Glucose Monitoring: Water and Its Effects on Blood Glucose
Takeaways:
Staying hydrated can help with blood sugar control.
By ensuring that you drink enough water, you help to support the ability of your kidneys to get rid of sugar.
Drinking water can help reduce the amount of food you consume, helping you to lose weight.
It’s best to hydrate with options that don’t contain sugar, like herbal tea or unsweetened flavored water.
Today is World Water Day. This day is intended to spread awareness of the vital importance of clean water, and of the billions of people around the world who unfortunately lack access to clean and safe water supplies.
Water is crucial for life for many different reasons. Because our main focus here at NOVI Health is on diabetes, we’d like to highlight the importance of water for helping to keep blood glucose levels under control. For people with diabetes, drinking enough water is an important lifestyle component that can make a difference in your blood sugar control.
Does drinking water lower blood sugar?
Although it’s not commonly discussed, drinking water can help to lower blood sugar. In fact, multiple studies have shown that water can be helpful in keeping your blood glucose within a normal range.
In one study, people with diabetes went three days with only minimal water intake. Not only were their blood glucose levels higher when they were dehydrated, but their blood glucose also rose significantly higher when they consumed sugar on an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Another study in people with type 2 diabetes showed that drinking a glass of water before each meal for eight weeks resulted in a variety of benefits, including lower fasting glucose levels. There are even studies showing that people who drink more water are less likely to develop diabetes.
Although drinking more water should certainly not be your only method of blood glucose control, it can make a significant difference.
How does drinking water lower blood sugar?
When your blood sugar is too high, your kidneys will begin to eliminate excess sugar through the urine. This process requires water. By ensuring that you drink enough water, you help to support the ability of your kidneys to get rid of sugar.
In addition, water can help to dilute the sugar in your blood. When you’re dehydrated, then everything in your blood becomes more concentrated, including the glucose. Drinking enough water can help to dilute the blood and reverse this rise in blood sugar.
Water may also help you to feel more full, so that you eat less. This can help to keep your carbohydrate intake lower, so that your blood sugar is less likely to spike. In addition, it may help with weight loss, which also has beneficial effects on diabetes.
The link between dehydration and diabetes
When your blood sugar is high, then your kidneys will attempt to eliminate excess sugar through the urine. This process requires water. As glucose enters the urine, it will pull water with it, which can deplete reserves from other parts of the body. Because of this, people with diabetes may find that they’re extremely thirsty.
In cases of extremely high blood sugar, a person can become extremely dehydrated. They may enter a state known as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), in which the chemistry of the blood becomes severely imbalanced. This can be dangerous and even life-threatening. To prevent DKA, it’s important to prevent severe spikes in blood sugar.
How much water do you need per day?
Different organizations have somewhat different recommendations, and the right amount of water for a particular person to consume depends on a variety of factors, including body size. People should aim to consume approximately:
These recommendations are for total fluid intake throughout the day. That includes not only plain water, but also other beverages and even water-containing foods. If you don’t enjoy drinking water on its own, you can choose flavored options (such as herbal tea or flavored water), and you could also choose to eat more foods that contain a lot of water (such as celery and cucumbers).
It’s important to get enough water, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t get too much. In fact, drinking excessive water can dilute the minerals in your blood and can lead to serious health effects, such as seizures. The kidneys can remove approximately one liter of water per hour, so it’s best not to drink much more than this under most circumstances.
What drinks should you avoid?
Although some people prefer flavored beverages, it’s important to note that beverages sweetened with sugar can be particularly damaging for people with diabetes. Liquid sugar enters the bloodstream very quickly, which can lead to large spikes in blood sugar. Although fruit juice is likely to be less damaging than sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, it still contains a lot of sugar. It’s better to stick with options that don’t contain sugar, like herbal tea or unsweetened flavored water.
Lifestyle factors such as water intake, diet, and exercise are very important in the management of diabetes. Many people find it challenging to design the right lifestyle plan, and to stick to it consistently. To help you take control of diabetes, you need expert guidance, including a comprehensive program that is personalized to your specific needs.
Our NOVI Magnum program is designed to provide holistic care and support to people with diabetes. The program includes medical care by specialist doctors, along with support from dietitians and health coaches to help you create – and, most importantly, stick to – a healthy lifestyle plan.
Take control of diabetes, and in turn your weight, today.