The first thing that comes to mind for most people when the discussion of health and high blood sugar is brought up is diabetes. It’s an extremely dangerous and deadly condition, but long before the individual is diagnosed with it, the body gives away signs that their blood sugar level is very high.
Because many people’s diets consist of artificial and processed foods, the number of people that are suffering from high blood sugar is dramatically increasing. The only way to put a stop to this is to educate ourselves and watch for the signs that are body is providing us. This will help us stay as healthy as possible.
Now, let’s find out what the most important signs are that tell you your blood sugar level is too high, as well as symptoms to look out for if you think you may have diabetes.
16 High Blood Sugar Warning Signs:
1. Excess Abdominal Weight/Fat:
This is one of the most common signs that you have high blood sugar levels. The food that you have consumed was not all able to get into the cells as energy which would nourish the cells, so in turn, you feel hungry again.
2. Dry Mouth:
Because of the high glucose levels in your blood and saliva, which are caused by high blood sugar levels, your mouth becomes dry.
3. Skin Changes:
If you begin to experience discoloration and certain growths on your skin, your blood sugar level may be high. Also, you may notice dark, thick areas of skin may begin to form on the back of your neck and your hands as well.
4. Difficulty Concentrating:
When the body is lacking insulin, it’s unable to remove glucose from the bloodstream into the cells. This doesn’t allow the body to properly function. This is why you feel tired and can’t concentrate properly. High blood sugar levels can dehydrate you because the body is trying to remove excess glucose through urination.
5. Slow Healing Wounds:
If you find that the smallest cuts and bruises are taking longer than usual to heal, high blood sugar levels could be the cause. It affects the nerves and can lead to poor blood circulation, making it tough for blood – need for skin repair – to reach the wounded area.
6. Stomach Problems:
When you have high blood sugar levels, emptying the food from your stomach could be delayed. This can lead to bloating, distention, abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting.
7. Impotence:
This issue which only refers to men, stems from problems that are caused by poor long-term blood sugar control. This damages the nerves and the blood vessels.
8. Blurred Vision:
Don’t overreact and go buy a pair of glasses if you begin to have temporary blurred vision. In most cases it’s high blood sugar, which causes the lens in the eyes to swell up.
9. Constant Fatigue or Extreme Tiredness:
If your thyroid level is low, there is a good chance you are going to feel tired, sleepy or depressed. In order to fight infections, it takes energy, which can result in constant fatigue and high blood sugar levels.
10. Tingling and Numbness:
This goes hand-in-hand with nerve damage. If you experience tingling and numbness in certain areas of your body, your blood sugar level may be high. This type of nerve damage is called neuropathy.
11. Recurrent Infections:
There are several recurring infections that need to be monitored. Also watch out for numerous diseases in the pancreas and severe increase in blood glucose.
12. Excessive Urination/Urinating During the Night:
Granted if you drink high amounts of water before you go to bed, there is a good chance you’re waking up in the middle of the night to urinate. But if you’re blood sugar level is too high, you could pick up a urinary tract infection which can result in excessive urinating.
13. Dry and Itchy Skin:
When there is poor blood circulation flow through the body, it causes itchy skin. The most common areas of the body that become itchiest are the lower parts of your legs.
14. Thirst is a high blood sugar symptom:
When you have high blood sugar levels, your kidneys are forced to work overtime to filter and absorb the excess sugar. In order to achieve that, liquids need to flow through the body in order to urinate the sugar.
15. Always Hungry:
You may be one of those people that have a big appetite, and that’s fine. However, for people who normally do not have a large appetite, this could be because you’re lacking a hormone called incretin. Incretin reduces the flow of sugar from the liver after consuming a meal. If you lack this hormone, food empties quicker and you’ll be hungry again shortly after dinner, which increases your blood sugar level.
16. Nerve Problems:
Simply put, if your blood sugar levels are high, it can damage the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the nerves, which can lead to nerve problems.
8 Early Diabetes Symtoms to look out for that you may have diabetes:
1. Dark Patches of Skin:
Everyday Health indicates that acanthosis nigricans, which is a skin condition that creates dark patches of skin commonly on the neck or armpit, is a sign of diabetes.
2. Dry Mouth:
When you urinate, your body uses a lot of fluids. So if you’re urinating frequently, there is less moisture for other things. This can cause you to dehydrate, and you may have a dry mouth, according to WebMD.
3. Weight Loss:
The Mayo Clinic states that when you lose sugar from frequent urination, you also lose calories. Also, diabetes may prevent sugar from your food from reaching your cells. Together, both of these can cause weight loss.
4. Frequent Urination:
The average person urinates 4-7 times in a 24-hour span. WebMD states that this occurs because diabetes pushes your blood sugar up. The kidneys may not be able to bring the blood sugar down, so the body needs more fluids, which leads to more urination.
5. Blurred Vision:
High levels of blood sugar can take fluids from certain tissues, your eyes included.
The Mayo Clinic indicates that if left untreated, diabetes can cause new blood vessels to form in your retina and damage established vessels.
6. Cuts Are Not Healing:
High blood sugar can affect your blood flow over time. WebMD mentions that this can cause nerve damage, which makes it hard for your body to heal wounds.
7. Fatigue & Hunger:
The food that you eat is converted into glucose which your cells use as energy.
But to do this, your body needs insulin. According to WebMD, if the cells resist the insulin, the energy cannot get to the cells. This means you have no energy.
8. Tingling In the Hands & Feet:
The Mayo Clinic indicates that excess blood sugar can cause nerve damage. Nerve damage can cause tingling and pain in the hands & feet.
According to the CDC, 30.3 million of the U.S. population has diabetes. This includes 23.1 million who are diagnosed and 7.2 million who are undiagnosed. The CDC also states that 33.9% of the U.S. population has prediabetes. With that said, it’s important to recognize the early symptoms of diabetes.
The difficulty is that most early symptoms of diabetes can be so mild that most people just brush them off. The issue with this is that when they finally get problems, it’s usually caused by long-term damage.
Do you have high blood sugar or diabetes?
What are some ways you can tell that your blood sugar is too high? And what are some things you do to ensure that your health is in good condition?
To know what foods are best for Diabetes, you could read our article: 16 Best Foods To Control Diabetes And Lose Weight Fast
Wishing you health, wealth and happiness. See you in the next topics.
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