Importance Of Sugar In The Human Body
Sugar has a poor reputation as being an enemy when it comes to creating a nutritious and well-balanced diet. The fact is, however, that you wouldn’t be able to survive without sugar. Your body relies on small amounts of sugar to function properly. That doesn’t mean that you have license to fill up on sugary foods, but it does mean that there is a place for small amounts of the right kinds of sugar in your healthy eating plan.
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How Can I Treat High Blood Sugar
Talk to your doctor about how to keep your blood sugar levels within your target range. Your doctor may suggest the following:
- Be more active. Regular exercise can help keep your blood sugar levels on track. Important: dont exercise if ketones are present in your urine. This can make your blood sugar go even higher.
- Take medicine as instructed. If your blood sugar is often high, your doctor may change how much medicine you take or when you take it.
- Follow your diabetes meal plan. Ask your doctor or dietitian for help if youre having trouble sticking to it.
- Check your blood sugar as directed by your doctor. Check more often if youre sick or if youre concerned about high or low blood sugar.
- Talk to your doctor about adjusting how much insulin you take and what types of insulin to use.
Why Check Blood Sugar
Whether you have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes, checking your blood sugar lets you see what makes your blood sugar go up or down. For example, some factors that can make blood sugar rise are:
- Too much food, especially carbohydrates
- Inactivity
- Some medications
- More physical activity than usual
Understanding your bodys patterns can help you and your healthcare provider know how to manage your diabetes best. For example, monitoring your blood sugar levels and keeping your blood sugar within your target range reduce the risk of diabetes complications.
In addition, managing your diabetes can help prevent severely high blood sugar and severely low blood sugar .
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Why Is It Important To Monitor Glucose Closely
Monitoring blood glucose closely allows you to identify what is causing your levels to fluctuate so you can avoid things that are affecting you. Keeping a close eye on this number also allows you to catch low or high blood sugar early and avoid hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.
For people with diabetes, blood sugar numbers show how well their diabetes is managed and managing their diabetes means that they have a lower chance of having serious health problems, such as kidney disease and vision loss.
It’s also important to log any changes in blood sugar level so they can be shared with healthcare providers who can use it to make the best care plan or any adjustments to existing treatments.
There are two ways to measure blood sugar:
- Blood sugar checks that you do yourself with a glucometer
- The A1C test done in a lab or at your providers office, which tells you your average blood sugar level over the past two to three months
How To Take Measurements
Many years of experience using glucometers and special measurements haveallowed specialists to draw up an optimal plan for monitoring sugar indicators,which depends on the type of diabetes.
If a person has type 1 diabetes, he should take 4 measurements per day.Measurements must be taken before each meal and at bedtime. If you have had astrong workout or ate a prohibited product, you should conduct additionalresearch at night.
The sugar control regimen for patients with type 2 diabetes depends onthe prescribed course of treatment. If a person uses insulin repeatedly , then as with type 1 diabetes, he must take 4 measurements perday. Otherwise, the patient should take measurements of his blood glucose level2 times a day, and record the results in the appropriate diary. If a persontakes sugar-lowering drugs, then he must take 4 measurements of sugar level 1time per week. This is a control measurement, which allows us to talk about theeffectiveness of using such tools.
This is the standard plan for using glucometers. However, the attendingphysician can change and supplement it. It depends on the goals that he pursuesand the quality of the treatment.
There are situations where you should check your blood sugar more oftenthan usual. Among them:
- Change in treatment
- Change of place of work or residence
- Travel or change of climate zone
You can independently increase the number of measurements if you want toget more detailed information about your body.
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How To Stay In Target
Eating healthy, exercising and taking medication, if necessary, will help you keep your blood sugar levels within their target range. Target ranges for blood sugar can vary depending on your age, medical condition and other risk factors.
Targets are different for pregnant women, older adults and children 12 years of age and under.
Why Is The Blood Sugar High Despite Taking Medication
Most medications to take in the morning forces your body to make insulin. So agents like glipizide produce insulin that helps with your meals. But then it wears off. And then at night your body still needs insulin. So insulin is not just necessary for the food, but also your body needs insulin even during fasting. Therefore, even if youre eating no carbs whatsoever you still need insulin. In the relative deficiency or resistance to insulin, a lot of patients will end up waking up with high blood sugars especially if the medications they take wears off by the time they go to bed.
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How To Balance Blood Sugar
The good news is, disrupted blood sugar and insulin resistance can be corrected with changes in diet and lifestyle habits.
Monitoring the quantity and quality of your carbohydrate intake is a very important factor in balancing your blood sugar. Minimizing processed carbohydrates like crackers, granola bars, baked goods, bread, pasta, sugary drinks, and sweets is vital to minimizing dips and spikes in blood sugar levels. Instead, opt for whole food carbohydrates such as whole grains , bean, lentils, fruit, and vegetables which will help to stabilize blood sugar levels since they are high in fibre and nutrient-dense. Additionally, ensuring that you are eating balanced meals that contain a source of protein and fat is also imperative to balancing blood sugar. Protein helps to balance blood sugar levels, and fat helps to slow the absorption of glucose to the bloodstream.
Finally, lack of or poor sleep can cause cells to be less sensitive to insulin, so getting adequate sleep is important, while exercise helps to encourage glucose to go into your muscle cells, which helps to manage blood glucose levels, so getting daily activity is also beneficial.
How Are Blood Sugar Levels Measured
Your blood sugar levels will tell you how well the care plan is working. There are two ways to measure blood sugar:
- Daily blood sugars. These are the measurements you take throughout the day, typically using a glucose meter. If you wear a continuous glucose monitor , you can see the blood sugar level on the display at any time.
- Blood sugars over the past few months. Every few months youll meet with the care team, and theyll send you for a blood test. The results will show how often your blood glucose was in and out of the healthy range in the 23 months before the test.
At your regular diabetes checkups, youll discuss blood sugar results with the care team, and theyll update the care plan as needed.
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Monitoring Glucose With A Cgm Or Bgm789
Blood glucose meters provide a blood sugar reading in a moment of time. If your blood sugar is rising or falling rapidly, BGM will often be more accurate in that moment. The use of a CGM requires wearing a sensor that checks blood sugar levels every 1-5 minutes, depending on the device. Continuous glucose monitoring provides more data points and helps to ease the burden of daily management. The decision to use CGM instead of BGM should be determined with your healthcare team. Though cost and insurance coverage of CGM devices can sometimes be a barrier, there is an option to use a professional CGM, which is owned by the clinic and worn by the person with diabetes on a short-term, as-needed basis, up to 14 days, and typically 2-4 times per year. Of course, you should check with your insurance plan first to confirm your options.
There are many benefits to blood sugar monitoring, particularly as you learn how your body uniquely responds to different factors. Blood sugar monitoring can help you achieve your glucose targets, increase your time in range, and feel your best while avoiding potential long-term complications from diabetes.
References:
1 American Diabetes Association: Glycemic Targets: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2020 Diabetes Care 2020 43:S66S76
2 Cleveland Clinic Last accessed August 31, 2020
6 Last accessed August 25, 2020
Why Test Blood Sugar Levels
If you take certain medication, like insulin or sulphonylureas, checking your blood sugars is a vital part of living with diabetes. It can help you work out when you need to take more medication, when you need to eat something or for when you want to get up and move around more.
Routine checks can help you know when you might be starting to go too low or too high . Its a way of getting to know your body and how it works. It can help you and your healthcare team spot patterns too. Do you write your results down? You might find that helpful.
But importantly, it will help you stay healthy and prevent serious diabetes complications now and in the future. By complications, we mean serious problems in places like your feet and your eyes. This happens because too much sugar in the blood damages your blood vessels, making it harder for blood to flow around your body. This can lead to very serious problems like sight loss and needing an amputation.
The higher your blood sugar levels are and the longer theyre high for, the more at risk you are.
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When Should I Check My Blood Sugar
How often you check your blood sugar depends on the type of diabetes you have and if you take any diabetes medicines.
Typical times to check your blood sugar include:
- When you first wake up, before you eat or drink anything.
- Before a meal.
- Two hours after a meal.
- At bedtime.
If you have type 1 diabetes, have type 2 diabetes and take insulin, or often have low blood sugar, your doctor may want you to check your blood sugar more often, such as before and after youre physically active.
How To Use A Blood Glucose Meter:
- After washing your hands, insert a test strip into your meter.
- Use your lancing device on the side of your fingertip to get a drop of blood.
- Touch and hold the edge of the test strip to the drop of blood and wait for the result.
- Your blood glucose level will appear on the meter’s display.
Note: All meters are slightly different, so always refer to your user’s manual for specific instructions.
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Other Tips For Checking:
- With some meters, you can also use your forearm, thigh, or fleshy part of your hand.
- There are spring-loaded lancing devices that make sticking yourself less painful.
- If you use your fingertip, stick the side of your fingertip by your fingernail to avoid having sore spots on the frequently used part of your finger.
Maintaining Healthy Blood Sugar Levels:
Following a healthy lifestyle and eating habits are the important things to be considered if you are to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. You can control blood sugar levels by following the tips:
- Try to consume meals at regular intervals
- Do not skip meals
- Avoid consumption of juice and soda and drink plain water instead
- Avoid sweets and candies. You can go for fruits instead
- Consider controlling food portions
You can monitor blood sugar levels at home with the help of handy monitoring devices. It is important to aim for a blood sugar level below 99 mg/dL. Whether it is high blood sugar or low blood sugar, both can have life-threatening complications. You can go for low Glycemic Indexed foods to maintain a healthy blood sugar level.
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So What Affects My Blood Sugar Levels
It is important to understand what can make your blood sugar rise or fall, so that you can take steps to stay on target.
Things that can make blood sugar rise include:
- A meal or snack with more food or more carbohydrates than usual
- Inactivity
- Changes in hormone levels, such as during menstrual periods
- Stress
Why Is It Important To Maintain A Healthy Blood Sugar Level
Diabetes is about to be considered a global pandemic with an enormous increase in the number of patients worldwide. Everyone knows this basic fact that checking the blood sugar regularly can help them stay aware of their risk of diabetes complications. However, most people dont know how a high blood sugar level can result in long-term health issues. There are a number of facts you have to understand before overlooking the importance of maintaining a healthy blood sugar level for the sake of avoiding diabetes. Here is why you should consider blood sugar management a primary health concern. Alternatively, if you are looking for a dietary supplement, we recommend you to read this ceracare supplement review.
According to the American Diabetes Association, over 100 million people in the United States have many health problems linked to their blood sugar imbalances. And, most of them dont know that it is caused by an imbalance in blood sugar level. It is basic for people that the number we see in the blood sugar test results indicate the amount of glucose in the bloodstream. If you have a glucose measurement of less than 180 mg/dl after a meal, or 70 to 130 mg/dl before a meal, it indicates you have a healthy glucose level.
- Increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
- Vision loss.
- Permanent nerve damage.
- Kidney disease and failure.
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Why Blood Sugar Is So Important To The Human Body
By | Submitted On August 22, 2009
Blood sugar is a common term that pertains to the level of glucose, a type of sugar, in the blood. Glucose is the sugar needed and used by the body for energy for metabolism and for the brain to function properly. Food components such as some kinds of sugar and carbohydrates are converted by the body into glucose.
However, the body can regulate the blood sugar level in the blood through hormones. One kind lowers it and another increases it. An anabolic hormone decreases the level of glucose. We know this hormone as insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. The catabolic hormones raise glucose levels in the blood. Examples of this kind of hormone are the growth hormone, cortisol, and glucagon.
Blood sugar levels are relative. The normal levels for a normal non-diabetic person can be too low for a diabetic to achieve. Therefore, a diabetic’s normal level may be much too high for a normal person to have. The normal levels for a non-diabetic can range from 70 to 110 mg/dL. Shortly after eating a meal, it is understandable for the glucose levels to rise to more or less 125 mg/dL and then fall back into the normal range. For people with diabetes, their normal range is from 90 to 130 mg/dL. After meals, below 180 mg/dL is still acceptable.
Jerrold Tanner is a medical researcher who writes in his free time to help others. He owns and maintains Blood Sugar Tips , a resource for maintaining Normal Blood Sugar and managing your Diabetes.
Why Postprandial Blood Sugar Matters For Metabolic Health
Poor blood-sugar control can set off a domino effect in the onset of metabolic syndrome. Prolonged elevated blood sugar can lead to insulin resistance and the exhaustion of insulin-producing beta cells, a cardinal feature of Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is commonly characterized by a value known as the hemoglobin A1c, or HbA1c. This value measures the percentage of hemoglobin molecules bound to sugar the more sugar in the blood, the higher the HbA1c will be.
A study conducted in France found the loss of postprandial blood sugar control was the first step showed metabolic dysfunction even before elevations in fasting blood sugar. In the study, 130 patients with Type 2 diabetes were placed in five groups according to their HbA1c levels, ranging from under 6.5% to over 9%. Participants used continuous glucose monitors to measure their blood sugar levels over three days as most ate a prescribed diet of 45-50% carbohydrates, 35% fats and 15-20% protein .
The study found elevated postprandial glucose numbers as HbA1c climbed above 6.5%, even as fasting glucose remained normal or near-normal. In groups with higher HbA1c levels, blood glucose levels remained high postprandially and during fasting windows, including overnight.
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Women: How Controlling Blood Sugar Benefits Your Heart
When most people hear the term blood sugar, the disease that generally comes to mind is diabetes, not heart disease.
However, according to a Johns Hopkins study, type 1 and type 2 diabetes are some of the most harmful risk factors for cardiovascular disease, says Johns Hopkins cardiologist Bill McEvoy, M.B., B.Ch.
Keeping your blood sugar under control is, therefore, one of the best things you can do for your heart.
A large proportion of diabetes patients have no symptoms, but diabetes, particularly when poorly controlled, is already harming their blood vessels and leading to hardening of the arteries, which is what leads to heart disease, says McEvoy. In some cases, patients dont even realize that they have diabetes until the disease progresses to the point where they have a heart attack, he says.
Thats why its important to be aware of your blood glucose numbers, along with monitoring your overall weight and body fat.
Q& A: Why does my doctor measure my waist?
Your girth around the abdomen is one of the strongest determinants of your risk for type 2 diabetes, says Johns Hopkins cardiologist Bill McEvoy, M.B., B.Ch. Doctors call it central adiposity , and it indicates a dangerous level of fat around your central organs.