Shairina Brown | Cutting out sugar has been a dietary goal for a lot of people in the past couple of decades. As a child, you might remember your parents telling you that no, you can’t eat candy for breakfast and Halloween was an amazing time because of all that sugar.
But as we get older and we learn about proper nutrition, we might come to realize that drinking soda and eating a lot of chocolate probably isn’t good for our health.
The fact is, too much glucose can have some pretty serious side effects or diseases like diabetes.
So, how do you know you’re eating too much sugar? Well, here are twelve signs to help you identify it and cut back!
1. Exhaustion. When your blood sugar levels are high, your body is unable to absorb glucose properly which means your cells aren’t receiving the fuel to give you energy.
2. Frequent urination. High blood sugar levels prevent your kidneys from absorbing fluid which causes the body to equalize the glucose concentration in your blood by dissolving it with intracellular fluid. Essentially, this just makes you urinate a lot.
3. Always hungry. When glucose is unable to enter the cells it prevents your body from receiving energy as said in number one. Your body searches for energy causing a ravenous appetite.
4. Unquenchable thirst. Because the body loses out on fluids (goes back to #2) when your blood sugar levels are too high, your body assumes it is dehydrated. This can also lead to a dry mouth.
5. Dry skin. High blood sugar levels are known to cause dry skin for two different reasons. One being excessive urination and the other being that damaged nerves can disrupt sweat glands. Disrupted sweat glands have a negative effect on the ph balance of your skin thus leading to dry, flaky skin.
6. Weight loss. Your weight might fluctuate depending on your glucose levels but when they’re too high, you may experience weight loss quickly. Weight loss due to high sugar levels all goes back to the loss of fluid and the imbalance of your metabolism.
7. Trouble focusing. If your blood sugar is too high and fuel isn’t being absorbed into your body at the correct rate, you’re going to have trouble focusing due to a lack of energy. This also causes issues with memory and decision making.
8. Blurred vision. The dehydration symptom of high blood sugar is going to start affecting your vision eventually. When you’re dehydrated, the cells of your eyes begin to deform and dry up, causing you to lose focus.
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9. Slow healing. This is another sign of diabetes. Vascular damage is a very dangerous side-effect of high blood sugar as it has a negative effect on blood circulation. Blood circulation is immensely important for healing as your tissues need nutrients to repair themselves.
10. Irritability. People with high blood sugar tend to be more anxious, irritable, and depressed due to an insignificant amount of glucose in their body.
11. Migraines. If your body is unable to absorb the glucose it needs to function, you may notice that alongside dry eyes you’re getting a migraine. When your blood sugar is too high your brain cells also lack the energy they need which may result in a painful headache.
12. Acne. A lot of people are actually sensitive to a sharp intake of insulin which can set off a hormonal imbalance, causing acne or rosacea. Unruly skin is a good reason to take a look at your diet.
