The importance of diet, lifestyle, timely medications, and Ayurvedic support like Krishna’s Diabic Care Juice for blood sugar control gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so. They are the best ways to keep your diabetes under control.
But, there’s another simple way to assist the process and keep your blood sugar stable: drink plenty of fluids.
When you have diabetes, your body is constantly working to remove excess sugar from your blood through urine, during which your body loses more water. This raises the chances of dehydration. And when you’re dehydrated, your blood becomes thicker. That means the sugar concentration in your blood goes up, which can lead to higher blood sugar levels.
Read on to understand how dehydration affects diabetes (and vice versa), what you can do to prevent it, and when to see a doctor.
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Impact of Dehydration on Diabetes
When your body doesn’t have as much water as it needs, that’s called dehydration. Every day, your body loses fluids through sweat, urine, and even while breathing. In normal situations, if you drink enough water or eat water-rich foods, your body maintains fluid balance.
But when fluid loss becomes more than fluid intake, the body starts struggling. Blood begins to thicken, organs come under stress, and basic functions start slowing down.
And when you have diabetes, your body demands more water than before, because now it has an extra job of removing glucose from your blood, which is done via urine. That means you end up going to the bathroom more often.
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And when you urinate frequently, it’s not just sugar that leaves your body; a lot of water goes out too. This becomes a vicious cycle, blood sugar goes high–body pushes sugar out through urine–water is lost along with sugar–lost water isn’t replaced–body becomes dehydrated–blood becomes thicker and sugar level goes up.
Here you can see how dehydration and high blood sugar go hand in hand and keep feeding into each other, making things worse.
It’s not just about blood sugar; dehydration worsens diabetes complications, too.
Diabetes is a complex condition, not just about sugar. It’s connected to blood pressure, kidneys, nerves, and heart health.
If you stay dehydrated, all these complications can get worse.
1. Blood Pressure Fluctuations
Dehydration directly affects blood pressure. When fluid levels are low, blood volume drops. That can cause blood pressure to go down (low BP). On the other side, stress hormones like epinephrine may rise, suddenly increasing BP. For a diabetic patient who already struggles to manage BP, this becomes difficult to manage.
2. Heart Palpitations and Arrhythmia
With less water, blood viscosity increases, meaning the blood becomes sticky and heavy. This can interfere with the heart’s ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients efficiently. Over time, this can weaken the heart muscle and may even lead to arrhythmia or heart failure.
3. Kidneys become overloaded
Kidneys are responsible for filtering blood. When water is low, blood gets thicker, toxins circulate more, putting double pressure on the kidneys.
Diabetic nephropathy (kidney damage from diabetes) is already a serious risk. Add dehydration, and the kidneys can get damaged faster.
4. High Cortisol
Dehydration acts like a stress signal for your body. As soon as it senses a water shortage, it releases cortisol. And cortisol’s job is to raise blood sugar, for emergency energy. Meaning even without eating, your sugar levels can rise. And when sugar rises, dehydration gets worse. This cycle keeps repeating.
5. Worsening of Neuropathy and Vision Problems
As mentioned before, dehydration slows down blood circulation. Tissues don’t get enough oxygen and nutrients. People with diabetes already have a risk of nerve damage, and dehydration speeds it up. Wounds take longer to heal, especially in the feet and legs, increasing the risk of infections.
The same goes for the eyes; dehydration can affect the blood vessels in the retina, leading to blurry vision or worsening diabetic retinopathy.
Read more : What is Type 2 Diabetes?
Common Signs And Symptoms of Dehydration
Though extreme thirst and dry mouth, signs of dehydration, are often the first indicators of diabetes and are also very common in diabetics, dehydration related to diabetes doesn’t always show clear symptoms until it reaches the point of severe dehydration.
Symptoms of mild dehydration are:
- Thirst
- Dry mouth
- Lightheaded
- Feeling tired
- Dry skin
- Dry eyes
- Frequent urination
- Have dark, strong-smelling urine
- Constipation
Signs of severe dehydration:
- Low blood pressure
- Weak pulse
- Confusion
- Nausea or vomiting
- Fruity-scented breath
- Shortness of breath
If these symptoms are happening regularly, even when your sugar seems under control, it’s a clear sign your body might be dehydrated, and you should consult a doctor at the earliest.
How Much Water Should You Drink if You Have Diabetes?
If your blood sugar is under control, your body can naturally maintain its fluid balance better. And when the body stays hydrated, managing blood sugar also becomes a bit easier. This means, hydration and blood sugar control are connected to each other.
When you drink water, you’re not just preventing dehydration; you’re also helping your body flush out excess glucose.
So, how much water should you drink?
- If you’re a woman, you should aim to drink around 1.6 litres of water per day (about 6.5 glasses).
- If you’re a man, then around 2 litres (roughly 8.5 glasses) is considered ideal.
This is just a general guideline. If it’s very hot, you’re exercising, or you’re urinating frequently, then your body may need even more water.
It’s not just plain water; other drinks can also help
Plain water is obviously the best drink; that’s what doctors recommend too. But if you find plain water boring, you can try some simple twists:
- Add a bit of lemon or lime juice to your water
- Caffeine-free herbal tea
- Skimmed milk
- Sugar-free black coffee (1–2 cups, without sugar)
Drinks that you should avoid
- Energy drink ,they are high in caffeine and sugar
- Packaged fruit juice, they seem natural, but often contain hidden sugars
- Soft drinks or soda these have added sugars and artificial sweeteners that can worsen diabetes
- Sparkling water is fine, but make sure it’s sugar-free.
You can also eat foods with high water content, like chilled melon or frozen grapes, cucumbers, oranges, and clear soups with less salt.
And finally, the most important thing is not to ignore your thirst signals. When your body asks for water, it’s already running low inside. So, drink water when your body asks for it.
Be sure to avoid products like caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco that could make dehydration worse.
Final thought
Dehydration in diabetics is no joke. Drinking water is something you should not overlook, especially when you are outside or if you’re doing an outdoor workout. But that doesn’t mean you should guzzle too much water or sports drinks all at once. Instead, you should start hydrating before the activity begins, even before you feel thirsty. If you’re out in the heat, try to sip a glass of water every 15–20 minutes.
And once you’re done with your task or workout, hydrate to replenish what you’ve lost through sweat.
Your body is already working extra hard when you have diabetes, and staying hydrated is one simple way to ease some of that burden.
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