What Could Spike Blood Sugar?

Good management of a diabetic’s blood sugar (glucose) level is important because diabetes can eventually lead to chronic medical conditions including heart disease and high blood pressure. But for Type-2 diabetics who has abandoned most simple carbohydrates in their diet and has regularly exercised, their blood sugar can sometimes still spikes.

Actually, there are many things that seem harmless to diabetics can actually affect their blood sugar level.

Dehydration, for instance, can make the blood becomes more concentrated and cause the blood sugar readings to go up. To make the thing worse, when the blood sugar is higher, one tends to urinate more, making him or her more dehydrated. So drinking enough water is important for diabetics, especially after exercises or in the hot weather.

Hormones change can also affect a woman’s blood sugar. One study had revealed that decreased insulin sensitivity during menstruation were the most common issue.  This means that the insulin that patients were taking or the pancreas was producing were not sufficient to lower blood sugar, resulting in high blood sugar level.

Stress is another thing that can affect one’s blood sugar level. When a person is under stress, his or her body releases hormones that can make the blood sugar rise. This is more common for Type-2 diabetics. Hence, learning to relax with deep breathing and exercise, and trying to change the things that are stressful, if possible, is very important.

Certain medications can upset one’s blood sugar readings, too. Corticosteroids such as prednisone, which are used to treat rashes, arthritis, asthma, and many other conditions, can boost blood sugar levels. Diuretics (water pills) that are used to manage high blood pressure, and decongestants that contain pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine can be responsible for blood sugar hike.

While birth control pills, patches, implants, injections, and rings are generally considered to be safe forms of contraception for diabetic women, the estrogen in birth control pills can raise blood glucose levels.

People like to skip meals thinking that this may help them lose weight. In reality, skipping meals can only cause the body to store fat and conserve, not metabolize and burn fat. The reason is that the liver normally produces glucose to be used by the body, such as when someone is asleep, and stops the production when it detects insulin in the blood, such as when someone has eaten. If it becomes resistant to insulin, it does not get the signal to stop producing glucose and keeps pumping it into the blood. This excess glucose in the bloodstream is stored in the body as fat.

To keep a healthy blood sugar level, people should have regular meals. If a heavy meal is consumed and one does not want to have a regular size meal later or the next morning, he or she should at least eat something light.