The Dangers of Unregulated Blood Sugar

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Diabetes, caused by unregulated blood sugar, currently affects 7% of the United States population. Over 200,000 diabetics die every year from complications of the disease, the root cause of which is unregulated blood sugar.

Cardiovascular Disease

Perhaps the greatest danger of unregulated blood sugar it the development of cardiovascular disease. Its cause, damaged blood vessels, is responsible for virtually all other complications of unregulated blood sugar, including kidney and nerve damage or failure, stroke, heart disease, gangrene, and blindness. Chronically high blood sugar levels, due to poor regulation, increase the chances for glucose (the sugar) to bind with other elements in the blood, gradually causing the destruction of the blood vessel lining called the endothelium. The following three cardiovascular conditions can result if blood vessel destruction continues:

• Arteriosclerosis: As the body attempts to repair damaged blood vessels, the cells and materials used to get the job done cause cholesterol to accumulate in the area, creating a mass known as an atheroma. As an atheroma collects more and more fatty materials the vessel becomes narrowed, inhibiting blood flow.

• Heart Disease: When atheromas form in the blood vessels supplying the heart, a dangerous situation arises. Blockage of a blood vessel providing oxygen to the heart muscle will cause the heart to become starved for oxygen, resulting in a heart attack.

• Stroke: Atheromas can also rupture, spilling their fatty contents (called a fat embolism) into the bloodstream. Fat embolisms which get stuck in blood vessels supplying the brain cause stroke, which can cause paralysis, brain damage, and often death.

Nephropathy

Nephropathy, or kidney disease, is another complication resulting from damaged blood vessels. The kidneys filter the blood through tiny, high-pressure blood vessels (capillaries), sending waste products to the bladder in the form of urine. When these blood vessels suffer damage they filter the blood less effectively, causing excess protein to be released into the urine. Atheromas can also form along damaged kidney vessels, limiting oxygen supply to kidney cells which then die off. The death of too many kidney cells can cause kidney failure, requiring life-long dialysis treatments or kidney replacement.

Retinopathy

Vessels within the retina (a membrane lining the back of your eyes responsible for vision) can also be damaged by chronically high blood sugar. The retina will replace damaged blood vessels with thinner and weaker ones which often burst. This causes blood to leak into the inner eye, creating scar tissue which can cause the retina to detach from the back of the eye. Many people with unregulated blood sugar will go blind from such damage to the retina.

Neuropathy

The nervous system - responsible for sensation, movement, and vital physiology like heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, etc., can also be injured by unregulated blood sugar. Nerves are very sensitive to pressure from inflammation and death from oxygen deprivation, both of which can be caused by chronically high blood sugar. Nerve damage can result in muscle weakness, loss of sensation, digestive problems like diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, dizziness or fainting from poorly controlled blood pressure, and impotence. For the majority of people with diabetes these complications can be avoided simply by regulating blood sugar. If you suffer from chronically high blood sugar there are many inexpensive and natural treatments which can help. Do it not only for your health but for the peace of mind of those who love you.

Sources: http://diabetes.webmd.com/tc/diabetic-nephropathy-topic-overview

http://diabetes.webmd.com/tc/diabetic-neuropathy-topic-overview

http://diabetes.webmd.com/tc/diabetic-retinopathy-topic-overview

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/stroke/

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec03/ch032/ch032a.html

http://www.jdrf.org.au/publications/factsheets/complications_of_diabetes.pdf

http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics.jsp

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/neuropathies/