WRITTEN BY: Ginger Vieira
28-10-2021
This content was created as part of a paid partnership withUltima supplement, an active partner of Beyond Type 1 at the time of publication.
Water stands for50 to 60 percent of your body weight-and almost 75 percent for newborn babies! For the average adult, 50 kg of your body weight is water.
Clearly, keeping up with your daily hydration, especially during exercise, is a crucial part of your body's ability to function. It is an important part of diabetes management.
But almost75 percent of Americansis regularly dried out.
Here we discuss dehydration and its impact on your blood sugar levels as a person with diabetes.
Why your body needs water
When your body's water weight begins to drop below 50 percent for any reason, symptoms of dehydration can develop and even affect your blood sugar levels.
Water helps your body function in a number of different ways, including:
- Transport of oxygen and nutrients (including glucose) through the bloodstream to the cells
- Hormone production
- Neurotransmitterfunctie
- Regulation of your body temperature
- Keeps the membranes moist
- Keep your eyes clean and moist
- Smells, tastes and swallows food
- Bowel movements
- Passes toxins and waste through urine and sweat
- Metabolizing the food you eat for energy
- Dissolves minerals and vitamins in your food
- Produces saliva
- Lubricate your joints
- Isolation of your brain, spinal cord, organs and fetus (during pregnancy)
- Protects your joints/organs/bones through shock absorption
Symptoms of dehydration include:
- Headache, dizziness, lightheadedness
- Fatigue
- Dry mouth or dry cough
- Increased heart rate
- Low bloodpressure
- Lack of appetite
- Sugar cravings
- Swelling in your feet/hands
- Muscle cramps
- Constipation
- Dark colored urine
- And for people with diabetes: a sudden increase in blood sugar levels
How dehydration can increase your blood sugar levels
When you become dehydrated, it means that the amount of water in your bloodstream decreases, making the existing glucose (sugar) in your bloodstream more concentrated.
Although the amount of sugar in your bloodstream has not technically increased, it can lead to high blood sugar levels because the ratio of sugar to water has changed.
Think of it this way: when you make maple syrup, you collect sap from trees. Juice is actually 95 percent water and only 5 percent sugar! Boiling the juice, which reduces the amount of water through evaporation, makes the sugar in the juice more concentrated. This creates a thick, sweet syrup that tastes delicious on pancakes. Less water = more concentrated sugar.
Your bloodstream needs sufficient water to maintain the ideal ratio between water and glucose.
- Mild to moderate dehydration – especially during hot weather, intense exercise, or illness (diarrhea or vomiting) – can easily raise your blood sugar levels by 50 to 100 mg/dl or higher.
- Severe dehydration can be life-threatening due to many factors, including concentrated blood sugar levels and too few electrolytes, sodium and potassium.
- If you experience an illness that causes severe dehydration or vomiting and you are unable to drink properly, go to the emergency room or emergency room to receive intravenous fluids immediately.
Simply rehydrating through intravenous fluids or drinking water and other hydration drinks can make a big difference in getting your blood sugar levels back to safe levels.
Keep in mind that hydration fluids like Gatorade and Pedialyte may contain sugar. Read nutrition labels carefully and talk to your doctor about possible dosing of insulin with the hydration drink.or by choosing "no sugar" or "low sugar"..
Untreated, severe dehydration can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis and other life-threatening conditions.
How much water should you drink every day?
According to most people, drinking water when you are thirsty is enoughrecent research. (Yes, other water-based drinks count too, but beware of high sugar amounts or consuming too much caffeine, which is a diuretic and can lead to dehydration.)
You may need more than six to eight glasses of water per day if:
- You are taking a medicine that increases your body's urine production
- You train intensively, especially for those involved in endurance training
- You are in extremely hot weather
- You have recently suffered from diarrhea or vomiting and need to refill
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding
You may need to limit your water intake if:
- You have certain health problems, including kidney, liver or heart failure
- You are experiencing symptoms ofoverhydration
- You are taking medications that cause fluid retention
- You are taking other medications, including certain antidepressants and opiates
- Your doctor has asked you to reduce your water intake for some reason
Talk to your doctor about your personal goals and concerns about water consumption!
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