High Blood Sugar: 7 Surprising Factors That Matter
Most people think of high blood sugar as a health risk factor only if you’re diabetic. Unfortunately, that misconception has resulted in one in three adults having prediabetes — a serious health concern where you’re significantly at risk of developing diabetes if you don’t take back control of your health immediately. And 84% of these adults don’t even know they have prediabetes! Don’t put it off any longer. Discover the importance of blood sugar management, the surprising factors that can spike your levels (it’s not always about sugar!), and how you can promote healthy blood sugar numbers.
Blood Sugar 101: What is Healthy Blood Sugar?
One in three adults has prediabetes.
When you eat your food, your body breaks that food down into its core components. One of those components is glucose (i.e. simple sugar).
Glucose isn’t inherently bad: Your body needs glucose to fuel every major system in your body from head to toe, including your brain and your muscles.
Your body naturally regulates your glucose levels with a hormone called insulin.
But blood sugar levels can spike and hit dangerous levels if your body can’t produce or use insulin (such as in the case with diabetes).
And if you don’t have diabetes, you can develop this health condition if you maintain chronically high blood sugar levels.
If left untreated, poor blood sugar numbers can weaken your immune system (this is why people with diabetes are more prone to infection), trigger related diseases, and even lead to organ failure or death.
Your Ideal Blood Sugar Numbers
Symptoms of blood sugar numbers that are too high can include:
- Headaches
- Chronic fatigue
- Irritability
- Using the bathroom more often
- Blurred vision
- Feeling chronically thirsty
However, the only true way to monitor your blood sugar is through a simple blood sugar test. While the “healthy” targets for your blood sugar can vary depending on your age, gender and other factors, in general you want to see the following numbers:
- A range of 80 mg/dL to 130 mg/dL before you’ve eaten any food
- A number lower than 180 mg/dL two hours after you started eating
7 Surprising Things That Can Affect Your Blood Sugar Levels
Don’t just focus on sugar as a factor.
Many people erroneously assume that sugar consumption is directly correlated to your blood sugar.
And while eating sugar can definitely impact your glucose numbers, that’s not the only thing that can trigger skyrocketing blood sugar numbers.
Whether you have diabetes, are prediabetic, or simply want to manage your blood sugar for better health, watch out for these six surprising things can can cause your glucose numbers to rise:
- Eating too many simple carbohydrates: If you consume large amounts of processed and simple carbs such as white bread, pasta, cakes and more, these are broken down quickly into glucose and can flood into your bloodstream, causing a blood sugar spike.
- Not getting enough sleep: An estimated 70% of Americans don’t get enough sleep, and lack of sleep makes it harder for your body to use insulin.
- Fatty foods: If you notice your blood sugar spiking hours after a meal, and you haven’t had any carbohydrates recently, its likely due to eating a diet that’s high in unhealthy fat (fats take longer to break down, but still affect your blood sugar).
- Not drinking enough water: The more dehydrated you are, the more “concentrated” your blood (and the higher your blood sugar).
- Caffeine: This stimulant also stimulates higher blood sugar levels.
- Artificial sweeteners: Even sugar-free sweeteners can cause your body to react as if it just consumed sugar.
- Not exercising enough: Lack of exercise lowers your body’s ability to use insulin effectively.
If you want healthier blood sugar levels, make sure you’re eating a healthy and well-balanced diet full of complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats, while avoiding excess sugars and artificial sweeteners. Stay hydrated. And don’t forget to exercise.
Throughout it all, make sure you take supplements that support your immune system, especially since blood sugar stability is linked to immune system strength. BioPro-Plus 500 is one of the best sources of bio-identical thymic proteins, which help your immune system’s killer cells to quickly and effectively respond to bacteria, viruses and other threats. Your natural levels of thymic proteins drop as you age, and BioPro-Plus 500’s potent ingredients can help to recharge your immune system.
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