What does the pancreas do? - Emma Bryce

Kaj počne trebušna sinavka? - Emma Bryce

Translator: Nika Kotnik Reviewer: Jonathan Rebetz

Beneath your ribs, you'll find, among other things, the pancreas,

Pod svojimi rebri lahko med drugim najdemo tudi trebušno slinavko,

an organ that works a lot like a personal health coach.

organ, ki deluje podobno kot osebni zdravstveni pomočnik.

This organ controls your sugar levels and produces a special juice

Ta organ nadzoruje našo raven sladkorja in proizvaja poseben sok,

that releases the nutrients from your food

ki sprošča hranila iz hrane

to help keep you in the best possible shape.

in nam s tem pomaga ostati v najboljši formi.

The pancreas sits just behind your stomach,

Trebušna slinavka se nahaja tik za želodcem -

an appropriate home, as one of its jobs is to break down the food you eat.

na primernem mestu, saj je ena od njenih nalog razgradnja hrane, ki jo pojemo.

It aids digestion by producing a special tonic made of water,

Prebavi pomaga z izdelovanjem posebnega tonika, narejenega iz vode,

sodium bicarbonate,

sode bikarbone,

and digestive enzymes.

in prebavnih encimov.

Sodium bicarbonate neutralizes the stomach's natural acidity,

Soda bikarbona nevtralizira naravno kislost želodca,

so these digestive enzymes can perform their jobs.

da lahko prebavni encimi opravljajo svoje naloge.

Lipase breaks down fatty substances,

Lipaza razgradi maščobe,

protease splits up proteins,

proteaza razgradi beljakovine,

and amylase divides carbohydrates to create energy-rich sugars.

amilaza pa razcepi ogljikove hidrate, da dobimo energijsko bogate sladkorje.

Most of those nutrients then get absorbed into the blood stream,

Večina teh hranil se nato vsrka v kri

and go on to enrich the body.

in potuje naprej, da bi obogatila telo.

While all this is happening, the pancreas works on another critical task,

Medtem ko se vse to dogaja, trebušna slinavka opravlja še eno pomembno nalogo,

controlling the amount of sugar in your blood.

nadzoruje raven sladkorja v naši krvi.

It achieves this with the hormones insulin and glucagon,

To doseže s hormonoma inzulinom in glukagonom,

which are produced in special cells called the Islets of Langerhans.

ki nastajata v posebnih celicah, imenovanih Langerhansovi otočki.

Having too much or too little sugar can be life threatening,

Preveč ali premalo sladkorja v krvi je lahko življenjsko nevarno,

so the pancreas must stay on constant alert.

zato mora biti trebušna slinavka stalno na preži.

After a big meal, the blood often becomes flushed with sugar.

Po velikem obroku kri velikokrat postane prepolna sladkorja.

To bring us back to normal, the pancreas releases insulin,

Da nas povrne v normalno stanje, trebušna slinavka sprosti inzulin,

which makes the excess sugar move into cells,

ki premakne odvečni sladkor v celice,

where it's either used as an energy source, or stored for later.

kjer se ta porabi kot vir energije ali pa se shrani za pozneje.

Insulin also tells the liver to shut down sugar production.

Inzulin hkrati da jetrom ukaz, naj ustavijo proizvodnjo sladkorja.

On the other hand, if blood sugar is low,

Po drugi strani pa, če je krvni sladkor nizek,

the pancreas releases a hormone called glucagon

trebušna slinavka sprosti hormon glukagon,

that tells the body's cells and liver to release stored sugars

ki ukaže celicam telesa in jeter, naj sprostijo uskladiščen sladkor

back into the bloodstream.

nazaj v krvni obtok.

The interplay between insulin and glucagon is what keeps our sugar levels balanced.

Medsebojno delovanje inzulina in glukagona poskrbi za uravnovešeno raven sladkorja.

But a faulty pancreas can no longer coach us like this,

Slaba trebušna slinavka pa nas ne more nadzirati na tak način,

meaning that this healthy balance is destroyed.

kar pomeni, da je zdravo ravnovesje uničeno.

If it's weakened by disease,

Če jo oslabi bolezen,

the organ's ability to produce insulin may be reduced, or even extinguished,

se sposobnost tega organa, da proizvaja inzulin, zmanjša ali celo povsem izgine,

which can trigger the condition known as diabetes.

kar lahko sproži stanje, znano kot sladkorna bolezen.

Without regular insulin release, sugar steadily builds up in the blood,

Brez rednega sproščanja inzulina se sladkor nabira v krvi,

eventually hardening the blood vessels and causing heart attacks,

sčasoma zatrdi krvne žile in povzroči srčne napade,

kidney failure,

odpoved ledvic in kapi.

and strokes.

Pomanjkanje inzulina prikrajša celice za sladkor, bogat z energijo,

The same lack of insulin deprives cells of the energy-rich sugar

they need to grow and function.

ki ga potrebujejo za rast in delovanje.

People with diabetes also tend to have higher levels of glucagon,

Ljudje z diabetesom imajo pogosto tudi višjo stopnjo glukagona,

which makes even more sugar circulate.

ki povzroči, da kroži še več sladkorja.

Without this internal health coach, our sugar levels would go haywire,

Brez tega notranjega pomočnika, bi se našim ravnem sladkorja zmešalo

and we wouldn't be able to digest important nutrients.

in ne bi mogli prebaviti pomembnih hranil.

But like any coach,

A ni le trebušna slinavka tista, ki nas ohranja zdrave.

it's not the pancreas' job alone to keep us healthy.

It needs our conscious participation, too.

Potrebuje tudi naše zavestno sodelovanje.