Level of Blood Sugar - Lab Report Example

Report on Level of Blood Sugar Practical report on the level of blood sugar under feeding conditions Introduction Glucose that is a simple sugar is the immediate and permanent primary energy source to all the cells in the human body. Glucose in the blood is gained from the different types of food people consume on a daily basis. After digestion of the food has taken place, absorption of glucose is carried out by the intestines and after that distributed to all body cells via the bloodstream. In the process of distribution, energy is being broken down in the form of ATP that is used in different body activities (Ferry & Allen 2010, pp 90).   Glucose constant supply for the cells in the body is maintained through a constant concentration of blood glucose. This concentration of blood glucose is defined by glycaemia and expressed in mg/dl. In the normal conditions, the value of the blood glucose ranges from 70-100mg/dl. The blood sugar levels are regulated by insulin and glucagon hormones, which are always antagonistic in their actions (Jui- Kun et al. 2015, page 149). Secretion of these hormones is by the cells of islets in the pancreas. High levels of blood glucose results in secretion of insulin hormone that help in the conversion of more glucose from the liver to glycogen (Cook et al., 2015). On the other hand, low levels of blood glucose results in secretion of glucagon that act on the liver cells thereby promoting glycogen breakdown into glucose and, as a result, concentration of blood glucose is increased. The determination of the time of secretion of the two hormones is normally through the levels of blood glucose, whether high or low (Numao et al., 2013).   The level of blood glucose under influence of internal and external factors can lead to their change. The factors like age, sex, body composition and physical exercise are categorized as external factors. Internal factors include conditions like diabetes, which is as a result of the defection in insulin production. When sugar blood level falls below 70mg/dl, then the condition is referred to as hypoglycemia. Hyperglycemia is when too much sugar is in the blood stream (Chen et al., 2014, page 1361). The report, therefore, considers the changes that might be found in the levels of blood glucose in adult human beings under different feeding and exercise activities or who have various states of health. The resultant blood glucose levels were then studied in progress for future predictions. The hypothesis of the study was that there is no significance difference between the blood glucose concentrations of two groups of eight fasted and otherwise healthy adult males, where members of one group each consume 100g of milk chocolate, and members of the other group consume a barium meal with the mass of 100g, 45 minutes prior to the blood samples being taken. Aim To determine the level of blood glucose under influence of internal and external factors within a human being and what can lead to their change. Objectives 1. To be able to understand the importance of measuring the level of blood glucose. 2. To determine the amount of glucose levels in barium and chocolate meals. Materials and procedure Materials Two types of meals which are chocolate and barium meals. Two different groups of eight fasted healthy adults. Procedure Two groups comprising of fasted healthy adults were fed with two types of meals whereby the first group consumed 100g of milk chocolate 45 minutes prior to taking the various blood samples. The second group were fed with a meal of barium of mass 100g 45 minutes before taking the values of blood samples. The value of blood samples were then tabulated and using t-test method, their means were calculated. Results Table 1 showing results of glucose levels from the two different meals consumed by the two groups. a B c d e F g h Chocolate 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.0 6.1 6.0 Barium Meal 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Chocolate 195.442 7 .000 6.12500 6.0509 Barium meal 151.537 7 .000 4.05000 3.9868 One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Upper Chocolate 6.1991 Barium meal 4.1132 Figure 1. A bar graph showing comparison of glucose levels in chocolate and barium meals. Discussion From the table, the significant value of the t-test is 0.000 which is less than 0.005, meaning that the null hypothesis should be rejected. Therefore, it means that at 95% confidence level the two means are significantly different. The t-test was a statistical method used in determining the relationship between the glucose levels in the two types of meals by calculating their means. From the graph in figure 1 below, the error bars further suggested that there was a significance difference between the two means of the different types of meals consumed. The blood sugar level of a normal person immediately before and after a meal varies significantly. After the meal, the glucose level of a person is in the range of 3.9mmol l-1 to 6.3mmol l-1 as from the table above.  This implies that people who are in this category have different types of conditions related to effects of glucose levels. Nevertheless, Chen et al., 2014 explained that glucose sugar levels above 5.6mmol l-1 are regarded as entirely normal. In the case whereby the glucose level is taken two hours after the meal, the concentration is under 6.6mmol l-1. The bar graph therefore suggested from the error bars that the glucose levels within the groups varied significantly from the different meals consumed. Conclusion Food consumption initiates the process of assimilation through metabolic factors in the body. Other factors like hormone secretion also lead to the change in concentration of blood glucose level. Furthermore, the concentration of glucose in meals differ significantly from the different types of meals. Barium meal has an average of 25 to 47mg/dl in concentration whereas chocolate meals have glucose levels of over70mg/dl in concentration (Trung et al., 2014). From the study above, the level of glucose is high in light meals like chocolate and low in heavy meals like barium. The study of blood glucose in relevance to the type of meal consumed in the body is necessary for the different parameters of metabolic screening especially in epidemiological and genetically related conditions. This is through the analysis of the means obtained from the level of glucose obtained from the meals (Geat et al. 2013). It is appropriate for checking out the right procedures needed to establish a given condition in the human body. One primary procedure carried out in the medical field is the determination of glucose level concentration from the different amounts of meals consumed in the body (Young& Benton, 2014). Glucose levels between the groups from the two meals consumed varied significantly throughout the day. This suggested that the group did not comprise of healthy individuals. Therefore, the hypothesis that was being tested was not achieved. 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