Extreme heat is known to take a toll on our bodies. Individuals with diabetes are particularly prone to the health consequences of the heat because it causes fluctuations in blood sugar, making diabetes harder to control.
You should also avoid showering too frequently and taking excessively long, hot showers. People with type 1 diabetes should use soap or shower gel sparingly and instead opt for shower oils with a neutral pH value.
Heat can accelerate the absorption rate of insulin, potentially leading to lower blood glucose levels. Monitoring your blood glucose more frequently during and around hot tub time is advisable. Infection Prevention: Bacteria thrive in warm water, emphasizing the importance of keeping hot tubs clean.
Certain diabetes complications, such as damage to blood vessels and nerves, can affect your sweat glands so your body can't cool as effectively. That can lead to heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which is a medical emergency. People with diabetes get dehydrated (lose too much water from their bodies) more quickly.
Left untreated, it's possible to lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs. If you have any degree of nerve damage, you may not be able to sense if an electric blanket or heating pad is too hot — which can lead to inadvertent burns. The same issue applies to water temperature when bathing.
Summary. Drinking water won't lower your blood sugar levels, but staying hydrated can help you manage them if you have diabetes. Regularly drinking enough water is healthy, and research has linked it to a reduced risk of high blood sugar and diabetes.
Drinking water and staying hydrated is important for managing blood sugar, also known as blood glucose. “Water helps your kidneys filter out excess sugar through urine,” says Khan. “So, the more hydrated you are, the more urine production you'll have, which flushes out sugar in the body.”
Drinking water is an excellent way to stay hydrated without consuming sugar. Green tea, cow's milk, and fermented milk (kefir) could also help you manage your blood sugar responses. Coffee also contains compounds that may help regulate blood sugar, but confirming this requires more research.
Blood sugar readings between 180 mg/dL and 250 mg/dL are considered high blood glucose or hyperglycemia. A reading of 250 mg/dL or higher is dangerous. This severe high blood sugar requires emergency medical treatment. Two or more readings of 300 mg/dL or higher in sequence are very dangerous.
Water. Plain water is the best drink for everyone, but especially for people living with diabetes. It's naturally hydrating and free of carbohydrates and calories.
Overheating: Excessive heat can make the heart beat faster, which is dangerous for people with diabetes because heat can interfere with the rate at which the body absorbs insulin. Heat can also cause problems with insulin pump functioning.
Take care when cleaning your skin
Do not shower more than once a day, and for no longer than five minutes. Keep the water temperature below 37°C. If you bathe, use a moisturizing oil – try not to use bubble bath or bath salts.
Severe acidosis (pH < 6.95) can falsely decrease glucose readings. Patients receiving high flow oxygen can have false low readings with a glucose meter using the glucose oxidase method. High hematocrit, as in neonates, can also cause false low blood glucose readings.
Chamomile tea
The nutritionist suggests that those with diabetes can take a cup of chamomile tea before going to bed. She says the tea has anti-inflammatory, astringent, and antioxidant properties, which can help optimise blood sugar levels.
Certain types of foods are especially effective at controlling blood glucose. O'Meara recommends a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats.
Berries. Don't make your trip to the store fruitless. Dad jokes aside, foods like blueberries provide fiber and antioxidants known to lower blood sugar and inflammation. Similarly, one study found strawberries reduced diabetes complications like kidney disease and nerve damage.
Hyperglycemia occurs when the level of blood glucose gets too high. Hyperglycemia can affect people of any age and can cause a range of symptoms, including excessive thirst, hunger, fatigue, and/or an urge to urinate larger amounts than usual.
There's no cure for diabetes and no way to completely get rid of it. However, diabetes can be reversed in most people. Reversing diabetes means carefully managing blood sugars to a point where medications are no longer necessary, and staying at that manageable point through a healthy routine of diet and exercise.
HbA1c levels reflect a person's blood glucose levels over many weeks or months. On a short-term basis, groups taking apple cider vinegar saw significant improvement in blood glucose levels 30 minutes after consuming the vinegar.
Hydrate. Flush out all that sweet stuff from your system by hydrating ASAP with water or other low-sugar fluids, and foods high in water content. "Drink plenty of water and go for foods like watermelon, cucumbers, strawberries and yogurt," Seaver says.
Red wine can also lower your glucose levels too much. The effects of red wine on your glucose levels can last for up to 24 hours, but the risks are highest in the first hour when your liver is metabolizing your drink. It's important to eat a healthy meal with red wine to help keep your blood sugars stabilized.