What is dangerous for health "high sugar" and "low sugar"?

Plasma sugar level (glucose) is a key concept for patients with type I and II diabetes. Elevated glucose is often the only and main symptom of the debut stage of the disease. According to medicine, 50% of diabetics only learn about the pathology when it reaches the progressive and difficult stages.

Let us try to understand why a stable level of carbohydrates in the circulatory system is so important for a person’s normal well-being, and for what reasons an imbalance of glucose occurs in the body. We will also find out which indicators of sugar level are normal, and how changes in the norm affect the body.

Sugar level and diabetes

"Blood sugar" is an everyday term for the average amount of glucose dissolved in the plasma circulating in the vessels.

In fact, a chronically elevated amount of glucose is the main manifestation of diabetes, a metabolic pathology. The disease, of course, has more complex developmental mechanisms and multifaceted symptoms, but the main indicator is “high sugar”.

Blood glucose is the amount that diabetics have to constantly monitor (measure and track indicators).

Monitoring of carbohydrate level is one of the main components of therapy for patients with diabetes.
The second component is insulin treatment (if indicated by doctors). Insulin is a hormone that regulates sugar levels. In diabetes, insulin in the body is either insufficient or the cells do not respond to it properly.

Both high and low plasma sugar are equally undesirable for the body, but if glucose deficiency can be easily eliminated in many cases, a high level of carbohydrates is more dangerous.

Sometimes, regular drug exposure is required to correct hyperglycemia: people with advanced diabetes make regular intramuscular insulin injections: this eliminates carbohydrate surplus. At the initial stage, the symptoms of diabetes can be eliminated with the help of a balanced diet and correction of physical activity.

Metabolism of carbohydrates in the body

The main task of glucose in the body is to supply cells and tissues with energy for vital physiological processes.

It is believed that nerve cells need pure glucose most of all, but in fact, no system of the body can do without carbohydrates.

We list the most important components of the process of sugar metabolism in the human body:

Glucose enters the bloodstream from the intestines and liver (glycogen is present in the liver - a polysaccharide reserve, which is used as needed);
The circulatory system carries glucose throughout the body - so cells and tissues are supplied with energy;
The assimilation of glucose from the blood requires the presence of insulin, which is produced by β-cells of the pancreas;
After eating, the sugar level rises in all people - but in healthy people this increase is insignificant and does not last long.

The body constantly regulates the concentration of glucose in the blood, maintaining homeostasis (balance). If equilibrium cannot be reached, and such failures occur regularly, endocrinologists talk about the presence of diabetes - a serious pathology of metabolic processes.

Why is it important to know your sugar level?

A condition in which the sugar level is elevated is called hyperglycemia, a reduced amount of glucose is called hypoglycemia.

To find out your level, analysis alone is not enough. It is necessary to conduct several tests on different days and at different times of the day, as well as on an empty stomach and after eating. If tests constantly show that “sugar is high,” there is every reason to suspect diabetes.

In Russia, blood glucose is measured in millimoles per liter (mmol / l). In Europe and the United States, measurements are made in milligrams per deciliter (mg / dz). It is easy to convert some indicators to others: 1 mmol / l is 18 mg / dl.

Sugar standards have long been known -3.9-5 mmol / l

After eating for an hour, these figures are somewhat higher (5.1-5.3). In healthy people, the glucose content fluctuates within these limits, but sometimes (when a person eats up with fast carbohydrates) it can reach 7 mmol / l. In diabetics, indicators above 7 and up to 10 are considered quite acceptable levels. With such values, they do not even always prescribe a special therapy, limited to diet. If the level is consistently above 10, doctors are asking for a drug correction.

What you need to know about the level of sugar each:

Plasma glucose is the same for all ages and sexes;
After the age of 40, check the sugar content preferably annually;
A low-carb diet is a prophylactic method to prevent diabetes;
Diabetes does not occur immediately - it is usually preceded by prediabetes: this condition can also be corrected with a balanced diet.

Glucose jumps and insulin treatment are the inevitable consequences of diabetes at a developed stage of the disease. While medicine can not cure diabetes completely. However, if you follow the diet, conduct regular monitoring and do not skip injections, you can avoid severe symptoms of hyperglycemia and complications caused by chronically elevated sugar levels.

Sugar imbalance: effects

Any persistent imbalance (homeostasis) in the body leads to pathology. An exception is not the level of glucose.

Hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia cause painful manifestations, which often lead to incurable complications or disability.

High sugar

The popular belief that diabetes is the result of excessive consumption of sweets is not quite true, but definitely contains a rational grain.

While the amount of glucose rises gradually, insulin is also produced slowly. But when, as a result of a large amount of carbohydrate-rich food, an excessive number of sugar molecules gets into the blood, the body reacts to this by increased synthesis of insulin to break down glucose.

If sugar and insulin jumps continue regularly for several years, the pancreas will simply be exhausted. The body will produce either defective insulin, or a small amount of a hormone that cannot cope with glucose entering the body.

In addition, with a consistently high glycemic index, a person develops a condition called insulin resistance: cellular insulin addiction and lack of proper receptor response. Long-term resistance can also transform into type 2 diabetes.

“High Sugar” - It is not always an indicator of diabetes. Sometimes an excess of glucose can be caused by:

Long-term use of certain drugs (corticosteroids, antidepressants);
Adrenal dysfunction;
Infections;
Chronic stress;
Pathology of the pituitary gland.

The main signs of hyperglycemia are thirst, frequent urination, dry skin, blurred vision, drowsiness, susceptibility to infections, poor wound healing. All these signs indicate a progressive stage of metabolic pathology. Chronically elevated sugar levels lead to the destruction of blood vessels, deterioration of the kidneys, reduced vision, neuropathy (nerve damage).

The most dangerous complications with elevated sugar levels: hyperglycemic coma, ketoacidosis (poisoning the body with carbohydrate metabolism products).

Low sugar

Hypoglycemia is most often caused by insufficient or improper diet, excessive loads (physical and psycho-emotional). Foods with a high glycemic index (sweets and fast carbohydrates) first dramatically increase the sugar level, but then provoke a rapid decline, which leads to pathological results.

Steadily "low sugar" causes:

lethargy,
weakness,
drowsiness,
headaches,
numbness of the limbs
constant hunger.

The treatment of regular hypoglycemia is the proper nutrition of certain foods at short intervals.

Regulate the glycemic index is necessary for all, but especially for people with a predisposition to diabetes. The most effective method of maintaining homeostasis is to observe the diet, regulate the carbohydrate content in the menu, and regularly undergo diagnostics in the clinic.