What Is High Blood Sugar?
Have you ever tried to fly a remote control airplane or helicopter? If you steer too sharply one way, your plane will crash into the ground. And if you go too far in the opposite direction, the plane will nose directly upward, making it difficult to control. For people with diabetes, controlling blood sugar levels (or blood glucose levels) is kind of like piloting that plane. To stay in the air and have the most fun, you have to keep blood sugar levels steady. Having a blood sugar level that's too high can make you feel lousy, and having it often can be unhealthy. The blood glucose level is the amount of glucose in the blood. Glucose is a sugar that comes from the foods we eat, and it's also formed and stored inside the body. It's the main source of energy for the cells of our body, and it's carried to each cell through the bloodstream. Hyperglycemia (pronounced: hi-per-gly-SEE-me-uh) is the medical word for high blood sugar levels. High blood sugar levels happen when the body either can't make insulin (type 1 diabetes) or can't respond to insulin properly (type 2 diabetes). The body needs insulin so glucose in the blood can enter the cells of the body where it can be used for energy. In people who have developed diabetes, glucose builds up in the blood, resulting in hyperglycemia. Having too much sugar in the blood for long periods of time can cause serious health problems if it's not treated. Hyperglycemia can damage the vessels that supply blood to vital organs, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, vision problems, and nerve problems in people with diabetes. These problems don't usually show up in kids or teens with diabetes who have had the disease for only a few years. However, these health problems can occur in adulthood in some Continue reading >>
7 Signs Your Blood Sugar Is Out Of Control
Thinkstock A Silent Danger When you have type 2 diabetes, your main goal should be controlling your blood sugar. Without adequate blood sugar control, your risk for serious health complications — stroke, heart disease, nerve damage, blindness, and more — skyrockets. But here’s the tricky part: You might not even know your blood sugar levels are out of control. “Not everyone will have the same symptoms, and some individuals have no symptoms at all,” says Lori Zanini, RD, CDE, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Because proper blood sugar maintenance is vital to your overall health with type 2 diabetes, you need to take action if you think your levels may be out of control. “Since symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes may not appear until prolonged hyperglycemia has been present, it’s important for individuals with diabetes to monitor their glucose and adjust their medication based on the results,” explains Mary Ann Emanuele, MD, an endocrinologist, professor, and medical director of Inpatient Diabetes at Loyola University Medical Center in Mayfield, Illinois. Here are signs of uncontrolled blood sugar to look for: Continue reading >>
If You Are In Relatively Good Shape, But Have High Blood Sugar From Eating Too Many Carbs, Can You Get Diabetes If You Stay A Healthy Weight?
What kind of carbs and what is “relatively good shape”? In my twenties I could eat all the simple carbs I wanted without gaining a pound. I thought I didn’t need to exercise since I was in better condition then most people my age. The army had done that much for me. Unfortunately, I had an underlying condition related to PCOS. It causes the body to not utilize its insulin correctly. At that time I tended to hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. Thirty years later, the same condition resulted in Diabetes II. There are several conditions that can lead to Diabetes if a person doesn’t eat right and exercise. You need a complete workup from a physician that really understands diabetes. If you are headed that way the H1ac test will show it. A eating plan like the DASH diet or the Mediterranean diet will help you get the right carbs and control the weight. Unfortunately, in my opinion, if you don’t exercise, you will still have insulin resistance. The only way, I’ve seen in the literature so far, to increase those stupid little receptors is by exercise. Having a predisposition to this condition does not mean you have to get it. I have known several people that took their physicians’ warnings seriously and are healthy decades later. They don’t have to worry about the heart attacks, loss of vision, kidney disease, strokes, nerve damage or other problems that come with this condition either. Continue reading >>
What Happens If You Stop Eating Sugar?
According to most nutritionists, if you drink adequate water, your body takes 7 days to rid itself of sugar. During that time, one gets cravings for sugar, much like any drug withdrawal (for hundreds of years prior to the last 3 centuries, sugar was considered a drug). However, if you can withstand the cravings, after 7 days, they stop. From that point on, if you are able to wait a bit longer, when you then do each sugar, you can actually feel your heart palpitate, watch your mood swing, and even have other symptoms appear, such as depression. Sugar is known to depress the immune system, and is the favorite food of most cancers, not to mention diabetes, and their is mounting evidence for a correlation to heart disease as well. Those whom I know who have sworn off sugar for good have huge amounts of energy, and never get sick when all around them do… If you’d like to know more, I highly recommend a book that came out in the 1960s, I think, but remains extremely relevant today, called “Sugar Blues.” Continue reading >>
For Kids
Glucose, or sugar, is the body's main fuel source. That means your body — including your brain — needs glucose to work properly. But even though we need glucose for energy, too much glucose in the blood can be unhealthy. What Is Hyperglycemia? Hyperglycemia (say: hi-per-gly-SEE-me-uh) is the medical word for high blood sugar levels. The hormone insulin is supposed to control the level of glucose in the blood. But someone with diabetes doesn't make enough insulin — or the insulin doesn't work properly — so too much sugar can get into the blood and make the person sick. If you have high blood sugar levels, you may need treatment to lower your blood sugar. Your parents and your diabetes health care team will tell you what your blood sugar levels should be and what to do if they get too high. Managing diabetes is like a three-way balancing act because you have to watch: All three need to be balanced. If any one of these is off, blood sugar levels can be, too. Your parents and doctor can help you with this balancing act. The Causes of High Blood Sugar In general, higher than normal blood glucose levels can be caused by: not taking your diabetes medicine when you're supposed to or not taking the right amounts eating more food than your meal plan allows (without adjusting your insulin or diabetes pills) not getting enough exercise taking other kinds of medicines that affect how your diabetes medicines work Keeping blood sugar levels close to normal can be hard sometimes, and nobody's perfect. Grown-ups can help you stay in balance if you have diabetes. Sometimes blood sugar levels can be high because you're growing and your doctor needs to make some changes in your diabetes treatment plan. Signs That Blood Sugar Levels Are High People with high blood sugar may: pee a l Continue reading >>
What Happens If My Blood Sugar Gets Really High?
Your blood sugar is high when the numbers are 130 mg/dL or higher. High blood sugar can: Make you thirsty Cause headaches Make you go to the bathroom often to urinate (pee) Make it hard to pay attention Blur your vision Make you feel weak or tired Cause yeast infections The presence of the CDC logo and CDC content on this page should not be construed to imply endorsement by the US Government of any commercial products or services, or to replace the advice of a medical professional. The mark “CDC” is licensed under authority of the PHS. High blood sugars cause the body to slow down. When sugar levels are high, blood thickening occurs which causes a reduction of oxygen in the brain and this lessens responses to stimuli. In turn, chemical synapses don’t function properly, reducing the brains ability to process information. This makes it harder to think and process data clearly. It impacts memory recall, attention, concentration, focus, and retention of external information, making learning difficult and in some cases impossible for the child or adult diabetic. Now imagine trying to swim in Jell-O®. For those synapses, the high blood sugar is the same as if you were the Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Michael Phelps (synapse) and your lane had filled with Jell-O®, causing you not to be able to reach your full potential. If your sugars are normal and your pool (brain) is filled with the proper chemicals and water, you will get to finish (information stored in your brain) faster and sometimes you will win the race (get almost perfect scores on the SAT’s.) This feeling of Jell-O® also causes poor memory recall and prevents new information from assimilating into the memory properly, causing memory loss and poor retention. It hinders the growth of new cells in the brain Continue reading >>
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4 Foods To Eat When Your Blood Sugar Is Running High
It’s six o'clock, and your blood sugar has been running high all day. It’s tempting, and it may seem to make sense, to want to skip dinner. But skipping meals can be dangerous and may actually increase your blood sugar more. If you've been experiencing high levels all day, it’s important to eat a meal that has a low glycemic index to help lower your blood sugar levels. There are many foods out there that have a low GI. Here are four quick and simple options that can easily be thrown together at the end of the day. What to eat? 1. Salad with blueberries, nuts, and vinaigrette Vinegar has a balancing effect on blood sugar and post-meal levels. When mixed with olive oil and lemon juice, vinaigrette may lower blood glucose by as much as 30 percent. Blueberries improve insulin sensitivity and are low in naturally occurring sugars. Nuts like raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, and cashews are great for lowering and controlling blood sugar. 2. Avocado Avocados are packed with monounsaturated fats, the same fats found in olive oil that help slow the release of sugars into the bloodstream. They contain soluble fiber, which stabilizes blood sugars and lowers cholesterol. These creamy fruits make a great substitute for cheese and mayonnaise. In fact, 1/5 of an avocado only has 55 calories. Try it with lemon juice and some sea salt. 3. Cinnamon Spice up your night with cinnamon. Some studies have shown that it may help regulate blood sugar levels, though others haven’t. And there’s no clear answer about whether one type of cinnamon works best. But it’s easy to try adding more cinnamon to your diet to see if you notice a benefit. Here’s a delicious chicken dinner recipe from Diabetic Connect that has cinnamon in it to help you get started. And right now, you can add some cin Continue reading >>
High Blood Glucose: What It Means And How To Treat It
What is high blood glucose? People who do not have diabetes typically have fasting plasma blood glucose levels that run under 100 mg/dl. Your physician will define for you what your target blood glucose should be — identifying a blood glucose target that is as close to normal as possible that you can safely achieve given your overall medical health. In general, high blood glucose, also called 'hyperglycemia', is considered "high" when it is 160 mg/dl or above your individual blood glucose target. Be sure to ask your healthcare provider what he or she thinks is a safe target for you for blood glucose before and after meals. If your blood glucose runs high for long periods of time, this can pose significant problems for you long-term — increased risk of complications, such as eye disease, kidney disease, heart attacks and strokes and more. High blood glucose can pose health problems in the short-term as well. Your treatment plan may need adjustment if the blood glucose stays over 180 mg/dl for 3 days in a row. It is important to aim to keep your blood glucose under control, and treat hyperglycemia when it occurs. What are the symptoms of high blood glucose? Increased thirst Increased urination Dry mouth or skin Tiredness or fatigue Blurred vision More frequent infections Slow healing cuts and sores Unexplained weight loss What causes high blood glucose? Too much food Too little exercise or physical activity Skipped or not enough diabetes pills or insulin Insulin that has spoiled after being exposed to extreme heat or freezing cold Stress, illness, infection, injury or surgery A blood glucose meter that is not reading accurately What should you do for high blood glucose? Be sure to drink plenty of water. It is recommended to drink a minimum of 8 glasses each day. If yo Continue reading >>
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High Blood Sugar Symptoms And Information
What is high blood sugar? High blood sugar means that the level of sugar in your blood is higher than normal. It is the main problem caused by diabetes. The medical term for high blood sugar is hyperglycemia. Blood sugar is also called glucose. How does it occur? Blood sugar that stays high is the main problem of diabetes. If you have type 1 diabetes, high blood sugar happens because your body is not making insulin. Insulin moves sugar from the blood into your cells. It is normally made by the pancreas. If you have type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar usually happens because the cells have become unable to use the insulin your body is making. In both cases high levels of sugar build up in the blood. Sometimes people with diabetes can have high blood sugar even if they are taking diabetes medicine. This can happen for many reasons but it always means that your diabetes is not in good control. Some reasons why your sugar might go too high are: skipping your diabetes medicine or not taking the right amount of medicine if you are using insulin: a problem with your insulin (for example, the wrong type or damage to the insulin because it has not been stored properly) if you are using an insulin pump: a problem with the pump (for example, the pump is turned off or the catheter has come out) taking medicines that make your blood sugar medicines work less well (steroids, hormones or water pills) eating or drinking too much (that is, taking in too many calories) not getting enough physical activity emotional or physical stress illness, including colds and flu, especially if there is fever infections, such as an abscessed tooth or urinary tract infection Even if you don’t have diabetes, you may have high blood sugar for a brief time after you eat a food very high in sugar. For exam Continue reading >>
What Causes High Blood Sugar And What Harm Can It Do To My Body?
Question: What causes high blood sugar and what harm can it do to my body? Answer: Diabetes is a condition where the glucose or sugar levels are too high in the blood. Now, there are many reasons why the blood sugar levels get too high in people with diabetes, but I will only mention the two main defects now. The first is that the pancreas which is an important endocrine organ in our bodies does not secrete enough insulin. Insulin is the hormone that helps glucose go from the bloodstream into the cells of our body to be used for energy. A complicated condition called insulin-resistance is the second main cause of diabetes. Insulin-resistance, which occurs primarily in type 2 diabetes, is when the cells of our body are resistant to the glucose-lowering effects of insulin. If an individual has either not enough insulin and/or insulin-resistance, then high blood sugar levels or diabetes will be present. High blood sugar levels if untreated will cause short-term effects and long-term complications. High blood sugar levels over the short term do not cause any damage to the organs of your body, however they will cause you to feel tired and weak, be thirsty, and urinate a lot, be susceptible to infections and have blurry vision. In fact in the elderly, high blood sugar levels can lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and lead to falls and of course we know getting a broken hip as an elderly individual can be pretty devastating. Now high blood sugar levels over the long term, lets just say years, that can lead to the classic chronic complications of diabetes, eye disease or what we call retinopathy that leads to blindness, kidney disease or nephropathy leading to kidney failure necessitating either dialysis or transplantation, and nerve disease or neuropathy which commonl Continue reading >>
Understanding Diabetes
This information describes diabetes, the complications related to the disease, and how you can prevent these complications. Blood Sugar Control Diabetes is a disease where the blood sugar runs too high, usually due to not enough insulin. It can cause terrible long-term complications if it is not treated properly. The most common serious complications are blindness ("retinopathy"), kidney failure requiring dependence on a dialysis machine to stay alive ("nephropathy"), and foot and leg amputations. The good news is that these complications can almost always be prevented if you keep your blood sugar near the normal range. The best way to keep blood sugar low is to eat a healthy diet and do regular exercise. Just 20 minutes of walking 4 or 5 times a week can do wonders for lowering blood sugar. Eating a healthy diet is also very important. Do your best to limit the number of calories you eat each day. Put smaller portions of food on your plate and eat more slowly so that your body has a chance to let you know when it's had enough to eat. It is also very important to limit saturated fats in your diet. Read food labels carefully to see which foods are high in saturated fats. Particular foods to cut down on are: whole milk and 2% milk, cheese, ice cream, fast foods, butter, bacon, sausage, beef, chicken with the skin on (skinless chicken is fine), doughnuts, cookies, chocolate, and nuts. Often, diet and exercise alone are not enough to control blood sugar. In this case, medicine is needed to bring the blood sugar down further. Often pills are enough, but sometimes insulin injections are needed. If medicines to lower blood sugar are started, it is still very important to keep doing regular exercise and eating a healthy diet. Keeping Track of Blood Sugar Checking blood sugar wi Continue reading >>
What Does It Mean To Have High Blood Sugar?
What is hyperglycemia? Have you ever felt like no matter how much water or juice you drink, it just isn’t enough? Does it seem like you spend more time running to the restroom than not? Are you frequently tired? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have high blood sugar. High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, primarily affects people who have diabetes. It occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin. It can also happen when your body is unable to absorb insulin properly or develops a resistance to insulin entirely. Hyperglycemia can also affect people who don’t have diabetes. Your blood sugar levels can spike when you’re ill or under stress. This occurs when the hormones that your body produces to fight off illness raise your blood sugar. If your blood sugar levels are consistently high and left untreated, it can lead to serious complications. These complications can involve problems with your vision, nerves, and cardiovascular system. You generally won’t experience any symptoms until your blood sugar levels are significantly elevated. These symptoms can develop over time, so you may not realize that something is wrong at first. Early symptoms can include: increased urinary frequency increased thirst blurred vision headaches fatigue The longer the condition remains untreated, the more serious symptoms can become. If left untreated, toxic acids can build up in your blood or urine. More serious signs and symptoms include: vomiting nausea dry mouth shortness of breath abdominal pain Your diet may cause you to have high blood sugar levels, particularly if you have diabetes. Carbohydrate-heavy foods such as breads, rice, and pasta can raise your blood sugar. Your body breaks these foods down into sugar molecules during digestion. One of these Continue reading >>
What Are The Advancements In The Treatments Of Diabetes?
Up until relatively recently doctors were on the wrong track with diabetes. Some were still injecting insulin into patients with type 2 diabetes. They now know this is not the best first course of action. Three types of diabetes in layman’s terms Type 1 is where the pancreas can not secrete enough insulin Type 2 where too much insulin is produced because receptors are resistant to insulin. Reversible in the majority of cases through diet alone. Type 3 is Alzheimer’s (due to glycated proteins) Recent discoveries mean that diagnosis of type 1 and type 2 are not as clear as once thought. I’m a specialist practitioner in obesity and diabetes. Yes that’s right, type 2 diabetes can be reversed through diet. Absolutely. Firstly this is what is a normal insulin reaction looks like: Insulin is manufactured in the pancreas and secreted when your blood sugar levels rise. Blood sugar needs to be not too high and not too low. Insulin’s mechanism to remove sugar from blood is to put it into cells, like your muscles. If there is an excess after blood glucose has gone into cells it is then put in the liver and further excess becomes fat. What happens with type 2 When insulin is secreted the body’s cells have ‘‘receptors’ that accept the insulin’s key that then open the doors to the cell to let the glucose in. Sadly in type 2 the receptors become resistant to the insulin key. Therefore not enough energy gets into the cell. The body has a negative feedback system. Once the cells do not get enough energy a signal is sent back to the pancreas to manufacture even more insulin. This is a vicious cycle. Insulin keeps going up and resistance keeps getting worse. A drug, called metformin works by making cells receptive again but it has limitations and eventually other drugs Continue reading >>
What Can Happen To My Body If My Sugar Is Higher Than 600 For Many Hours?
Dangerously high blood sugar levels cause ketoacidosis. A blood sugar level over 600 for many hours is considered extremely dangerous and should be treated at a hospital. Hyperglycemia is the medical term for elevated blood sugar levels. According to the American Diabetes Association, blood sugars more than 240 can cause ketoacidosis – a condition where the body starts using fat for energy. Ketoacidosis can lead to coma and death. Video of the Day Ketones And High Blood Sugar When blood sugar levels are high for prolonged periods of time and the body starts using fat for energy, toxic ketones are produced. The presence of ketones can be measured in the urine. They are the acid byproduct of fat breakdown. Diabetes is the most common cause of high blood sugar levels. Hyperglycemia can also be caused by acute pancreatitis. Early symptoms include frequent urination that leads to dehydration and excessive thirst. Blood sugar more than 600 for many hours could then lead to difficulty breathing, weakness, confusion and decreased level of consciousness. Blood sugar levels become dangerously high when the body does not have enough insulin, which is produced in the pancreas. When ketones develop in the body, the liver produces more glucose to correct the problem, but without insulin, blood sugar levels continue to rise. For patients diagnosed with diabetes, ketoacidosis can develop from missed insulin doses, not enough insulin, infection, trauma or other acute illness. Prolonged high blood sugar levels can cause swelling in the brain – cerebral edema. Children are more susceptible, but adult cases have been documented, according to Elliot J. Crane, MD, Departments of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology, Stanford University Medical Center. Other complications include organ damage fr Continue reading >>
How Is Glucagon An Antagonist Of Insulin?
Insulin and glucagon work together to balance your blood sugar levels, keeping them in the narrow range that your body requires. These hormones are like the yin and yang of blood glucose maintenance. Read on to learn more about how they function and what can happen when they dont work well. Insulin and glucagon work in whats called a negative feedback loop. During this process, one event triggers another, which triggers another, and so on, to keep your blood sugar levels balanced. During digestion, foods that contain carbohydrates are converted into glucose. Most of this glucose is sent into your bloodstream, causing a rise in blood glucose levels. This increase in blood glucose signals your pancreas to produce insulin. The insulin tells cells throughout your body to take in glucose from your bloodstream. As the glucose moves into your cells, your blood glucose levels go down. Some cells use the glucose as energy. Other cells, such as in your liver and muscles, store any excess glucose as a substance called glycogen. Your body uses glycogen for fuel between meals. About four to six hours after you eat, the glucose levels in your blood decrease, triggering your pancreas to produce glucagon. This hormone signals your liver and muscle cells to change the stored glycogen back into glucose. These cells then release the glucose into your bloodstream so your other cells can use it for energy. This whole feedback loop with insulin and glucagon is constantly in motion. It keeps your blood sugar levels from dipping too low, ensuring that your body has a steady supply of energy. Your bodys regulation of blood glucose is an amazing metabolic feat. However, for some people, the process doesnt work properly. Diabetes mellitus is the best known condition that causes problems with bloo Continue reading >>
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