Diabetics know the drama of blood sugar fluctuations.
They can be normal when they test their blood in the morning and over 300 at lunch.
They can hit bottom at 3 p.m. Understanding what causes these dramatic shifts will help you better manage blood sugar levels.
Many things can cause blood sugar to rise and fall but here are the five most common reasons why you may have a difficult time with your blood sugar.
Dehydration
Failing to drink enough water will cause your blood sugar to skyrocket.
You must drink water.
There isn’t a substitute like a soft drink, alcohol, tea or some other drink.
All of those contain sugar and carbs which make your sugar go up and can dehydrate you even more.
A lack of fluids leads to hyperglycemia. That happens because the sugar becomes denser.
This can also cause you to urinate more, which leads to more dehydration.
Water is the way to go.
Try to drink at least eight glasses a day.
If you don’t like the taste of water, try adding some citrus, berries, cucumber or mint to it.
Artificial Sweeteners
Many diabetics turn to artificial sweeteners to replace sugar in their diets but these can change how your blood reacts to sugar.
Frontiers in Nutrition offered a review in 2021 that said sweeteners may induce impaired glucose homeostasis.
Even though that hasn’t been definitely proven, most doctors agree that sweeteners have no effect on
reducing blood sugar.
The problem, they said, is that people think they can eat or drink more with artificial sweeteners because of the lack of sugar.
That means they are eating more things like carbs and unhealthy items.
Medications
Diabetics take medications to help control their diabetes and other health issues but some can cause blood sugars to rise.
Some of these medications include antidepressants, diuretics, antipsychotics and birth control pills.
Even nasal decongestants can cause a high blood sugar reading.
Doctors said diabetics should be careful about all their prescription and over-the-counter meds as even cough drops can cause blood sugars to go out of whack.
Looking at your own body, what it needs and how it reacts to different things like food or medicine at night will help you better manage your blood sugars.
