How Sugar Affects Diabetes
What Is Blood Sugar?
High blood sugar, also known as hyperglycemia or elevated blood glucose, occurs when there is an excessive amount of glucose (sugar) in your bloodstream. This usually happens because your body isn’t effectively using or producing insulin, a hormone crucial for regulating blood sugar levels.
Under normal circumstances, your pancreas releases insulin in response to high blood sugar levels—such as after eating a meal. This insulin helps your body absorb glucose and return blood sugar levels to normal.
However, in diabetes, your body either fails to produce insulin (type 1 diabetes) or does not respond to it properly (type 2 diabetes). As a result, blood sugar levels can remain elevated for extended periods. Over time, high blood sugar can damage nerves and blood vessels, potentially leading to heart disease and other health complications.
Understanding how much sugar is too much and the effects of elevated blood glucose is essential for managing your health and preventing complications.
What Are Normal Blood Sugar Levels?
Normal blood sugar levels are generally considered to be less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) after fasting for at least 8 hours. Additionally, blood sugar levels should be less than 140 mg/dL two hours after eating.
Throughout the day, blood sugar levels typically reach their lowest point just before meals. For most individuals without diabetes, pre-meal blood sugar levels usually range from 70 to 80 mg/dL. However, normal levels can vary slightly, with some people having levels as low as 60 mg/dL and others around 90 mg/dL.
What Is a Low Blood Sugar Level?
A low blood sugar level, or hypoglycemia, can vary widely from person to person. For many individuals, blood sugar levels rarely fall below 60 mg/dL, even during prolonged fasting. This is because the liver helps maintain normal glucose levels by converting fat and muscle into sugar during periods of fasting or dieting.
In some people, however, blood sugar levels may drop slightly lower. The threshold for what is considered low can be different for each person, depending on their individual metabolic responses and overall health.
Normal Blood Sugar Levels
- While Fasting: Blood sugar levels should be between 72 and 99 mg/dL.
- Two Hours After Eating: Blood sugar levels should be up to 140 mg/dL.
Symptoms of High Blood Sugar
The symptoms of high blood sugar can vary depending on the stage of the condition:
- Early Symptoms: You might experience increased thirst, frequent urination, headaches, and blurred vision.
- Long-Term Symptoms: Prolonged high blood sugar can lead to severe fatigue, unexplained weight loss, frequent skin or vaginal yeast infections, and difficulties in healing cuts or sores.
People with prediabetes, which means their blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not yet at diabetic levels, typically do not exhibit noticeable signs or symptoms.
Causes of High Blood Sugar
In individuals with diabetes, several factors can contribute to elevated blood sugar levels, including:
- Illness: Being sick can raise blood sugar levels.
- Stress: Physical or emotional stress can impact blood glucose.
- Overeating: Consuming too many sugary or carbohydrate-rich foods can increase blood sugar.
- Reduced Activity: Being less active than usual can affect glucose control.
- Missed Insulin Doses: Skipping insulin injections or medications can lead to higher blood sugar.
- Ineffective Medication: Diabetes medications that aren’t working effectively can cause elevated blood sugar.
- Medications: Taking steroids or other certain drugs can raise blood sugar levels.
- Surgery Recovery: Recovering from surgery can affect blood glucose levels.
Diabetes Diagnosis
Doctors use various tests to determine if you have diabetes or prediabetes:
- Fasting Plasma Glucose Test: Your blood sugar levels are measured after fasting for 8 hours. A result higher than 126 mg/dL indicates diabetes, while a result between 100 and 125 mg/dL suggests prediabetes.
- Oral Glucose Tolerance Test: After fasting for 8 hours, you drink a sugary solution. Two hours later, a blood sugar level higher than 200 mg/dL may indicate diabetes, while a level between 140 and 199 mg/dL points to prediabetes.
- Random Check: Your blood sugar is tested at a random time. If it’s higher than 200 mg/dL and you have symptoms like increased thirst, frequent urination, and significant weight changes, additional testing (fasting plasma glucose or oral glucose tolerance test) will be done to confirm the diagnosis.
- A1c Test: The A1c test measures your average blood sugar levels over the past few months. A normal result is below 5.7%. Levels between 5.7% and 6.4% indicate prediabetes.
Any blood sugar level higher than normal is considered unhealthy. Prediabetes refers to elevated sugar levels that are not yet high enough to be classified as diabetes.
According to the American Diabetes Association, approximately 96 million people in the U.S. have prediabetes. Without healthy lifestyle changes recommended by your doctor, prediabetes can progress to diabetes. Prediabetes also increases the risk of heart disease, although not as significantly as diabetes. However, with proper diet and exercise, it is possible to prevent prediabetes from developing into diabetes.
High Blood Sugar
What Are the Risks of High Blood Sugar?Glucose serves as a vital source of energy for your cells when present in normal levels. However, when blood sugar levels are high, glucose can act like a slow-acting poison.
Persistently elevated blood sugar can gradually impair the cells in your pancreas, reducing their ability to produce insulin. This overburden leads to excessive insulin production initially, but over time, the pancreas becomes damaged and its ability to regulate blood sugar effectively is compromised. This can result in long-term health complications and contribute to the development of diabetes.
Dangers of High Blood Sugar
High blood sugar levels can lead to a process called atherosclerosis, where blood vessels become hardened and narrowed. This can have serious consequences for various parts of your body, including:
- Kidney Disease or Failure: Can necessitate dialysis.
- Strokes: Increased risk due to damaged blood vessels.
- Heart Attacks: Resulting from compromised cardiovascular health.
- Vision Loss or Blindness: Damage to blood vessels in the eyes.
- Weakened Immune System: Higher susceptibility to infections.
- Erectile Dysfunction: Impacting sexual health.
- Nerve Damage (Neuropathy): Causes tingling, pain, or loss of sensation in the feet, legs, and hands.
- Poor Blood Flow: Especially to the legs and feet, which can lead to slow wound healing and, in rare cases, the need for amputation.
Maintaining blood sugar levels close to normal can help prevent many of these health issues. According to the American Diabetes Association, the recommended blood sugar targets for people with diabetes are 70 to 130 mg/dL before meals and less than 180 mg/dL after meals.
How to Check Blood Sugar
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with diabetes, your doctor may recommend that you monitor your blood sugar levels at home using a blood glucose monitor or home blood sugar meter. This device requires a small blood sample, typically taken from the tip of your finger, to measure the amount of glucose in your blood. Regular monitoring helps you and your doctor manage your condition effectively.
Follow your doctor’s guidance on the correct way to use your blood glucose monitor. Your doctor will advise you on when and how often to test your blood sugar. Each time you test, record the results in a notebook, an online tool, or an app. Various factors such as the time of day, recent activities, and your last meal can influence the readings, so it’s important to note relevant details like:
- The medication and dosage you took
- What and when you ate, or if you were fasting
- The type, intensity, and duration of any exercise
Logging this information will help you and your doctor assess how well your treatment is working. If you’ve been diagnosed with prediabetes, your doctor may recommend checking your blood sugar levels once a year or more frequently to monitor your condition.
Takeaways
If you have diabetes, monitoring your blood sugar is crucial for managing the condition. The recommended targets are 70 to 130 mg/dL before meals and less than 180 mg/dL after meals. Regularly check your levels at home using a blood glucose monitor, and stay alert for signs of high blood sugar.
Blood Sugar FAQs
What is the normal range for blood sugar?
For individuals with diabetes, a typical blood sugar level is less than 180 mg/dL 1 to 2 hours after eating. However, it’s important to discuss your specific blood sugar goals with your doctor, as they may vary based on your individual health needs.
What Is the Most Common Diabetes Diagnosis?
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, accounting for 90% to 95% of all diabetes diagnoses.
