Insulin Types

The chemical called insulin is best known as a hormone which carries out regulation of energy and glucose metabolism. In the diabetes treatment, prevention of fat absorption (as an energy source) is the important role of insulin. In the absence of insulin, muscles, liver and fat tissue of the body are unable to absorb glucose from the blood; it causes the absorption of fats to obtain energy. Thus, people suffering from diabetes have to take insulin injections for maintaining blood sugar levels.

Types of Insulin

The type of insulin recommended for a patient depends on various factors and these are presented below. The first thing to be considered while choosing an insulin type is how the body responds to it. Willingness of patients to go for multiple injections in a day is one of the factors to be considered. The willingness to check blood sugar level frequently is also a thing to consider. The types of food one consumes, exercise he performs and the overall lifestyle related choices also play an important role in choosing the type of insulin. Finally, the goals set in blood sugar management and age of the patient should be taken into account for deciding the insulin type. On the basis of how fast the insulin acts, it is classified in different categories. Following are the regular insulin types: Pre-mixed, Long-acting, Intermediate-acting, Short-acting and Rapid-acting. The common insulin names and their descriptions should prove to be helpful in knowing more about these products.

Humalog
It is one of the rapid acting insulin available in the market. 'Insulin lispro' is the active ingredient present in humalog. Action of this type of insulin begins in just 15-20 minutes and its effect lasts for 2-5 hours. Since it is a fast-acting form of insulin, humalog delivers best results when consumed during meal times.

Actrapid
The mode of action of actrapid is the same as natural insulin found in body. Action of actrapid starts in 30-60 minutes and its effect lasts for about 8 hours. To provide overall control, actrapid can be used in combination with other, long-lasting types of insulin.

Levemir and Lantus
These insulins have to be administered to the body on a daily basis. The levemir is however, needed twice in the day. These insulin have to administered in combination with insulins that are short-acting. The levemir and lantus prove to be useful in maintaining a sufficient level of basal insulin in body.

Velosulin
The effect of velosulin on the body begins within an hour and lasts for around 8 hours. Soluble insulin as active ingredient is present in velosulin. It is advisable to intake velosulin with a gap of 15-30 minutes before eating.

Novorapid
It is a fast-acting type of insulin which has insulin aspart as the active ingredient; novorapid is used in the process of normalizing blood sugar levels. Action of this insulin starts in 10-20 minutes, while the effect lasts for 3-5 hours. In order to control the post-prandial levels, novorapid is taken just before meals or immediately after eating.

The information about insulin presented in the article should be useful in understanding their role in control of blood sugar levels. The data is generally presented in the form of insulin types table; however, the format which is given above, should also help in obtaining the information.