When you eat, your blood sugar goes up as the food digests and enters the bloodstream. Simple carbohydrates and sweet foods make blood sugar rise higher and faster than complex carbs, proteins and fats.
- Quick Facts to Know about Eating and Diabetes
- Meal Plans for Diabetes Management
- Carbohydrates and Nutrition FAQ
What you drink matters, too. Alcohol can raise or lower your blood sugar.
- Alcohol and Diabetes - from Buddy T, About.com's Guide to Alcohol
- Alcohol, Hypoglycemia and Eating - Calorie Count.com Health and Support Blog
Your diabetes medications work to lower your blood sugar. Some kinds of medications can lower it too much sometimes, resulting in hypoglycemia. If the diabetes medication that you're taking isn't lowering your blood glucose effectively, your blood sugar can get too high. This is called hyperglycemia.
Exercise lowers your blood sugar, as your muscles use the glucose for energy.
- Exercise and Diabetes: How Much Is Enough?
- Exercise - The Power Tool for Diabetes
- Lowering Blood Sugar through Physical Activity
Hormones can play havoc with your blood sugar, especially during menstruation. Keep a journal, so you know how your blood sugar reacts during this time.
- What to Know About Hormones - from Gary Gilles, About.com guide to Type 1 Diabetes
- Polyglandular Autoimmune Syndrome and Diabetes
When you are sick with a cold or flu, your blood sugars can go up dangerously high. Make sure to test often during an illness.
Are you stressed? Stress can affect your blood sugar. Excess stress causes your body to release a hormone called cortisol, which can raise your blood sugar.
Elizabeth Scott, About.com's Guide to Stress Management tells you more...
