Understanding High Blood Sugar: Causes, Effects & Prevention

Many of life's daily activities affect blood glucose levels, even for non-diabetics. For example, meals influence blood sugar levels for at least two hours after eating. High blood glucose levels cause diabetes and can damage the body over time.

Function

• The pancreas secretes insulin to tell your body to absorb the glucose in the bloodstream. When this process works correctly, blood sugar levels remain normal.

Definition

• If your blood glucose level is too high, it is a condition called hyperglycemia.

Problems

• Those with a damaged pancreas often don't produce enough insulin to avoid high blood sugar. Also, the cells of pre-diabetics and diabetics may not respond as well to insulin, which is a condition called insulin resistance.

Causes

• Stress, illness, excess food consumption, excess sugar in the diet and too little exercise contribute to high blood glucose levels.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of high blood glucose levels include thirst and frequent urination. If you have these symptoms and suspect hyperglycemia, test your blood sugar with a glucose meter to see if your blood sugar levels are high.

Prevention

• Steps that help reverse high glucose levels over time include more exercise, weight loss and less sugar in the diet.