What about Blood Sugar

What happens to the body when the blood sugar level rises? One thing, the kidneys are affected. All the blood in the body is continually filtered through these two large, bean-shaped organs. The kidneys get rid of many of the body’s waste products and poisons, along with enough water to flush them out of the body. Blood cells and large molecules such as proteins are held back by the kidneys’ filters. As the forming urine trickles through the kidneys, there is a continual trading of chemicals back and forth. If there is too much of something in the blood a paticular salt, for example the excess passes into the urine. If there is just enough of a substance, or even a shortageof it, the kidneys will hold it back, and it will pass back into the blood. In a healthy person, there is just the right amount of glucose in the blood, so the kidneys hold it all back. Normally there is no sugar in the urine. But when the blood sugar level rises beyond about 180 mg%, the excess sugar begins to spill over into the urine. Remember that the highest the blood sugar normally goes is about 160 mg%. The presence of glucose in the urine is call glucosuria.

The kidnyes are used to producing urine of a paticular concentration. This may vary somewhat during the day. You’ve probably noticed that your urine looks and smells much stronger first thing in the morning, when it has been accumulating all night, than it does later in the day. But there must always be enough water in the urine to keep irritating and poisonous nitrogen wastes well diluted. As the amount of glucose spilling into a diabetic’s urine increases, the urine becomes more concentrated. So the kidneys must put out more water to keep the urine diluted enough. When they do this, the body becomes dehydrated, and the person becomes thirsty. You can read more about this and much more information about diabetes at my blog.