The Physical Effects of Too Much Sugar in Diabetics

Too much sugar takes its toll on any body, and especially a person who is diabetic. Over time, diabetics risk stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, blindness and amputation. The risks increase as blood glucose levels rise, but it is possible to minimize those risks through diet and exercise. A healthy diet lessens the amount of glucose circulating in the bloodstream after meals, and exercise improves insulin resistance, making it easier for your body to remove excess blood sugar.

Your Body's Energy Sources

• Glucose is necessary to provide the body's cells with energy. Everything you eat and drink is broken down and converted to either glucose, which provides immediate energy; glycogen, which is stored as easily accessible energy in the liver and muscle tissues; or as fat. Although glucose is necessary for life, too much can be deadly over time.

Short-Term Effects

• Consistently having too much sugar in your bloodstream, whether because of what you've eaten or because of low or no insulin, makes you feel thirsty, tired and weak and causes you to urinate more frequently, commonly known as hyperglycemia. If not treated, conditions may worsen, to include shortness of breath, dry mouth, breath that smells fruity, nausea and vomiting, a condition known as ketoacidosis. Eventually, it can also cause blurred vision, unexpected weight loss, bladder infections and dry skin. Not surprisingly, these are all warning signs of diabetes. If you don't produce enough insulin (Type 1 diabetes) or you are insulin resistant (Type 2 diabetes), glucose does not move into the cells efficiently. Your cells do not receive the energy they need, so you feel tired. Your kidneys work overtime, making you thirsty and sending you to the bathroom more often. In Type 1 diabetes, because glucose isn't getting into the cells from the bloodstream, your body burns muscle and other tissues for energy, causing weight loss. High blood glucose concentrations create a friendly environment for bacteria, making you more prone to infection. If you perspire, your sweat contains glucose which dries on your skin, making it itch.

Glucose

• Glucose is a fairly large molecule which attaches to your red blood cells. As your blood circulates, insulin helps the glucose molecules to leave the blood and enter other cells. When the levels of glucose in your blood are consistently too high, you have diabetes. The excess glucose can result from your pancreas not producing insulin (Type 1 diabetes) or from insulin resistance (Type 2 diabetes). Because the glucose molecule is large, blood circulation through your smallest blood vessels is diminished when you have a lot of sugar in your blood and eventually those capillaries can be damaged. Damaged capillaries and decreased blood flow cause serious problems.

Eye and Kidney Disease

• Damaged capillaries in your eyes can cause diabetic retinopathy. Early on, symptoms are nonexistent, but can later include blurred vision, loss of vision, floating spots, loss of night vision and dark or red streaks across your sight. Ultimately, diabetic retinopathy will cause blindness. Your kidneys contain millions of clusters of tiny blood vessels. Damaged capillaries in your kidneys can cause kidney failure or disease, and require dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Nerve Damage

• Because the blood vessels in your nerves are tiny, excess glucose which damages those capillaries creates neuropathy, or nerve damage in your extremities. Numbness, tingling or burning sensations begin at the farthest points the tips of your fingers and toes, and spread toward the torso over time. Cuts, bruises, blisters and other damage to the feet can end up as severe infections, possibly requiring amputation of toes, the foot or the leg. If nerves in the digestive system become damaged, constipation, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting can occur.

Heart Disease

• The most important muscle in your body, your heart, is not immune to blood vessel damage. Stroke, coronary artery disease and other heart conditions are twice as common among diabetics as among the general population.

Solution

• If you have diabetes, keep your blood glucose levels within acceptable parameters by eating a healthy diet, exercising, and getting adequate rest. You may not be able to eliminate the damage caused by too much glucose, but you can minimize it.