How does water affect diabetes compensation
Many novice diabetics will be surprised, but the level of sugar directly depends on how much you drink. If you do not drink enough fluids, the blood becomes a little thicker. For a healthy body, this is not critical. With diabetes, sugar rises, and the body does not have time to compensate for it through the production of insulin. As a result, it is much more difficult to manage glycemia. Sudden surges in glucose are possible.
Studies show that even slight dehydration (you do not feel it) provokes a rise in sugar by 2.5-5 ml / l. If you constantly drink less than you need, the water balance is disturbed. The result – to compensate for diabetes, you need to inject a large dose of insulin. It is more difficult to achieve target levels, sugar will constantly go beyond the norm.
Severe dehydration can cause sudden surges in glucose – up to 11 mmol / l and higher. For example, after vomiting, food poisoning, viral gastroenteritis (intestinal flu). If the patient is treated in a hospital, intravenous administration of saline is prescribed – the sugar will gradually decrease without insulin injection.
How much water should I drink per day with diabetes
The average daily dose of liquid for a healthy person is about 2 liters – this is 8 glasses of water. In diabetes, the body is especially sensitive to dehydration. While “healthy” friends will not notice any changes with slight dehydration, with diabetes it will affect the level of sugar and turn into a deterioration in well-being.
The average daily dose of liquid for a healthy person is about 2 liters
So that water is properly absorbed and does not overload the body, you need to adhere to a few recommendations:
- divide the entire volume (for most patients it is 2 liters) into small doses, drink 1-2 glasses throughout the day;
- it is better to drink water 20 minutes before eating, after eating – no earlier than an hour;
- always carry a small bottle of water with you, even if you don’t feel thirsty (you feel it with severe dehydration), take a few sips every hour;
- sometimes we confuse thirst with a feeling of hunger, so if there are no clear signs of a decrease in sugar, but just have a desire to eat something, you should first drink a few sips of water.