The average person may think very little about his blood sugar. However, diabetics often have this topic on their minds. People with this disease must constantly be aware of how their diet, activity level and state of mind affect the amount of glucose in their blood. Without this awareness to inform their decisions, their sugar levels may climb and lead to complications such as shortness of breath, nausea, coma and even death. One way to help monitor your blood sugar is to be aware of the mechanisms that cause your sugar to rise.
Carbohydrate Metabolism
You consume the components of sugar even if you do not eat sugary foods. Starches, such as breads and pastas, are composed of long chains of glucose molecules. Milk contains lactose, which is glucose bonded to galactose. Fruits contain fructose. All of these carbohydrates must be broken down into simpler forms before your body can use them. Beginning with the saliva in your mouth, your digestive system breaks these molecules apart into progressively smaller pieces until they are reduced to monosaccharides, or simple sugars, such as glucose, fructose and galactose, in the small intestine. Any glucose that your body needs immediately then travels through your bloodstream to your cells, causing your blood sugar to rise. Excess glucose, along with fructose and galactose, travels to your liver to be further broken down or stored as glycogen.
Blood Sugar and Insulin
When your body needs sugar between meals, the liver metabolizes its glycogen stores into glucose and releases it into the bloodstream. If this were the only reaction that took place, as it is in some diabetics, your blood would eventually become saturated with sugar, since glucose cannot enter cells on its own. However, when the blood sugar of a healthy person rises, it triggers the pancreas to produce insulin, which attaches to the cell in such a way that it opens the membrane to allow the glucose molecules to enter. This causes your sugar to fall again.
Insulin Deficiency
A diabetic's cells are insulin-resistant, which means that the normal amount of insulin produced by the pancreas no longer opens the cell to glucose. This results in a buildup of glucose in the blood known as hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar. According to NetWellness, in the beginning stages of the disease, the pancreas overproduces insulin to counteract cellular resistance, but this eventually impairs or destroys the organ. As a result, a diabetic's blood sugar rises above healthy levels and must be counteracted by diet modification, exercise, insulin injections or medication.
Stress
According to Colorado State University Extension, when the body is under stress, your pituitary gland produces the adrenocorticotropic hormone, which stimulates the adrenal cortex to produce cortisol. This stress hormone causes the liver to secrete more glucose, which raises your blood sugar in anticipation of your body's need for extra energy to meet the stressful situation. Good stress, such as a new job, and bad stress, such as a death, can both cause this phenomenon. According to the American Diabetes Association, even mental stress can raise your blood sugar, since your brain functions almost exclusively off of glucose.
References
- Elmhurst College's Virtual Chembook; Lactose; Charles Ophardt; 2003
- Visionlearning; Carbohydrates; Anthoni Carpi, Ph.D.; 2003
- ScienceDaily; Fructose Metabolism More Complicated Than Was Thought; December 2008
- Iowa State University Extension Sport Nutrition: Eat to Compete: Carbohydrate
- NetWellness: Diabetes and the Body: Pancreatic Function
- NetWellness: Treatment Options for Diabetes
- Colorado State University Extension; Glucocordicoids; R. Bowen
- American Diabetes Association: Stress
- The Franklin Institute: Nourish - Carbohydrates Fuel Your Brain
- American Diabetes Association: Hyperglycemia (High Blood Glucose)
