Causes of High Blood Sugar 

Read on about the causes of high blood sugar levels and how to lower them

High blood sugar, also called hyperglycemia, affects people with diabetes. There are many factors that causes your blood sugar (glucose) levels to rise – luckily a lot of these factors are modifiable.

Chronically high blood sugar levels can have serious health complications. If left untreated, hyperglycemia can be life-threatening as it can lead to a diabetic coma. Even if your hyperglycemia is not severe, over time it will affect your eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart. This can lead to blindness, kidney disease, amputation, and heart disease.

Read about 10 diabetes complications…

Blood sugar levels and your body

The body needs energy to function and one of its primary sources of energy is glucose. Your body breaks down carbohydrates from foods such as bread, rice and pasta and releases glucose into your bloodstream. Glucose can’t leave your blood and enter your cells without some help. It is the hormone, insulin’s job to move glucose out of your bloodstream and into your cells and so preventing glucose from building up in your bloodstream.

People with diabetes struggle to manage their blood sugar levels as they cannot lower them. Their blood sugar levels are constantly high. This happens because their bodies don’t produce insulin (type 1 diabetes) or can’t effectively use the insulin it makes (type 2 diabetes). This leads to hyperglycemia. To lower blood sugar levels of people with diabetes, insulin is administered. Your health care provider can also advise you to make some lifestyle changes to manage high blood sugar levels.

Learn more about how blood sugar affects your body…

Watch out for the following things that influences your blood sugar levels:

• You are taking too much or not enough insulin or oral diabetes medication.
• You are eating too many carbohydrates and the amount of glucose in your body is not balanced with the amount of insulin you produce or administer.
• You are not active enough. Being active every 30 minutes will cause your body to need more energy and this will lower the glucose levels in your blood.
• You have a cold, the flu, or an infection. Hormones that fight illness can cause your blood sugar levels to rise.
• You have emotional stress. Whether you are stressed about a family issue or work problem, your blood sugar levels will increase as hormones triggered by stress rise your blood sugar levels.
• The use of certain medications such as steroids or immunosuppressants will also cause higher levels of glucose in your blood.
• The dawn phenomenon (a surge of hormones the body produces every morning around 4 am to 5 a.m.) is affecting you.

How to lower your blood sugar levels

1. Keep tabs on your blood sugar levels.

Ask your health care provider about how frequently you need to check your blood sugar levels. If you have type 1 diabetes you many need to test between 4 and ten times a day. If you take insulin for type 2 diabetes, your health care provider may recommend blood sugar testing several times a day, depending on the type and amount of insulin you use.  If you are managing your blood sugar levels without insulin, you may need to test daily.

Talk to your health care provider about what the target range for your blood sugar should be. Although the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has a specific target range, it will vary from person to person depending on factors like age, the severity of your diabetes and overall health.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) generally recommends the following target blood sugar levels:

• • • Between 80 and 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or 4.4 to 7.2 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) before meals
    • Less than 180 mg/dL (10.0 mmol/L) two hours after meals

If you struggle to remember to check continuously, talk to your doctor about a continuous glucose monitor, or CGM. These devices measure your blood sugar levels in real-time. Some of these devices can connect to a smartphone app – meaning you can check your glucose levels easily.

2. Follow a diabetes diet

It is important to limit eating foods high on the glycaemic index. You want to substitute carbohydrates and sugary foods with whole foods.

Learn how to take control of diabetes with our FREE diabetes eBook…

3. Remind yourself to move around.

If you are sitting still for most of the day, you should get up and move every 30 minutes. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you. You can, for example, go for a walk, sweep the floor, do some push-ups, or hang the washing.

4. Boost your immune system.

To stay healthy, make sure that you eat foods and take supplements that will strengthen your immune system. Eating foods like citrus, papaya, ginger, spinach, and broccoli will help keep you healthy.

Learn how high blood sugar effects your immune system…

5. Manage your stress levels

If you are anxious, you could talk to your doctor about managing your anxiety. Apart from taking medication, you can also do yoga, meditation or practice breathing techniques to manage stress.

Learn how to lower blood sugar levels by reducing stress…

6. Prevent the dawn phenomenon

To ensure that your blood sugar levels do not spike in the morning, do not eat carbohydrates before bedtime. Also talk to your doctor about the best time to administer your insulin – it might be better to administer insulin just before you go to bed.

Takeaway

Untreated hyperglycemia has serious health complications so managing your blood sugar levels are of utmost importance. Make sure that you keep an eye on your blood sugar levels and change your lifestyle so that you can keep them stable and avoid the complications that diabetes bring.

Natural solutions for diabetes

For a very simple and easy-to-follow menu plan, download the new and free Diabetic e-book from the Manna website. Take the Manna Blood Sugar Support supplement with each meal to help control blood sugar levels, cravings and appetite. It gels with the food we eat, and slow releases the sugar into the bloodstream. This allows the body to use it for sustained energy over a longer period of time. It also helps to eliminate blood sugar spikes and crashes, which means we don’t get hungry so easily and don’t constantly feel tired.

Manna Blood Sugar Support is 100% organic & natural and works in a unique way by slowing down the absorption of glucose from the food you eat by up to 43%.

In other words, Manna Blood Sugar Support reduces the GI of the food you eat by up to 43%.

Benefits of Manna Blood Sugar Support

• Helps to maintain even blood sugar levels.
• Keep you more satisfied after a meal, which means that the same meal can take you much further and cause you to eat less, which can help with natural weight loss.
• Helps to control cravings.
• Helping to keep energy levels constant.
• Even blood sugar levels can help to prevent diabetic health complications.