Most people know that diabetes and blood sugar levels are related, but knowing all the details can be the key to successful management of diabetes.

If you remember from our previous post, diabetes results when blood glucose (or “blood sugar”) is too high. Insulin plays an important role in blood glucose levels because insulin is responsible for delivering blood sugar to the body’s cells. If this delivery is unable to take place, glucose builds up in the blood, causing many health problems.

Blood Sugar Basics

The folks over at WebMD have an article explaining the complicated relationship between blood sugar and your health. There’s a bit of medical jargon in the article so we picked out the most helpful information and translated it:

Blood sugar and your body

  • Healthy blood sugar levels depend on the individual person.
  • Blood sugar is usually lowest before meals and then increases after eating — this is your digestive and circulatory systems at work, gathering glucose energy from food and delivering it to your cells.
  • With dieting, your liver manages glucose levels by turning fat and muscle into sugar when your body runs out of food to process.

Blood sugar and diabetes

  • When high blood sugar levels remain in the body, they behave like “slow-acting poisons.”
  • High blood sugar slowly damages cells in the pancreas, eventually preventing the cells from producing insulin.
  • Excess blood sugar also leads to a hardening of blood vessels, leading to many circulatory problems.

As you can see, it’s essential for our bodies to be able to process blood sugar properly in order to remain healthy. Diabetes means that blood sugar is continually too high, which can lead to the complications listed above.

We Can Help

Because blood sugar levels are so important for health, being attentive and proactive with managing diabetes is necessary for living a healthy life. At Iowa Diabetes, we’re proud to offer a unique online diabetes portal that can be customized for your individual needs. We even have a “tab” dedicated to tracking your blood glucose called mySugars. Visit our website today to get started on the path to managing your diabetes and living a healthy, active life.

Summary
Healthy blood sugar levels are essential for everyone, and vary from person to person. A diagnoses of diabetes means that the blood sugar levels are too high, causing complications such as preventing the body from producing insulin. At Iowa Diabetes, we have resources to help anyone manage their blood sugar levels!

Disclaimer Statement: This is for educational purposes only and not intended as medical advice. For individual medical advice, contact your healthcare practitioner.