
Vaping and Type 2 Diabetes: How E-Cigarettes May Affect Blood Sugar | Everyday Health
The nicotine in e-cigarettes could also affect blood sugar. Research presented at a March 2011 meeting of the American Chemical Society suggested that nicotine caused hemoglobin A1C levels , the two- to three-month average of blood sugar levels, to rise by 34 percent.
And those elevated A1C levels also indicate you may be at a higher risk of complications from diabetes, including eye disease, heart disease, and kidney disease, says Janet Zappe, RN, CDE , clinical program manager of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
We dont yet have all of the answers, and much of the research thats been done thus far is preliminary and doesnt meet the gold standard for research that is, being published in a peer-reviewed journal, and conducted with a randomized, placebo-controlled model.
Researchers are still trying to answer many questions, such as:
How do e-cigarettes affect your heart? The No. 1 cause of death for people with diabetes is cardiovascular, Zappe says. We already know that smoking increases the risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, she notes but do e-cigarettes do the same, especially for people with type 2 diabetes?
What are the long-term effects of e-cigarettes? Because e-cigarettes are relatively newer to the scene, we still need to understand exactly how they affect the bodys risk for disease.
Even though research is ongoing, most healthcare professionals feel we have enough evidence to take action. Heres a summary of their advice:
Avoid e-cigarettes if you dont already smoke. If yo
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