{"id":595,"date":"2021-04-16T10:22:42","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T04:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wecreatedesign.co\/dev\/WP\/fitterfly\/?p=595"},"modified":"2022-08-17T17:16:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T11:46:43","slug":"why-do-people-with-diabetes-need-to-worry-about-glucotoxicity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitterfly.com\/blog\/why-do-people-with-diabetes-need-to-worry-about-glucotoxicity\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do People With Diabetes Need to Worry About \u2018Glucotoxicity\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Glucose is one of the most important energy sources for your body – to put it simply, your body needs glucose for its day-to-day activities. But too much of even the good things are bad, and this applies to blood glucose as well.<\/p>\n

High levels of blood glucose (or blood sugar) leads to a condition known as diabetes.<\/p>\n

It is common for people living with diabetes to have high blood sugar levels (> 180 mg\/dL), but when these\u00a0levels go beyond 240 mg\/dL, your body enters into a ‘glucotoxic state’<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Leaving these\u00a0high blood sugars untreated for prolonged periods<\/strong>\u00a0can lead to a series of complications, including glucotoxicity.<\/p>\n

Let’s understand the condition and its effect on your health in detail.<\/p>\n

\"Diabetes

What causes Glucotoxicity?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When you eat, your food gets broken down into glucose which enters your bloodstream. In response, the beta cells in your pancreas release a hormone known as insulin.<\/p>\n

Insulin facilitates the uptake of glucose from your bloodstream into the different cells of your body, which then use it as energy.<\/p>\n

In healthy individuals, this process uses up the glucose in your bloodstream, thus keeping your blood sugar levels under control. Whereas for people with diabetes, this process is a little faulty.<\/p>\n

Their pancreas either does not produce enough insulin, or the body doesn’t use insulin effectively. The net result? There’s too much-unused glucose in the bloodstream – leading to higher than normal blood glucose levels.<\/p>\n

Without the right treatment, these high blood sugars increase the risk for glucotoxicity and other diabetes-related complications in the future.<\/p>\n

What exactly happens in glucotoxicity?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Over time,\u00a0high blood glucose levels damage the insulin-producing beta cells<\/strong>\u00a0in your pancreas. Damaged beta cells decrease insulin production and increase your body’s insulin resistance leading to glucotoxicity.<\/p>\n

In fact, even people who don’t have diabetes can have high blood sugars due to underlying health conditions.<\/p>\n

Glucotoxicity is also known to be caused by\u00a0oxidative stress<\/strong>\u00a0– caused due to the lack of antioxidants in the body.<\/p>\n

Who is at risk of developing glucotoxicity?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Glucotoxicity can occur in any of the following cases:<\/p>\n