pill by mouth depends on what type of diabetes you have they also now have an inhaler to use by mouth might want to speak to your Dr. about what is best for you and why.
2006-12-29 11:51:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
subcutaneous is faster.
You really don't want a pill sitting in your stomach dissolving
when a small needle poke gets to the point right now.
2006-12-29 11:39:45 · answer #7 · answered by binibining pilipina 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they make an inhaler now. It is a bit pricey though.
2006-12-29 11:39:16 · answer #8 · answered by ladiebugg81 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋