Besides intellectual performance, the brain is also responsible for maintaining our emotional balance.
Like it or not, our moods often change along with our glucose levels.
If you don’t believe me, ask those around you! (My wife didn’t take long to realize that.) High glucose levels can make you impatient, irritable, and generally negative.
And low glucose can alter behavior in ways you never expected.
People who are normally stoic and conservative can become chatterboxes.
And people who are normally outgoing might curl up in a corner.
Keeping your glucose levels in a healthy range can go a long way toward improving your mood and emotional stability.
I’m not saying that you will become an instant socialite, but the way you interact with your family, friends, coworkers, classmates, and even complete strangers can have an impact on your happiness and success in life.
Fewer Illnesses
Bacteria and viruses love sugar.
They gobble it up and use it to grow and make baby bacteria and baby viruses, which, by the way, love sugar too.
When blood glucose levels are up, the amount of sugar in virtually all of our body’s tissues and fluids rises as well.
This makes an ideal breeding ground for infection.
Think of it as “aiding and abetting the enemy”, supplying extra nutrients to the bad guys.
Everything from common colds to sinus infections to flu and urinary tract infections are more common when blood sugars are elevated.
And once illnesses and infections set in, they are much harder to fight when the blood sugar is high.
People with better blood sugar control spend significantly fewer days absent from work, sick in bed, and restricted from their usual activities.
So if you want to keep from getting sick, take better care of your diabetes!
Faster Healing
Whether you’re recovering from major surgery, a minor scrape, or soreness from a hard workout, tight glucose control helps to facilitate the healing process. In addition to reducing the risk of infection, blood sugar management is essential for keeping the body’s natural defenses and repair mechanisms working properly.
Softer Skin, Healthier Gums
Two body parts immediately affected by changes in glucose levels are the skin and gums. Skin is influenced greatly by our level of hydration. When blood sugars are high, skin tends to become dry and cracked. Not only can this be uncomfortable and unsightly, but it also sets us up for potential infections since the skin is the first line of defense against harmful bacteria. Keeping glucose levels in control helps prevent dehydration and keep our skin soft and intact.
Changes in sugar levels also immediately affect our gums. Bacteria that live below the gum line grow quickly when exposed to high sugar levels in the blood vessels that nourish the gums. These bacteria then produce plaque at an accelerated rate, contributing to bleeding gums and loose teeth (periodontal disease). Controlling your diabetes will help cut back on plaque buildup almost immediately.
Personal Safety
If you happen to drive a car, operate power equipment, play a sport, or just walk across the street from time to time, having out-of-control blood sugar can put you and those around you at risk.
We have already discussed how high glucose can cause sleepiness and slow reaction times (a recipe for disaster when driving), but the opposite extreme, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), can be even more dangerous.
Hypoglycemia can happen to anyone taking insulin, even if it’s just once daily.
It can also occur in those who take diabetes medications that cause the pancreas to produce extra insulin (sulfonylureas and meglitinides).
Below-normal glucose levels will almost always cause some degree of cognitive impairment.
Decision making and judgment will be off.
Coordination suffers, and trembling can occur.
To keep yourself and those around you safe, you must manage your blood sugar properly.
Predictable Periods
Research has shown that women with near-normal HbA1c levels tend to have more consistent, regular menstrual cycles compared to women with an elevated A1c. And with predictability comes power. As you will learn later in this book, the ability to predict events that influence glucose levels, such as menstrual cycles, makes it easier to make effective adjustments.
Cash in Your Pocket
Health care is getting more expensive all the time. Even if you have good health insurance, the deductibles and copays associated with treating diabetes complications and routine illnesses can really add up. And don’t forget time lost on the job or in school when dealing with avoidable health problems. Sustained reductions in average blood sugar are associated with thousands of dollars in cost savings annually per person.
What’s in It for Me Later?
We’ve all heard the horror stories.
“My aunt had diabetes. She ate everything she wanted, and now she’s on dialysis.”
“Someone I work with went blind because of his diabetes.”
If the thought of vital organs failing and body parts falling off bothers you, then good . Fear and anger can be powerful motivators. They are what keeps us from doing stupid things like picking fights with people twice our size or telling our bosses off every time they do something that annoys us. Use it as your “management fuel.”
Let the fear and anger associated with long-term diabetic complications serve as a positive motivator.
Long-Term Benefits of Blood Sugar Control
healthy eyes
healthy kidneys
a strong heart
adequate blood flow
proper nerve function
protective nerve sensation
minimal pain
healthy feet
solid memory
flexible joints
good mental health
successful pregnancies
optimal growth
Sugar is a good thing.
It is an excellent source of energy, and let’s be honest: it tastes pretty good too.
But too much of a good thing can cause problems.
Glucose levels that are too high over a period of many years cause damage to virtually every major organ and system in the body.
But there is good news.
Major long-term research studies such as the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that tight glucose control does make a difference .
Maintaining a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c, or simply A1c) as close to normal as possible has been shown to greatly reduce the many long-term health risks associated with diabetes. Likewise, minimizing glucose variability (dramatic swings into high and low glucose ranges) has a stabilizing effect on blood vessels and the bodily tissues they nourish.
Of course there are going to be some ups and downs when it comes to blood sugar levels; we’re not yet at the point at which perfection is possible. But over the long term, if you take good care of your diabetes and manage it reasonably well, you stand an excellent chance of avoiding long-term health problems. And who doesn’t want to enjoy all these benefits?
Keen Eyesight
In the back of the eye is a sensitive layer of cells called the retina.
Like the film in a camera, the retina receives light from the outside world and transmits signals to the brain to produce vision.
Many small blood vessels (capillaries) provide the cells of the retina with oxygen and nutrients.
Elevated blood sugar levels make these capillaries very fragile.
They can swell, leak, or close off.
When areas of the retina fail to receive adequate oxygen and nutrients, new weak capillaries start to grow in and block light from reaching the retina.
This is called diabetic retinopathy .
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults age twenty to seventy-four. Diabetic retinopathy accounts for more than twenty thousand cases of blindness each year. Glaucoma, cataracts, and corneal disease are also more common in people with diabetes, and they contribute to the high rate of blindness.
The good news is that tight blood sugar control reduces the risk of retinopathy. The DCCT trial showed a 30 percent reduction in the risk of developing retinopathy for every 1-point reduction in A1c (corresponding with approximately a 30 mg/dl or 1.7 mmol/l reduction in average blood glucose). And for those with existing retinopathy, tightening blood sugar control and reducing glucose variability slows the progression significantly.
Fabulous Filters
Visit any kidney dialysis center, and check the charts of the people who sit there for hours a day with tubes in their arms so that their blood can be siphoned out, pumped through machines, filtered, and pumped back in. Diabetic. Diabetic. Not Diabetic. Diabetic. Diabetic.
You get the idea.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.
More than fifty thousand Americans with diabetes begin treatment for end-stage renal disease each year.
Elevated blood sugar does damage to the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that form and nourish the filters within the kidneys.
The good news is that tightening blood sugar control reduces the risk of kidney disease dramatically.
As was the case with retinopathy, every 30 mg/dl (1.7 mmol/l) drop in average blood sugar leads to a 30 percent reduction in kidney disease risk.
Heart Health
Despite the long list of health problems diabetes can cause, heart disease is what ultimately kills the majority of people with diabetes.
People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease and five times more likely to die from heart disease compared to people without diabetes.
Why?
Having excessive amounts of sugar in the bloodstream causes problems.
Sugar is a sticky substance (think of the last time you ate cotton candy or spilled some juice).
It makes fats and cholesterol stick to the walls of blood vessels, causing the formation of plaques.
These plaques make the blood vessels thick and rigid, a condition known as atherosclerosis .
When pieces of plaques break off, clots can develop, restricting blood flow to vital organs such as the heart.
Sugar also sticks to proteins in the blood, causing them to act abnormally.
This contributes to blood vessel problems as well.
The good news is that improving blood sugar control reduces the risk of heart disease dramatically. Besides eliminating a great deal of the “cement” that clogs up blood vessels, it allows the proteins in the bloodstream to act normally. And don’t forget: the things we do to control blood sugar, such as exercising, eating healthier, and cutting back on stress, also reduce our risk for heart disease by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Sound Circulation
Besides the heart, a number of other body parts require large amounts of oxygen and nutrients. The brain, for example. When blood vessels leading to the brain become clogged, the brain does not receive enough oxygen, and brain cells begin to die. This is called a stroke . The risk of stroke is two to four times higher among people with diabetes.
The muscles in the legs also depend on significant blood flow, particularly during exercise. When blood vessels serving the leg muscles become clogged and oxygen delivery is limited, pain or cramping can occur when exercising, walking, or simply standing. This condition is called claudication . Blood vessel disease in the legs is twenty times more common in people with diabetes. Some degree of claudication occurs in 45 percent of people who have had diabetes for more than twenty years.
Again, the good news is that tightening blood sugar control, along with all the other lifestyle improvements that come with managing diabetes, will improve circulation to vital body parts.
All Systems Go
Our nervous system serves as the “wiring” (for lack of a better phrase) for our bodies. More specifically, the autonomic portion of our nervous system controls behind-the-scenes functions like heart rate, digestion, temperature regulation, balance, and sexual function.