Why Do Blood Sugar Levels Vary?
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Blood Sugar is Necessary
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Our bodies require fuel to function. We get that fuel from what we eat and drink. The body's most accessible fuel is glucose, or sugar, and most of what we eat -- proteins and carbohydrates -- is converted to sugar through digestion. That sugar then circulates through the bloodstream and provides energy to cells. Since the glucose molecule sticks to red blood cells, blood sugar levels can be easily measured with a simple finger-prick blood test.
Sugar Levels Naturally Fluctuate
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As we eat, sleep, work, exercise, study and relax throughout the day, blood sugar levels fluctuate. Our bodies were designed to experience and take advantage of rising and falling blood sugar levels. Stress floods the body with adrenaline and immediately makes large amounts of glucose available as part of the fight-or-flight mechanism. Blood sugar levels affect whether we're sleepy or wakeful, how clearly we think and even our moods. Some, like the stress response, are vital in emergencies, but through years of high-stress living in contemporary society, they become counter-productive and unhealthy.
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After a meal or a drink, sugar levels rise as you digest, then taper off. Insulin and other hormones make glucose in the blood accessible to the body's cells, thus regulating sugar levels. Eating, even eating a healthy, well balanced meal, causes blood sugar levels to increase. If you are healthy, the increase after a meal is fairly slow. (See Eating Affects Blood Sugar below.) However, the increase is more rapid and more extreme if you have a glucose impairment (diabetes or pre-diabetes).
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Exercise causes blood sugar to drop, as do certain medications. Getting a pink slip at work can cause a sharp spike in blood sugar levels. Illness, stress, inadequate sleep, caffeine, alcohol, medications and many other factors affect blood sugar levels as well.
Eating Affects Blood Sugar
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What you eat and drink has a strong, immediate affect on blood sugar levels. Your blood sugar begins to rise about 15 minutes after you eat carbohydrates, including vegetables, fruits and grains. If you eat a candy bar or drink a cola, you will cause a sharp increase, or spike, in your blood sugar, and your body then releases a large amount of insulin to bring glucose levels back down. Protein takes two to three hours to affect glucose levels. Fat takes even longer, five to six hours, and since very little fat converts to sugar, it has a stabilizing effect on blood glucose levels. Fiber also slows the rise in blood sugar after a meal. Therefore, eating a balanced meal with appropriate amounts of protein and the right kinds of fats, as well as high-fiber vegetables, raises your blood sugar slowly and avoids spikes.
Avoid Extremes
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High blood sugar levels over time are harmful to you, and so are elevated levels of insulin. Whether you are healthy or glucose impaired, keep your blood sugar levels as steady as possible, avoiding big spikes and drops. We're used to eating three large meals a day, but eating small, well-balanced meals or snacks five times a day controls blood sugar better. Blood sugar that drops below normal levels, called hypoglycemia, also causes problems, and eating more frequently helps you avoid it.
Exercise
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Regular exercise moderates blood sugar in two ways. As you exercise, your muscles use up glucose, immediately decreasing the sugar level in your blood. Long-term, exercise decreases insulin resistance so insulin can do its job of reducing blood sugar more efficiently.
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There's nothing you can do to prevent your blood sugar levels from rising and falling, nor should you try. For optimum health, though, work to minimize the extremes.
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