Why are glucose levels rising?
The problem of high blood sugar can overtake a healthy person. There are also those people who already have diabetes of any type, but have not been able to stabilize their glucose levels. People who have not previously had diabetes feel shock when they see high blood sugar levels, but this symptom does not always indicate diabetes. There are several reasons why blood sugar levels rise.
Physiological causes
The glucose concentration can increase for physiological reasons, that is, it can also occur in completely healthy people. Sometimes there is an emergency release of sugar into the blood, which, on the contrary, has a beneficial effect on the body. A spike in glucose can occur for the following reasons:
- after or during physical activity;
- during mental activity;
- due to strong emotions, more often with fear and fear;
- due to life-threatening situations;
- due to severe stress.
This is a natural property of glucose, its level is normalized after the termination of the influence of the provoking factor. In the body, the adrenal cortex is stimulated and the release of counter-insular hormones, due to which the liver glycogen breaks down, and glucose is released into the blood, which contributes to the rise in sugar levels. At the same time, an increase in glucose concentration will be short-lived and will not harm the body. On the contrary, in this way a protective mechanism is activated, which helps to stabilize all processes after exposure to a provoking factor.
Pathological causes
An increase in blood sugar can occur due to the influence of two groups of factors:
- short-term;
- long-term.
The first group includes disorders that are not associated with pathologies of carbohydrate metabolism, that is, they are not associated with diabetes mellitus. Such disorders temporarily increase the level of glycemia, these include the following pathologies:
- pathological pain and traumatic shock;
- acute myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke;
- extensive thermal injury;
- brain injury;
- surgery;
- epileptic seizure;
- liver disease;
- fractures, injuries.
If the sugar level is elevated for a long time, this clearly indicates the pathology of carbohydrate metabolism. As a rule, this indicates the development of type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Diseases that increase blood sugar:
- pathologies of the endocrine system , provoking an intensive production of hormones that promote the release of glucose into the blood;
- diseases of the pancreas that interfere with the secretion of insulin, which leads to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus;
- chronic liver disease.
Each ailment begins with a certain state of the body, in which it is impossible to say unequivocally that it is functioning incorrectly, but it is definitely already unhealthy. Violation of carbohydrate metabolism refers to such pathologies. The initial stage of the disease is prediabetes , which exists in two forms:
- impaired glucose tolerance;
- increased glucose content before meals.
Naturally, an increase in glucose occurs due to diabetes mellitus. This can occur both at the initial stage of the development of the disease, and in people with an already established diagnosis.
Why does the glucose level jump in diabetics?
It is difficult to say unequivocally why the concentration of sugar in the blood is increasing, since it can change for each person for different reasons. Morning glycemia can change for several reasons, which will be discussed in detail below.
Morning dawn syndrome
Even in a healthy person, in the morning, the processes of the hormonal system are activated, which provoke the breakdown of liver glycogen and the release of sugar into the blood. Sugar level rises in the early morning, from about 3-4 hours, but sometimes it is late dawn, and the glucose level increases between breakfast and lunch. As a rule, low glucose levels are observed in the evening.
Nocturnal hypoglycemia
If the patient receives the wrong dosage of drugs to lower blood sugar, then at night or closer to the morning hypoglycemia occurs, that is, the glucose values decrease to a critical level. This triggers the triggering of a defense mechanism in which the hormone glucagon, an insulin antagonist, is released into the blood. The process occurs in excess, for this reason in the morning the glucose level rises higher than it was in the evening.
Ineffective medicines
Sometimes blood sugar rises due to insulin deficiency or ineffective treatment. At the same time, throughout the night, the blood sugar content will rise slowly, without sudden jumps. To detect such changes, it is necessary to monitor the glucose content at night every 2-3 hours.
Starvation
If a diabetic does not eat food for a long time, the energy level decreases, glucose leaves the depot – liver glycogen. For this reason, endocrinologists recommend having a snack before bed so as not to go to bed on an empty stomach. However, you should not eat in large portions, it will be enough to drink a glass of kefir.
Increased sugar before bed
The sugar level in diabetes is highly dependent on the insulin injections that the patient uses. In the absence of his own insulin, the patient receives it from the outside, usually it is basal insulin. Basal is designed to maintain sugar, but not reduce it in any way. That is, if a diabetic took an injection of the correct dose of insulin at night, then by morning the sugar level will remain at the same level as in the evening. If by the morning the glucose indicators still fell, then this indicates that there is an excess of basal insulin, it is urgent to lower it to normal. Otherwise, the patient risks getting hypoglycemia.
Increased blood sugar for colds
With a cold, a jump in the level of glycemia often occurs, so patients need to increase the dose of insulin, especially often in a child with diabetes. Adult diabetics undergoing pill therapy may also experience this problem. In this case, they need a temporary appointment of insulin. As a rule, this occurs with a severe infection, accompanied by intoxication and fever. A similar reason for an increase in blood sugar is due to the activation of the defenses and intensive work of the adrenal glands, provoked by acute respiratory infections. Since adrenal hormones are strong counterinsular hormones, they promote the release of glucose from the liver. This gives the body energy to fight pathogenic microorganisms. Life-threatening situations require more insulin for the body to metabolize glucose.
Increased lean sugar
Mostly this problem occurs in people with type 2 diabetes who are being treated with pills. Often in the morning on an empty stomach, their blood sugar rises, and after eating it returns to normal. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that in type II diabetes, iron is not always able to cope with a large load of carbohydrate food and cannot produce the required amount of insulin to bring glucose levels back to normal. Sometimes this happens in excess, so after a meal, blood sugar decreases, while the patient feels weak, anxious, trembling and sweats a lot. For this reason, it is important for diabetics to follow a low-carb diet.
Sugar rise after dinner and before bed
Sometimes, a diabetic may find that blood sugar rises immediately after an evening meal and does not return to normal until the night. Then you need to analyze your own diet and regimen. Most often, this behavior of sugar is explained by the fact that the patient ate foods saturated with carbohydrates for dinner. Potatoes, sugar and pasta especially increase glycemia, because of which it does not have time to normalize by the time it is time to go to bed. Also, glycemia often increases if the diabetic ate little during the day, and when he came home, he ate a large amount of food for dinner.
Signs of high blood sugar
Elevated blood sugar can be easily identified by specific symptoms that appear gradually, most often the following signs are found:
- heavy sweating;
- frequent urge to urinate;
- tiredness, drowsiness, irritability, and sullenness;
- persistent dry mouth;
- obsessive thirst;
- increased appetite;
- rapid weight loss, even despite eating the usual food and without correcting physical activity;
- deterioration of vision;
- skin pathologies;
- numbness of the hands and feet;
- wounds heal slowly;
- nausea, vomiting and dizziness.
In adult men, high sugar is often associated with sexual dysfunction. In women, inflammatory pathologies of the reproductive system with an increased risk of recurrence, bacterial and fungal infections, itching in the vagina.
All of the above symptoms do not necessarily appear at once, but more often than not there are several. If you feel worse, you should not ignore this, you need to see a doctor. An increase in glucose levels may indicate the development of a serious pathology.
Lowering blood sugar at home
It is possible to reduce blood sugar at home, this does not always require taking medications, it will be enough to adhere to some recommendations regarding nutrition and exercise. A properly composed menu will allow you to forget about high blood sugar for a long time. If you regularly follow a low-carb diet, then foods will help bring glucose levels back to normal. All foods that, on the contrary, contribute to an increase in blood sugar, should either be excluded or as limited as possible in the diet. Therefore, it is important to know which foods increase sugar and which lower. A low-carb diet must be checked with your doctor to be beneficial. It is undesirable to immediately make global changes to the usual menu: the body is not ready for such drastic changes, so there will definitely be breakdowns. With a low-carb diet, you should gradually remove unhealthy foods from the diet, replacing them with something useful and nutritious. With diabetes mellitus of any type, folk remedies also help. There are many recipes for lowering blood sugar, and all of them effectively affect glucose concentration. Also, do not forget about exercise. Insulin cannot be produced in sufficient quantities, if you treat diabetes, regardless of its type, with only one method, it is important to combine therapies. Exercise works well with low-carb diet therapy. In order to perfectly choose a training plan, you should consult with your doctor, and at the same time clarify whether it is possible for a diabetic to play sports. Running, cycling, swimming, and skiing are especially beneficial for lowering blood sugar. It is worth remembering that while exercising, you need to drink a glass of pure water or rosehip tincture every 30 minutes. It’s important not to overdo it so that exercise doesn’t cause your blood sugar to rise. And of course, the most effective way to lower blood sugar is by taking medication. They can begin to act both within a day and after a few days. Modern medications have a beneficial and safe effect on the body, since a small dose of the drug is enough to stabilize the blood sugar level.
How to lower blood sugar in women?
Women need to pay special attention to blood sugar levels during pregnancy. If during this period there is an increase in glucose, gestational diabetes is diagnosed . Today, doctors have developed a special therapy for pregnant women that will help reduce blood sugar levels in a way that is safe for the baby and mother.
Pregnant women should not take other drugs to lower blood sugar, since the components of the tablets can penetrate the placenta to the fetus and negatively affect its development. With the right approach to treatment, the risk of complications in a newborn is reduced to a minimum.
As for the rest of women, with diabetes mellitus, they should adhere to the general recommendations for all patients with this disease.
How to lower blood sugar in men?
Men with diabetes are also advised to follow a low-carb diet. Such a diet will help stabilize the concentration of glucose in the body, as well as normalize cholesterol levels and blood pressure. A low-carbohydrate diet is selected by the doctor depending on the individual characteristics of the body. Of the medicinal plants, chamomile, string and wormwood have a positive effect on the male body. It is also useful to drink blueberry tea or beet juice at least once a day for 30 days to stabilize glycemia. Infusions of fenugreek and burdock have no less effect. It is advisable to start drinking them even with prediabetes , which will help prevent it from spilling over into diabetes mellitus. Increased physical activity is required to stimulate insulin production. And it is desirable to reduce alcohol consumption as much as possible. However, it should be borne in mind that some drinks contain a minimum amount of sugar, for example, vodka, so they can be drunk with diabetes. But on a low-carb diet, beer or wine will have to be completely abandoned. If the above methods are ineffective, pills and insulin should be added to them. It is strictly forbidden to select a dose on your own, only a doctor can do this by assessing the indicators of a blood sugar test. The rest of the treatment methods for men do not differ from the general recommendations.
Medicinal methods to lower blood sugar levels
There are a number of safe drugs available to lower glucose. They usually begin to affect the body within 12 hours or less, so they should be taken twice a day. Type 1 diabetes requires insulin therapy. Medicines with different duration of action and time of onset of effect have a therapeutic effect on the body, these include:
- Short-acting drugs , namely ultra-short and short insulins. Increased glucose returns to normal 10-45 minutes after the administration of the drug.
- Long-acting drugs – they begin to act after a few hours and retain their effect for a day.
Also, hormonal medications vary in origin. Some of them are made from the pancreas of cattle or are similar to human insulin. In addition to injections for diabetes mellitus, pills are taken that effectively reduce the concentration of sugar in the blood. Mostly they are prescribed for type 2 diabetes. These drugs are also divided into several groups, each of which is aimed at lowering sugar, but affects a certain factor in the mechanism of the development of the disease. Diabetes pills:
- Sulfonylurea derivatives – they stimulate cells that produce insulin, which helps to reduce glucose levels by 2%.
- Biguanides – move sugar into cells and tissues of the body. This group of vitamins is contraindicated in patients with limited functionality of the heart and kidneys, as it increases the risk of developing ketoacidosis .
- Thiazolidinedione derivatives – normalize the sensitivity of cells to pancreatic hormones. However, this group does not reduce blood sugar levels quickly enough, the first results after the start of the intake become noticeable after 1-2 weeks.
- Meglitinides – depending on the blood sugar content, drugs will help to release the required amount of insulin.
- Combined preparations – this includes products that contain several active substances of different effects at once.
Only an endocrinologist can choose the right medicine. The choice of the drug is influenced by the type of disease and indications, the presence of other pathologies and periods of hyperglycemia.
Nutritional therapy for high sugar
For diabetes mellitus, a low-carb diet can effectively lower sugar. It can be used as a stand-alone treatment or with drugs or other methods to lower blood sugar levels. Low Carb Diet Principles:
- reduction to a minimum of foods rich in carbohydrates, an increase in the consumed polysaccharides saturated with fiber and other dietary fibers;
- excluding sugar from the menu, it can be replaced with sweeteners;
- instead of animal proteins, it is worth adding plant protein substances to the menu;
- you need to eat several times in small portions;
- the doctor must choose the optimal amount of calories – this amount cannot be deviated from;
- salt restriction;
- drink about 1.5 liters of liquid per day.
When composing a menu for a low-carb diet, you need to pay attention to the glycemic index of foods. This metric determines how quickly blood sugar rises after a meal. When following a low-carb diet, a diabetic should always include foods that can normalize glycemic levels.
Foods that lower blood sugar
Doctors name a number of foods that diabetics should definitely include in their diet with a low-carb diet. List of 20 must-haves to lower sugar:
- Seafood and cheese – they practically do not affect the glucose content, and therefore their number in the low-carb diet menu is not limited.
- Greens and vegetables – Lowers sugar minimally, but when consumed regularly, they help stabilize glucose levels.
- Ginger, berries and Jerusalem artichoke – effectively reduce blood sugar.
- Oatmeal – It not only helps to lower blood sugar, but also serves as an excellent means of preventing diabetes.
- Nuts – Glucose-lowering foods include almost all types of nuts, due to their high content of fat, protein and fiber, which slows down the absorption of sugar in the body. However, it should be borne in mind that diabetics should eat about 50 grams of nuts, and preferably 1-2 times a week, but not daily. A low-carb diet for pregnant women completely excludes this product from the diet.
- Spinach – due to magnesium, it successfully lowers blood sugar, and also normalizes blood pressure.
- Cinnamon is also rich in magnesium, fiber and a plant analogue of insulin, which significantly lowers glucose levels. But eating a lot of cinnamon is fraught with hypoglycemia, so a low-carb diet limits the amount of cinnamon consumed.
- Cherries – berries are rich in fiber, contain few calories, and also have antihyperglycemic properties.
- Citrus – Eating lemons and grapefruits or drinking their juice is recommended to lower sugar.
- Avocado – Increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin and monounsaturated fats.
- Flaxseed oil – thanks to omega-3 acids, it effectively reduces sugar levels. It is recommended to drink 1-2 teaspoons of oil per day. Great for low-carb diets.
- Onions – the flavonoids it contains are excellent at removing excess sugar and cholesterol from the body.
- Garlic – normalizes the pancreas and promotes the accelerated production of insulin.
- Legumes – prevent the body from quickly absorbing glucose.
- Mushrooms – have no effect on blood sugar concentration.
- Meat, Fish, and Chicken – It is important to cook these foods properly on a low-carb diet.
- Whole grains – thanks to the fiber in the composition, they stop the absorption of sugar into the blood.
- Butter, cheese – useful with a low-carb diet, as they slow down the absorption of carbohydrates by the body.
- Fruits, namely pears, bananas, apples, strawberries and melons.
- Vegetables – it is better to use salads, season with linseed oil or lemon juice.
All of these products are suitable for a patient with diabetes mellitus, regardless of its type. With their help, a diabetic will not only be able to bring the blood sugar level to a normal state, but also enrich the body with all the necessary substances.
It is important to remember that with a low-carb diet, the patient does not have to limit himself, the diabetic’s menu consists of many tasty and nutritious foods.
Exercise stress
It is not only possible to combine treatment methods, but it is also necessary, of course, within reasonable limits. Physical activity, like a low-carb diet, is a prerequisite for treatment. After active training, blood sugar decreases, since due to exertion, the body spends a certain amount of energy. Heavy loads on the body are prohibited, it is best to give preference to hiking, yoga, swimming and cycling. Be sure to consult a doctor before training, because in some cases the patient should not overload the body. Thus, physical activity is contraindicated if the blood sugar concentration exceeds 15 mmol per liter, this can cause the exact opposite effect. What are the benefits of physical activity for diabetics? It has been shown that after moderate exercise, the cells and tissues of the body become more sensitive to insulin. In type 2 diabetes mellitus, an increase in glucose tolerance is observed. And with type 1 diabetes in diabetics, the need for insulin decreased to 20 units per day. Before starting training, you need to develop an exercise plan and severity. This is especially important for severely diabetics. The higher the stage of diabetes mellitus, the more complex training should be. In addition, you should eat low carbohydrate foods before exercising . Controlling the drop in blood sugar is important, and in type 2 diabetes, you should not take insulin shots just before exercise.
Limitations
With diabetes mellitus, physical education is somewhat limited, for each patient these restrictions are determined individually. Intense and frequent training will not necessarily lead to a positive result, sometimes the condition of a diabetic only worsens because of this. An individual lesson plan is required for people with:
- diseases of blood vessels and heart;
- underdeveloped physical form;
- a magnificent constitution of the body;
- abnormal glucose readings.
People after 45 years of age should also be careful about training.
What types of physical activity are good for diabetes?
Physical activity is not limited to 1-2 exercises, so everyone can choose a sport that is convenient for themselves. With diabetes, the following loads are useful:
- race walking at an average pace;
- run;
- cycling;
- swimming;
- aerobics;
- gymnastics for the legs;
- classic workouts (squats, lifting weights, push-ups, pull-ups, etc.).
Diabetics should avoid overworking their bodies and exercising more than they should. It is necessary to strictly follow the norm established by the doctor. Improper performance of exercises is fraught with complications, previously there have been cases when, with type 2 diabetes, a patient had a heart attack. Therefore, you need to perform the optimal amount of exercise, avoid fatigue and malaise. Many people are mistaken in the belief that accelerated or vigorous training will help to urgently normalize blood sugar levels. Such a load will not only not benefit the body, but also harm it.
Lowering blood sugar with folk remedies
Do not underestimate traditional medicines like herbs and plants. Some recipes have been used by diabetics for more than one year, and many patients have noted a significant improvement in well-being after such therapy. The following traditional medicine recipes are popular among diabetics:
- Take one raw chicken egg and mix with half a glass of lemon juice. Drink a drink an hour before meals 3 times a day. The course is short, only 3 days. The therapy can be repeated after 10 days.
- Dandelion roots must be thoroughly washed from the ground and finely chopped. Pour a glass of boiling water over. Let it brew for half an hour, and then strain. Drink the solution all day.
- Pour lime blossom with water and put on fire. When the liquid boils, reduce the temperature to the maximum and leave for another 15 minutes. Then remove and strain the liquid. Drink instead of regular water.
- Brew a pinch of turmeric in a glass of boiling water. Let it brew for 40 minutes. Drink after waking up and before bed.
- Prepare yourself or buy plantain juice. Drink 2 tablespoons 3 times a day.
- Strawberry leaves are the most popular herb for lowering blood sugar. For treatment, the top three leaves are useful. You need to fill them with a glass of boiling water and let it brew, then strain. Instead of strawberry, you can use raspberry leaves.
- Parsley roots and herbs should be brewed like tea and drunk half a glass at least three times a day.
Combining traditional and traditional medicines will help to increase the effectiveness of treatment. It’s also helpful to add folk recipes to your own menu when you’re on a low-carb diet. Such therapy will accelerate the decrease in sugar to normal and will allow you to forget about the increase in blood glucose levels for a long time.