Diabetes: How High Blood Sugar Affects Your Body
Diabetes is a health condition that causes blood sugar levels to be consistently high because the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body’s cells have stopped responding to insulin. Consistently high blood sugar levels can lead to other serious health problems; keep reading to find out everything you need to know about blood sugar levels and the associated risks.
What constitutes normal, high, or low blood sugar?
So you might be wondering exactly how sugar in your blood counts as too much? Well, as with most things related to the body, what is normal will vary between individuals and throughout the day, whether you are diabetic or not. Generally speaking when you haven’t eaten for at least 8 hours, your blood sugar level will sit somewhere between the range of 72 to 99 mg/dL. Blood sugar levels will usually be at their lowest before you eat and can sit anywhere between this range. In contrast, high blood sugar is considered to be anything above 126 mg/dL and at this point you are considered diabetic.
It’s a big jump between 100 and 126 mg/dL though and anything that falls within this range is a sign of prediabetes, which means your blood sugar levels are higher than normal and so you are at a greater risk of developing diabetes. This is because blood sugar in this range can stop pancreatic cells being able to make insulin, the hormone essential for controlling your blood sugar, which then causes the consistently high blood sugar level that characterises type 2 diabetes. Anyone with prediabetes will need to make lifestyle and diet changes to prevent them from developing type 2 diabetes.
On the flip side your blood sugar levels can be too low. Again, this will vary between individuals but generally your blood sugar level shouldn’t fall below 60 mg/dL. Even if you are adhering to a strict diet or fasting completely, the liver will continue to regulate your blood sugar levels by breaking down fat and/or muscle into sugar which then enables the body to use it for energy.
Why are high blood sugar levels so bad for you?
Sugar is an important source of energy for our body and its cells, so it isn’t the big bad substance it’s often made out to be. However, consistently high blood sugar levels are dangerous because they increase your risk of developing other serious and potentially fatal health conditions such as kidney disease/ failure, heart disease, vision loss/ blindness, poor circulation to the legs and feet, slow wound healing which increases the risk of serious infections, and many more.
High blood sugar levels can also weaken your immune system which leaves you more vulnerable to contracting other life threatening conditions like cancer.
The good news?
It’s not all doom and gloom because type 2 is the most common form of diabetes and is largely preventable through regular exercise and a balanced diet.
