October 12, 2007, Newsletter Issue #123: Water and Diabetes

Tip of the Week

Have you ever seen a recipe where it calls for "reducing" something by 50%? What this refers to is cooking the water out of the food until it is 1/2 the volume that it was when you started. This process concentrates the food.

When your body gets low on water, everything becomes concentrated. This includes your blood sugar. When you are dehydrated, your urine gets darker, you become constipated and your blood sugars go up.

Ideally, each person should drink 1 ounce of water each day, for every 2.5 pounds of body weight. When you do not reach this goal, everything is more concentrated in your blood stream - this includes your blood sugar.

When you see a high blood sugar, you then treat it by changing the dose of your medication. However, f the blood sugar elevation is false, because you do not have enough fluids on board, you may be giving yourself unnecessary additional insulin.

The best way to avoid dehydration and the possible complications is to:

1. drink 1 ounce of water for every 2.5
pounds of your body weight
2. avoid beverages that dehydrate you, such
as coffee, sodas with caffeine, sugary
beverages and anything alcoholic
3. if you are exercising, add more water to
compensate for sweating and rapid
breathing - you lose water when you
breathe fast
4. if you are doing urine dipsticks, check
your specific gravity (the concentration
of your urine). If the value is higher
than 1.030, than you need to get more
water on board.

Keep up on your Food Diary to help you track trends on your blood sugars, and your hydration status.

Talk to your doctor or Dietitian about more ways to keep hydrated.

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