One of the predictable problems of diabetes is that just as soon as you are sure you have your eating plan completely figured out, you will get a blood sugar level that is inexplicably high or inexplicably low.
The truth is, these levels aren't entirely about what you eat and how you exercise.
Here are five reasons your blood sugars may be something entirely different from what you quite reasonably expect: 1.
More often than not, unexpected changes in these levels are caused by eating something you shouldn't...
or not eating something you should.
It is only human to get off your diet occasionally.
When you do, get right back on your eating plan, and the damage will be minimized.
If you must eat something that is not on your diet, at least try to limit yourself to small portions.
Stuffing yourself...
even with salad...
activates stretch receptors in the lining of your stomach that trigger the release of hormones that elevate blood sugars.
2.
Infection raises blood sugar levels.
If you have a cold, the flu, or some other infection, chances are these levels will rise by about 75mg/dL (4mmol/L).
On the other hand if your levels are above 200mg/dL (11mmol/L), you will be a sweet target for infectious micro-organisms.
3.
Dehydration raises blood sugar levels.
Anytime you sweat a lot, or you have diarrhea, your body loses fluid.
Less fluid to dilute sugar in your bloodstream, naturally results in higher blood glucose levels.
This is one of the most serious complications of type 2 diabetes.
4.
How fast your stomach empties into the lower digestive tract affects blood sugar levels.
The faster your stomach empties digested food, the higher your blood sugars will run after a meal.
High-fat and high-protein meals take longer to digest, and result in slower increases in blood sugars.
Certain spices, like cinnamon, slow down the release of digested food into your gut, and also result in lower after-meal blood sugar levels.
Bitter foods, on the other hand, trigger a reflux that stimulates the release of gastric acid that sends digested food to the intestines more quickly.
And sometimes it is easy to forget digested sugars still enter your bloodstream even if they are digested slowly.
5.
Changes in the weather can cause unexpected changes in blood sugar levels.
The first really warm day of spring for instance, usually results in lower levels.
Your blood vessels absorb fluids from the tissues just beneath your skin so that they can dilate and cool your body.
This dilutes blood sugars and gives erroneously low sugar levels.
Another complication of blood glucose testing is the simple reality...
test strips give inaccurate results.
If you have handled any kind of sugary food without washing your hands before taking your blood glucose levels, your sugar levels will test too high.
If you take large doses of vitamin C (more than 500 to 1,000mg a day), enzymes in your bloodstream will damage test strips so that your levels will test low.
And it's also common for test strips to be poorly calibrated.
Makers of glucose test strips don't want to be sued because a diabetic did not know they had potentially low blood sugars, became hypoglycemic and were involved in an accident.
That's why test strips give readings that are lower than the true value.
That's great for avoiding hypoglycemia, but it's bad for day-to-day blood glucose control.
Actual sugar levels taken from the capillary blood of your finger are higher than the blood sugar levels in your vein, except during pregnancy, when they are usually the same.