What might be the secretin connection to glucose supply and energy metabolism?
If pancreatic enzymatic activity is short-circuited due to insufficient secretin secretion, carbohydrates might not be fully degraded into monosaccharides. And since only monosaccharides (glucose, fructose and galactose) can be absorbed into the mucosal cells of the intestine, this might result in insufficient glucose entering the bloodstream. Also, if amino acids are not being properly broken down and absorbed, due to a reduced release of bicarbonate, the glucose forming process of gluconeogenesis could not take place. This would mean that the bulk of glucose supplying cellular and brain function would have to come from liver and muscle stores of glycogen. But there is a problem here too. The release of secretin helps to stimulate the production and release of another very important pancreatic hormone–insulin. This hormone acts to decrease the production of glucose in the liver by inhibiting gluconeogenesis and the breakdown of stored glycogen.71 The less secretin, the less insulin,
