Blood sugar spikes can be very alarming, especially to people with diabetes. Indeed, diabetic people should keep their glucose level under control to help them avoid complications. Some complications that may occur include kidney failure, nerve damage, vision damage, stroke, and heart diseases.

Blood sugar spikes can be prevented by limiting sugar intake, eating clean, exercising regularly, getting the right medication, and having regular blood sugar check. After doing them all, however, there are still possibilities of someone experiencing blood sugar spikes.

It turns out that there are multiple uncommon things that may cause blood sugar spikes. Here are 6 causes for you to watch out for!

What causes blood sugar to spike?

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High blood sugar level or hyperglycemia is caused by insulin dysfunction. Insulin itself is a hormone that helps absorb glucose and turn it into energy. The dysfunction may stem from lack of insulin or insulin just doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.

Due to that, glucose cannot be boken down into energy and will instead stay in the bloodstream, causing an increase in blood sugar level.

Unexpectedly, these 6 things can increase blood sugar!

1. Artificial sweetener

A lot of people with diabetes will remove sugar from their diet and turn to artificial sweeteners which they deem safer. But despite being marketed as having zero calories, artificial sweeteners aren’t always natural and better than sugar.

Mayo Clinic even mentions that some sweeteners are made with mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol that increase blood sugar level. They may even cause several side effects like vomiting and diarrhea in some people, leading to dehydration.

2. Caffein

Caffein, which is present in drinks like tea and coffee, can affect insulin. The effect may differ from one person to another, though. Some will find their blood sugar decrease or increase after consuming caffein.

You can monitor your own blood sugar level to see how your body reacts to caffein. If you experience blood sugar spikes, limit your consumption of caffeinated drinks or just avoid them altogether.

3. Lack of sleep

In addition to mood and energy, lack of sleep will also affect your blood sugar level. According to a study, lack of sleep may interfere with insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Fix your sleep hours to get a minimum of seven hours of sleep every night. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day to get quality sleep.

While getting enough sleep is important, diabetic patients somehow often report sleep deprivation. Especially patients with obesity, who are prone to getting sleep apnea where they can suddenly stop breathing during sleep. If you experience this or other sleeping problems, go to the doctor to get proper medication.

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Read more : Avoid Constipation and Live Healthier with These 6 High-Fiber Fruits!

4. Dehydration

Dehydration may cause blood sugar to be more concentrated. That’s why it’s important for diabetes patients to drink enough water and stay hydrated.

However, avoid sweetened, caffeinated, and/or high-calorie drinks. Regular water is fine. But if you’re not used to drinking flavorless water, add lemon, cucumber, or fresh mint leaves to your cup.

5. Menstruation

Changes in hormones during mestruation may also lead to a sudden increase in blood sugar. To some women with diabetes, they may be less sensitive to insulin in the week leading up to their menstruation or during menstruation.

Is this the case with you too? Try to cut down on your carbohydrates or add more exercise time. . If you’re taking insulin, communicate with your doctors to get some adjustment.

6. Dawn phenonemon

This phenomenon refers to a condition of high blood sugar level upon waking up This may happen even if their glucose was normal the night before. This phenomenon may occur when the body releases stress hormone cortisol and other hormones at around 2-8 A.M. as it gets ready to wake up.

These hormones reduce insulin sensitivity, and therefore lead to unexpectedly high blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

Keep blood sugar under control with enough fiber

Aside from the 6 causes above, blood sugar spikes can also be prevented by consuming enough fiber.

Fiber is a very beneficial substance which the body cannot digest. Fiber will help increase satiety without increasing blood sugar level.

Additionally, fiber, especially soluble ones, will bind water in the digestive tract and turn into gel that slows down digestion. It will subsequently slow down the release of glucose into the bloodstream, so the blood sugar level is more stable.

Soluble fiber is available in abundance in vegetables and fruits. To get all the benefits increase your fiber consumption to the recommended amount of 30 grams per day. You can use FiberCreme as well to get that number.

FiberCreme is a high fiber and low sugar ingredient with 0mg of cholesterol that can be added to your daily food or beverage. Made with fiber source oligosaccharides and healthy coconut oil, FiberCreme can also replace coconut and dairy milk in various dishes. Not only does it make everything healthier, FiberCreme also adds creamy flavor to make your healthy food more enjoyable.

Find how you can incorporate FiberCreme to your healthy diet on @FiberCreme_TV on Instagram dan on the Ellenka channel on YouTube.