Nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes, notes the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. It is a chronic condition that can have serious health complications. Your body takes the carbohydrates you eat and transforms them into glucose in your blood. For most people that glucose, a type of sugar, is transferred to your cells to supply energy. When you have diabetes, glucose remains in your blood, causing potentially fatal health consequences. Other dietary and lifestyle habits can affect blood sugar in diabetics.
About Diabetes
There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes typically is diagnosed in childhood. With this form of diabetes, your pancreas doesn't supply your body with the insulin it needs to process glucose. Type 1 diabetics must take insulin to survive. Type 2 diabetes is often diagnosed in adulthood, but increasingly it is being diagnosed in children as well. Type 2 diabetics are insulin resistant, meaning the body does not respond well to the insulin the pancreas secretes. Untreated, diabetes can cause blindness, heart disease, stroke or kidney disease.
Stress
Your stress level can affect how your body processes blood sugar both directly and indirectly. If you are undergoing a particularly stressful situation, you may forget to take the medication that helps regulate your blood sugar. On a physiological level, stress can trigger the release of hormones that can cause glucose to build up in your blood. If your body does not have enough insulin to allow that glucose to be released to your cells, the result can be higher blood sugar levels.
Exercise
Regular exercise can help alleviate your stress level and help keep your blood sugar levels under control. Like stress, exercise releases hormones, in this case serotonin, a hormone that helps fight feelings of depression and enhances mood. When you exercise, your brain releases more serotonin into your body. According to an article published in the November 2007 issue of the "Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience," people who exercise regularly appear to draw the greatest benefit from serotonin. Also keep in mind that when you exercise, your body uses blood sugar as an energy source, so exercising can keep your blood sugar within normal ranges.
Meal Planning
What you eat definitely affects your blood pressure, but how much you eat and when your eat are also important in controlling your blood sugar. Try to maintain a regular meal schedule. A predictable pattern can help alleviate drastic drops or increases in your blood sugar. Practice portion control and consider keeping a diary to track portion sizes. Maintaining a healthy body weight can help with diabetes.
