(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Kos Diabetes Group: High Blood Sugar, Hunger, and Cravings [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-14 Feelings of hunger and food cravings are a frustrating side-effect of high blood sugar levels. The higher your blood sugar rises, the louder those cravings and hunger pangs might become. While you’d think your body and your brain ought to be satisfied by the excess sugar in your bloodstream, it’s not that simple. Let’s take a look at why high blood sugar often comes with cravings and what you can do about them. Why do you crave food when your blood sugar is high? With diabetes, insulin either does not work correctly, or the body does not produce enough or any at all. Without the necessary insulin, your brain cannot make use of the sugar in your blood stream. The glucose remains in the bloodstream, leaving the muscles and other cells in the body starved for the energy they need. Since the brain relies on a second-by-second delivery of sugar for fuel—and your brain doesn’t know you have diabetes—it’s going to cue cravings and hunger to encourage you to eat. Unfortunately, no matter how much you eat, simply eating will not eliminate the feelings of hunger. Continued eating, however, will cause your blood sugar levels to continue to climb. This can be an exasperating and vicious cycle for a person with diabetes because the more you eat, the higher your blood sugar will rise if you don’t have enough insulin or other medications to help you stay in your target range. I actually don’t like this picture of a fingerstick because they are doing it in such a painful place but checking your glucose is important. Because excessive hunger can come with high blood sugar levels as well as low blood sugar levels, knowing your blood sugar levels throughout the day is essential. When you experience excessive hunger, it is a good idea to go ahead and check your blood sugar levels. You might not know your hunger cravings are caused by high blood sugar if you don’t know your blood sugar is high. Despite the common notion that the body craves certain foods based on nutrient deficiencies, that’s not necessarily true. Food cravings actually don’t make a statement about your nutritional requirements. In reality, they could stem from not getting enough sleep, needing an energy boost, wanting to calm anxiety, or recapturing memories of home through comfort foods. Instead of instantly giving in to those hunger cravings, this is where you, the person with diabetes, must pause for a moment and think about whether you really need more food or whether you need to focus on getting your blood sugar down to your target range. First, find solutions to reduce and prevent high blood sugar levels. If you’re experiencing frequent high blood sugars (and the cravings that come with them), it’s a clear sign that your body needs more support. Talk to your doctor about making adjustments to your diabetes management routine to help you achieve your blood sugar goals. This could include: ● Making lifestyle changes around food/beverages and physical activity levels ● Adjusting the dosage of your current insulin regimen ● Adjusting the dosage of your current non-insulin diabetes medications ● Starting (or changing to) a new non-insulin diabetes medication ● Starting insulin therapy While starting a new medication or insulin can be daunting, the first and most important goal should always be to bring your blood sugar levels down to a safer level. Long-term high blood sugars can lead to the development of complications throughout your body. The most important step you can take to prevent those complications is maintaining safe and healthy blood sugar levels. What should you eat when your blood sugar is high? If you are going to eat a snack or meal when your blood sugar is high, you’ll want to focus on whole food low-carb choices—and plenty of water. Thirst can masquerade as hunger. Make sure you drink enough water. Yes, water! Water will help keep you hydrated while you work to lower your blood sugar. Dehydration can cause the sugar in your blood to become concentrated, so drinking plenty of water—especially when your glucose is already high—is important! Choosing low-carb foods can be helpful because they won’t cause your blood sugar to rise significantly higher. Also, choosing food with a low glycemic index that contains carbs that your body absorbs slowly is beneficial. Lower-carb choices include: • Non-starchy vegetables like salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green pepper, green beans, etc. • Protein and fat sources like cheese, lean protein (sliced ham, chicken, turkey), cottage cheese, nuts, nut butter, etc. • Low-glycemic fruits like raspberries, strawberries, blueberries Examples of low-carb snacks: ● Celery and hummus ● Carrots and peanuts ● Cottage cheese and cashews ● Ham slices in a lettuce wrap with mustard ● Cauliflower sauteed in hot wing sauce ● Broccoli dipped in ranch salad dressing Keep in mind that your body may still need extra support from an increase in your current medication dosage or the addition of a new medication in order to bring your glucose level down to your target range. Talk to your doctor about making these adjustments while also working to make healthier choices around foods and snacks. Another way to prevent food cravings is to avoid big swings in blood sugar. Along with staying in your target range, this is an other major treatment goal for people with diabetes. Strategies used for managing diabetes should also reduce your food cravings. Research published in the September 2013 issue of Diabetic Medicine found that cravings decreased with better blood sugar control, but a higher A1c was linked to increased cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods. High and low blood sugar levels can cause sudden feelings of hunger or a desire to eat. Dramatic blood sugar swings can actually feel like hunger, so before you give into your cravings, test your blood sugar. If it’s high, try taking a walk or drinking some water or herbal tea. If your blood sugar is low blood — at or below 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) — try eating about 15 grams of carbohydrates, or approximately four ounces of juice or four glucose tabs. Then test your blood sugar again in 15 minutes to make sure it’s coming up. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether you're experiencing a craving or actual hunger, but hunger usually grows over a longer period of time, where food cravings emerge suddenly. Hunger is also less likely to go away with distraction. True hunger will keep nagging at you and while a food craving is usually for some specific treat, if you’re really hungry, you should be interested in eating a wider variety of healthier foods. A craving will pass if you wait it out a little bit. Try going for a walk around the block, calling a friend, listening to music, or reading. Drinking water can also help because thirst can sometimes masquerade as a craving for food. If you aren’t really hungry and your blood sugar is within a healthy range, your desire to eat could be related to stress, anxiety, or other emotions. Keep a detailed log of what you eat and included details such as when you exercise, how worried you are, what your blood sugar levels are, and when your cravings spike to help you pinpoint what's going on. Once you figure out your pattern, you can “break the chain.” People who are sleep-deprived tend to have more food cravings than those who are well-rested. Not getting enough sleep may alter your brain function so that you crave high-calorie food, according to a study published in the August 2013 issue of Nature Communications. If you're having trouble sleeping, try to improve your bedtime routine by making sure your bedroom is cool, quiet, and dark and by going to sleep and waking up at about the same time every day. It’s easier to resist unhealthy snack foods when they aren’t readily available in your pantry. That’s why you should keep them out of your house and work environment. This might be most important for people who crave sweets, which can be harder to resist. Knowing yourself can help you decide whether to forbid or give in to a craving. If you can be satisfied with a reasonable portion or if you’re at a special celebration, it’s fine to give in occasionally. However, if you’re likely to overdo it, it may be best to avoid a particular food altogether. Eating on a regular schedule should help you keep feelings of hunger at bay. Make sure each meal and snack has a balance of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and fiber. This will help you consume more nutrients and feel fuller longer. Just be careful if you rely on prepackaged meals and snacks. Even snacks that claim to be healthy can have more carbohydrates — often in the form of sugar — than you need, so be sure to read food labels carefully. Lightly salted air-popped popcorn is a great snack for diabetics Identifying the flavor profile that you crave can help you to satisfy it with a healthier option. Try making lightly salted air-popped popcorn when you’re craving potato chips or blending up a frozen banana when you’re craving ice cream. Try seaweed or kale chips to fulfill a salty-crunchy craving and a square of dark chocolate for sweet ones. For a healthy twist try fruit for sweet cravings, perhaps dipped in a small amount of dark chocolate. If you have an urge to give into a food craving, sit with it for a bit and let it ride out. Like riding an ocean wave, the craving might be strong at first, but then it will subside. And remember to pat yourself on the back for riding out your urges. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/14/2163785/-Kos-Diabetes-Group-High-Blood-Sugar-Hunger-and-Cravings Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/