High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, causes serious complications for people who have diabetes. It can damage internal organs, leading to nerve damage, kidney problems and high blood pressure; left untreated, hyperglycemia can damage your eyes. Nutrition is a key component in controlling your blood sugar. Work out an eating plan with your doctor or dietitian, and check your blood sugar regularly. Both a rise in blood sugar and a drop, due to skipping a meal, can have serious health repercussions.
Meal Timing
The timing of your meals is important in managing both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. For Type 2 diabetics, the essential element is controlling how much carbohydrate is in your system at a given time. Carbohydrates have the greatest effect on your blood sugar, so you must keep your carbohydrate intake stable throughout the day. For both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics who also use medication or injections to control the disease, meal timing is also important. The American Diabetes Association, in its 2008 Nutrition Recommendations and Interventions for Diabetes, said there are different kinds of medications insulin-dependent diabetics can take to have more flexibility in their meal spacing. If frequently missing meals is a problem for you, ask your doctor for advice.
Blood Sugar Drop
The bigger risk when a diabetic skips a meal is a drop in blood sugar. Skipping a meal, says the University of Maryland Medical Center, upsets the balance between food intake and insulin, subsequently dropping your blood sugar. Administering insulin should normally be coordinated with consuming food. Follow your meal plan as precisely as possible, and if you take insulin, you may also need snacks to keep your blood sugar and insulin levels stable. When your blood sugar drops -- a condition called hypoglycemia -- you may experience anxiety, trembling, confusion and anxiety; dizziness, drowsiness and difficulty speaking; sweating and weakness. More serious symptoms as it worsens could include fainting, seizures and coma.
Rise in Blood Sugar
One way skipping a meal can subsequently lead to a rise in blood sugar is that your hunger may cause you to overeat later. Your busy schedule notwithstanding, long periods between eating can make general control of your blood sugar more challenging. When you begin responding to your hunger pains as well as the queasiness caused by a hypoglycemic episode, your chances of experiencing too high a rush in blood sugar increases. However, those peaks and valleys of blood sugar have a price. Strive to keep your blood sugar stable to prevent complications.
Additional Consequences
Skipping meals promotes weight gain, states Harvard's Joslin Diabetes Center. Although some people try to skip meals to control caloric intake, the strategy can backfire in the long term. Your body may slow down your metabolism and get more efficient at holding on to energy -- especially fat -- when you don't feed it regularly. Skipping meals, then gorging later, ultimately wreaks havoc on your insulin levels, and part of insulin's job is to ensure your body holds on to fat. Even if work necessitates your skipping a meal, keep snacks handy to avoid the hunger rush or feeling of deprivation that almost certainly will result in raised blood sugar later on.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Diabetes Diet - General Dietary Guidelines
- dLife; Does Skipping Meals Make Your Blood Levels Go Up?; March 5, 2009
- Joslin Diabetes Center: Diet Strategies for Women with Diabetes: Why Some Work and Why Some Don't
- American Diabetes Association: Hyperglycemia (High Blood Glucose)
- "Diabetes Care"; Nutrition Recommendations and Interventions for Diabetes: A Position Statement of the American Diabetes Association; Jan. 2008
- PubMed Health: Hypoglycemia
