Does Drinking Water Lower Blood Sugar?

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Increasing Water Intake - Does It Help to Lower Blood Sugar?

Water is an integral part of our life. Regardless of the health issues you may be facing, it is always recommended to drink at least 8 glasses of water daily.

When it comes to the diabetic population, is it recommended to maintain a certain amount of water intake? And most importantly, does water help to deal with high blood sugar levels?

Let us take a look at some of the factors that can be beneficial for diabetics and if water can help you deal with blood sugar spikes.

How do the blood sugar levels rise?

The mechanism of blood sugar is quite simple. Once you eat food, it enters the digestive system where the food is broken down into sugars and released into the bloodstream.

Once the sugar is released into the bloodstream, a hormone called insulin transports the sugar to cells in the body. The sugar molecules are then used by the cells for energy production.

Thus, this process makes sure that the blood sugar levels stay under control. The question is, how do the levels rise?

The answer is simple! Insulin is the hormone that is supposed to maintain sugar levels in your blood.

These levels rise when the body doesn’t produce adequate amounts of insulin or when insulin isn’t able to transport the sugar molecules to the cells effectively. Thus, these are the causes of the rise in the levels of blood sugar.

What is the relationship between water and blood sugar?

Water is the only drink that contains no calories, no carbohydrates, and no compounds that can affect your blood sugar levels. Now, what does water have to do with blood sugar levels?

Firstly, since plain drinking water is free from calories and carbohydrates, there is no way for the blood sugar levels to increase when you drink water.

Secondly, the kidneys can flush out excess sugar that is present in your blood. When you drink adequate amounts of water, the excess sugars present in the blood are expelled from the body with ease through your urine.

Hence, drinking water is one of the best blood sugar support options to manage your blood sugar levels.

Does High Blood Sugar cause dehydration?

One of the side effects of high blood sugar levels include dehydration. This is because frequent urination is one of the symptoms of diabetes.

Since the body attempts to eliminate excess sugars from the body via urination, it increases the risk of dehydration.

Thus, it is beneficial for individuals with high blood sugar to maintain their intake of water and make sure that they stay hydrated at all times.

Make sure to keep track of the symptoms that the body gives out when it is dehydrated.

Some common symptoms of dehydration include dizziness, dark yellow color of the urine, fatigue, thirst, headache, and much more. So make sure to stay hydrated to keep your blood sugar balance in control.

How much water should individuals consume in a day?

To make sure that your body isn’t dehydrated, keep track of the amount of water that you drink.

Add reminders on your phone or other devices for every hour to keep yourself hydrated. The amount of water required for both men and women is different.

According to research, this is the recommended amount of water for both men and women suffering from high blood sugar issues:

It has been suggested that women drink at least 1.6 liters of water, that is, around 8 glasses of water daily.
For men it average consumption of water is a little bit higher. It has been recommended for men to have at least 2 liters of water daily. This equals ten glasses of water on average.

Different methods of keeping yourself hydrated

Now, many a time individuals may forget to keep track of how much water they may have consumed.

Or others may not like to consume water frequently in a day, thus, there are different methods that you can follow to keep your body hydrated at all times.

Here are some of the ways to make drinking water fun and increase hydration in your body:

Flavored Water:

Now, there are different ways of getting flavored water. You can buy packaged drinking water that is infused with different flavors.

However, make sure you choose the right type of flavored water as these may contain added sugars that may defeat the purpose of maintaining blood sugar levels.

Another method is to add slices of fruit to a bottle of water at home and let it sit overnight.

You can add fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes, as well as mint leaves, ginger, and much more to make the water flavourful and the process of hydration fun and healthier.

Again, remember to check the contents of packaged flavored water. Do not buy if it is high in sugar, calories, or carbohydrates, and check for the type of sweeteners that have been added.

Water-Rich Foods:

Who says that drinking water is the only way of staying hydrated? One of the best ways to stay hydrated is to add fruits and vegetables that have a high content of water in them.

For instance, fruits like melons, limes, oranges, and much more can increase the levels of water in your body.

Additionally, having soups and broths can be beneficial for staying hydrated as well.

Even adding vegetables like celery, tomatoes, and other water-rich foods can be highly beneficial for maintaining healthy blood sugar levels and maintaining fluid levels in your body.

Tracking and Setting Reminders:

One of the easiest ways to increase or maintain your fluid intake is to track the amount of water you have in a day.

By observing your daily intake of water, you can set daily reminders at every hour or as per your schedule.

This ensures that you always remember to drink water throughout the day and keep yourself hydrated.

Drinking Water Before And After Meals:

This is another effective way to make sure that you stay hydrated. You can simply have a glass of water half an hour before your meals and after your meals.

You can also have plenty of water while you cook so that you maintain your water intake effectively.

Thus, using some of these approaches can help you stay hydrated at all times and maintain water intake at all times.

Final Thoughts

It always takes time for a habit to form and thus, every one of us must make sure to make drinking enough plenty of water a ritual.

For individuals who suffer from problems like high blood sugar levels, keeping track of water intake is of utmost importance.

Also, these individuals must make sure that they do not consume foods or flavored waters that contain sweeteners and are high in calories.

Staying hydrated makes sure that excessive sugar is eliminated from your body and thus, it can help individuals to lower blood sugar levels naturally.