Increasing the blood serum levels of glucose elevates your risk of chronic diseases. Glucose is the sugar your cells metabolize for energy. Under normal conditions, your liver converts the sugars in foods into glucose and your pancreas secretes insulin into the blood to transport glucose into your cells. However, certain health conditions affect the secretion of insulin or the ability of your cells to work with insulin to accept glucose, which causes increased serum glucose levels.
Type 2 Diabetes
People with prediabetes are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes, also called impaired glucose intolerance, is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels that are not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. About 57 million people in the United States had pre-diabetes in 2007. Type 2 diabetes is characterized by a pancreas that produces little or no insulin and cells that do not respond properly to insulin. If you are a prediabetic, you are likely to develop Type 2 diabetes unless you lose between 5 to 7 percent of your body weight.
Weight Gain
Elevated serum glucose increases your risk of weight gain. Eating high glycemic foods, such as white bread, white rice and refined grains, rapidly increases blood sugar that contributes to weight gain. High glycemic foods contain sugars that your body quickly absorbs into the blood. Scientists at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense found that elevated blood levels of glucose cause the pancreas to produce fat and secrete it into the blood, according to research published in "Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology" in August 2005. Elevated blood levels of fat increase fat storage and weight gain.
Cardiovascular Disease
People with elevated blood glucose have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Excess blood glucose damages the endothelium and increases inflammation, a key characteristic in cardiovascular disease. Endothelial cells line the interior of the arteries. Elevated serum glucose also increases production of advanced glycation end products that quench nitric oxide production in the endothelial cells and impair endothelial function, according to research by scientists at Charity University in Berlin, Germany, that was published in "Diabetes Vascular Disease Research" in June 2007.
Eye Disease
Elevated serum glucose levels increase your risk of eye diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. Diabetic retinopathy is characterized by damage to the blood vessels of the retina that can progress to blindness. Macular edema is characterized by swelling of the macula, the area of the retina involved with central vision. Scientists at Midwest Eye Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana, found that high blood sugar is a risk factor for both the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy and macular edema, according to research published in "Diabetes Care" in 2003.
References
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Insulin Resistance and Prediabetes; October 2008
- Harvard School of Public Health; Carbohydrates: Good Carbs Guide the Way; 2011
- University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Center for Integrative Medicine; Glycemic Index; 2010
- "Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology"; Glucose-Induced Lipogenesis in Pancreatic Beta-Cells Is Dependent on Srebp-1; Maria Sandberg, et al.; August 2005
- "Diabetes Vascular Disease Research"; The Endothelium and Vascular Inflammation in Diabetes; Martin Hartge, et al.; Jun 2007
- MayoClinic.com; Diabetic Retinopathy; February 2010
