How to Increase Glucose Levels With Food

Diabetics often have blood glucose levels that are too high. Glucose is the simple sugar found in your bloodstream. Blood glucose levels that are consistently too high can be disastrous to a diabetic's health, damaging her eyes, nerves and cardiovascular system. Low blood glucose levels pose an immediate danger--if a person's blood sugar levels sink too low, he may slip into a coma or even die. If you are a diabetic, you need to monitor your blood glucose levels closely and regulate them carefully, making sure to increase your blood sugar quickly if it dips too low.

Things You'll Need

• Fruit juice or soda (regular, not diet) of your choice
• 2 tablespoons of sugar, honey or simple syrup
• Sweet candy
• Spoon or other mixing device

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Instructions

• 1

  Test your blood sugar before taking any corrective action to make sure that your sugar level is actually low. You can use a portable blood glucose monitor to test your levels. The steps you'll take to increase your blood sugar can raise it to very high levels, so it's best not to take those steps unless absolutely necessary. If you don't have a way to check your blood sugar but you think it's low, take steps to increase your blood sugar--it's better to be safe than sorry.

• 2

  Take 2 tablespoons of sugar, honey or simple syrup and put them into a glass that holds at least 8 ounces when full. Fill the glass the rest of the way with fruit juice or real soda (not diet).

• 3

  Mix the beverage together until the sugar or honey is fully dissolved (if you used simple syrup, stir the mixture quickly once or twice).

• 4

  Drink the beverage as rapidly as possible, within reason. Because you may be feeling nauseous from your low blood glucose, drinking this syrupy-sweet concoction quickly may be difficult. Don't drink it too fast and cause yourself to vomit, because that will prevent the sugar you're drinking from being absorbed. Just sip the drink as quickly as possible without making yourself sick.

• 5

  Eat some candy after you've finished the drink, and then check your blood glucose level again to make sure that your methods to increase it have worked. If your blood sugar hasn't begun to increase after a few minutes, or if it has gone even lower, repeat these steps.