Discovery Of Insulin In Canada

Insulin: a hormone made by the pancreas that allows your body to use sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in the food that you eat for energy or to store glucose for future use. Insulin helps keeps your blood sugar level from getting too high (hyperglycemia) or too low (hypoglycemia). Before insulin Diabetes mellitus was a chronic disease that affected thousands of people in Canada and beyond. In the first half of the 20th century, medical professionals understood that diabetes mellitus involved the body’s inability to metabolize food, especially carbohydrates. “Insuline” was already in development as many medical professionals like Joseph Freiherr and Oscar Minkowski, isolated its properties before Banting had his ideas. As well Ancient Greek

In 1923 the Nobel Committee decided to award Banting and Macleod the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, making both of them one of the most famous Canadians in all of history.

Insulin is by far the most influential discovery in Canadian and world history. In Canada in 2008/2009 there were 2.4 million people living with diabetes and there are many more today. With out the discovery of insulin many people would not be able to live full lives. However, the discovery of insulin was not just an accomplishment Fredrick Banting and his colleagues had developed in the 1920s, it was a product of timing and luck on Banting’s part and the idea that he took from others was the product that changed the century. In this essay one will argue, that insulin was not the miracle discovery that many scholars claim it to be by discussing Bantings hypothesis process, his relations with his partners Best and Macleod and the controversy with him winning the Nobel peace prize for his discovery, Canada’s reaction to the miracle discovery, whether or not it is a cure and the later affects of insulin on the individuals who discovered

In the Toronto Daily Star, they reported the discovery in an article called “Defeat of Diabetes Definitely Declared”. Although a short article this passage feels more like a propaganda piece then anything. The title itself sounds very war like and tells the readers the steps of how Banting and Best defeated diabetes. The article goes on to explain the steps that Banting and Best took in a positive light, denouncing any mistakes that the two men made before insulin was introduced to the world. The article stated “Doubtless this is a new beginning. The next thing will be, as anyone can can think for himself, that with this clue, biochemistry will discover why adrenal extract does not cure Addison’s disease…” This passage is important because Canada is building its confidence in the medical world. This miracle discovery is one which made every Canadian proud, even today, that they discovered something so important to every day lives of people who had diabetes they had to show off their proudness in their doctor’s skills to find a solution to the diabetic