What Hormone is Responsible for Restoring Homeostasis?

Insulin, as used by diabetics, is a restorative hormone.
••• Creatas Images/Creatas/Getty Images

Homeostasis is the ability of an organism to maintain equilibrium; in a human being, homeostasis is balanced by the metabolism, which compensates for disruptions in the body's function. Experiencing changes in temperature, eating certain types of food and undergoing emotional or physical stresses can all disrupt a person's homeostatic state; hormones, either ingested, injected or naturally secreted, restore that homeostasis.

Restoring homeostasis

The basic restorative hormone in the body is insulin, secreted by the pancreas as part of the balancing act of the endocrine system. Insulin maintains the normal amount of sugar in the bloodstream; an overabundance of sugar will disrupt homeostasis. Anyone with a diabetic condition can describe the dizziness and lack of balance that accompanies a blood-sugar "high" -- this is the body's attempt to restore its equilibrium without sufficient insulin, which is why diabetics inject themselves with the substance. The phenomenon of restoring homeostasis is comparable to a thermostat compensating for temperature changes.

Related Articles

What Is the Respiratory System's Role in Homeostasis?
What If Homeostasis Fails?
How Does Sound Affect Heart Rate?
What Is the Goal of Homeostasis?
What Does Choline Do for the Body?
How Does Homeostasis Affect pH Level?
Sodium Bicarbonate Secretion in the Body
Cannon's Four Features of Homeostasis
Hormones That Regulate Calcium & Phosphate Homeostasis
How Dopamine Helps Make Some Foods Addicting
Role of Ribosomes in Homeostasis
How Does the Excretory System Respond to Physical Activity?
How Do pH Buffers Work?
What Causes the Oxygen Level to Go Down Fast in the...
Thyroid Failure & What Causes It
Differences Between "Physical" & "Physiological"
What Are Two Examples of Responses Organisms Display...
What Is the Role of Glucose in the Body?
The Limbic System Structure That Regulates Hunger Is...
What Are Some Characteristics of Protein?

Dont Go!

We Have More Great Sciencing Articles!