Sugar, respectively carbs, are the body's most important source of energy. You need it – but too much sugar in your blood is bad for your health. Read on to find out how to keep your blood sugars steady, and what the benefits are.
What happens when you consume sugar?
Sugar is the body's most important source of energy. It provides fuel for the brain, muscles and organs, and we get it from our food. Fruit, sweetened drinks and foods containing lots of carbohydrates, like bread, potatoes and pasta, contain particularly high levels of sugar.
The sugar we consume is broken down into simple sugars, such as glucose or fructose, in the stomach. Insulin, a hormone that is produced by the pancreas, then transports these simple sugars from the circulatory system into the cells, where they are used to enable the cells to function. In this way, insulin regulates the amount of sugar in our blood. People with diabetes are either unable to produce any insulin at all (type 1) or don't produce enough (type 2).
Are fluctuating blood sugar levels bad for us?
It is completely normal for your blood sugar level to rise and fall a certain amount in the course of a day as a result of meals, exercise and stress. What you should avoid are spikes in your blood sugar level, i.e. unusually high values followed by a correspondingly pronounced dip. They can lead to tiredness, an inability to focus and the aforementioned cravings. Strong fluctuations over a longer period of time can lead to metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, early symptoms of ageing or cardiovascular diseases.
Tips for keeping your blood sugars stable:
- Start your day with a hearty breakfast, such as scrambled eggs with spinach, nuts, or wholemeal bread with cottage cheese.
- Leave four hours between meals to allow your blood sugar level to return to normal.
- If you eat dessert then it should be immediately after the meal so that there is already something in your stomach.
- You should always eat vegetables or proteins first, and then carbohydrates.
Signs of low blood sugar
If your body is not getting enough sugar to use as a source of energy, it doesn't take long for the first symptoms of low blood sugar to appear. Shaky, sweaty hands, a general feeling of weakness and, of course, severe hunger are the precursors to serious hypoglycaemia. If this continues for a while, you may also experience confusion and cramps. Eventually, the body simply runs out of power and sufferers fall into a coma.
What can help: drinking fruit juice or eating dextrose.
Signs of high blood sugar
Hyperglycaemia is not that easy to diagnose in healthy people. Sufferers often exhibit no symptoms at all for a long time, or they are misinterpreted. One sign of high blood sugar is strong thirst combined with a feeling of constantly needing to go to the toilet. This is because the body is trying to get rid of the surplus sugar in your urine. Other potential signs include stomach pains, nausea and vomiting.
What can help: In contrast to treating hypoglycaemia, it’s not easy to quickly rid the body of excess sugar. Drinking plenty of water can help eliminate the surplus sugar. Exercise is also helpful. But above all, you should avoid developing hyperglycaemia again in the future. The more often it happens and the longer that blood sugar levels are elevated, the greater the risk of suffering from long-term diseases of the cardiovascular system, the nerves or the kidneys.
Diabetics in particular need to keep a close eye on their blood sugars. Since they are unable to regulate their own blood sugar level, having blood sugars that are too high or too low can be very harmful to their health. SWICA offers free coaching for people with type 2 diabetes or people with a higher risk of developing diabetes. At santé24, you can seek advice on risk factors for diabetes (family diabetes, overweight, sedentary lifestyle, earlier gestational diabetes) or fear of it, and learn more about your physical health through a blood test. You can find out more here:
For your health: santé24 and SWICA Benecura
Do you have a health question? Our physicians and healthcare professionals at santé24 are available 24/7 on +41 44 404 86 86 for SWICA customers. In addition to telephone health advice, patients whose conditions are appropriate for telemedicine can receive medical services such as diagnostics, treatment, and even e-prescriptions for prescription medications.
Do you feel ill? The SWICA Benecura medical app makes it easy to carry out a digital SymptomCheck. You will receive a personal recommendation about what to do next. Send your information in encrypted form to the santé24 online practice for your telephone consultation to significantly shorten the assessment.
