Post Time: 2025-07-18
When your blood sugar levels drop below a certain threshold, it can be alarming and even life-threatening. In this situation, knowing what to do is crucial to prevent further complications.
Blood sugar fluctuations are common in people with diabetes but can also occur in healthy individuals due to various factors such as diet, exercise, stress, and sleep deprivation. Understanding the causes of low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) will help you take preventive measures.
Causes of Low Blood Sugar: The Culprits
Certain medications like sulfonylureas and insulin can lower your blood sugar levels excessively if not monitored properly. Additionally, skipping meals or delaying breakfast can also lead to hypoglycemia. Certain health conditions such as liver or kidney disease may affect glucose production in the body.
Overexertion during physical activity is another common cause of low blood sugar levels, especially for individuals with diabetes who often experience post-exercise hypoglycemia due to increased insulin sensitivity after exercise.
Symptoms and Precautions: Don't Wait Till It's Too Late
Recognizing early warning signs such as dizziness, shakiness, sweating, irritability, or fatigue is essential in managing low blood sugar levels. If left untreated, it can lead to more severe complications like loss of consciousness or even seizures.
If you experience any symptoms mentioned above during an exercise routine or diet change, immediately stop your activity and take corrective measures such as consuming a source of fast-acting carbohydrates (e.g., fruit juice, hard candy) along with a snack that includes protein for sustained energy.
Treatment Options: A Holistic Approach
When experiencing low blood sugar levels due to medication or other causes, taking the prescribed dose of glucagon can restore normal glucose levels within 10 minutes. If symptoms persist and you have diabetes management device available (e.g., glucometer), administering rapid-acting insulin may help raise your blood sugar quickly.
To avoid such situations in the future, it's crucial to work closely with healthcare professionals to optimize medication plans tailored according to lifestyle changes and individual response factors like insulin sensitivity or hormonal imbalances impacting glucose control.
Maintaining Healthy Blood Sugar Levels for Optimal Health
While managing hypoglycemia is critical when faced with low blood sugar levels, prevention through adopting healthy habits plays a long-term role in maintaining your overall health. Regular physical exercise that doesn't overexert you (aerobic activities like brisk walking), balanced diet rich in nutrients from fruits and vegetables, adequate hydration alongside moderate sleep patterns are essential elements of managing chronic glucose dysregulation.
Why Tracking Blood Sugar Matters: Empower Your Health
While understanding the reasons behind blood sugar swings is key to effective prevention strategies, monitoring your own response through regular tracking can provide you valuable insights into individual health factors contributing to these fluctuations. With continuous improvements in technology (e.g., continuous glucose monitors), home glucometers become more convenient for daily checks allowing people with diabetes or hypoglycemic disorders keep an active finger on pulse of blood sugar swings.
Regular monitoring, particularly before bedtimes can give you clear-cut insights into what changes your lifestyle should undergo to stabilize and ensure that all health markers – including those not so commonly discussed like gut microbiome health - are optimally aligned with healthy living.
Calling all those with a passion for cardiovascular prevention! In this episode of the CardioNerds Cardiovascular Prevention Series, we take a deep dive into the world of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. Along the way, you’ll hear about the biology of the GLP-1 molecule and its related peptides, learn more blood sugar level 73 after eating about how GLP-1 agonists promote glycemic control, weight loss, and cardiometabolic health, and explore the current body of literature supporting the individualized application of these medications blood sugar cholesterol levels to patients with diabetes, obesity, and/or ASCVD. Join Dr. Christian Faaborg-Andersen (CardioNerds Academy Fellow and Internal Medicine Resident at MGH), Dr. Gurleen Kaur (Director of the CardioNerds Internship, Chief of House Einthoven, and Internal Medicine resident at BWH), and Dr. Rick Ferraro (CardioNerds Academy House Faculty and Cardiology Fellow at JHH) for a wide-ranging discussion on GLP-1 and GIP agonists with Dr. Dennis Bruemmer (Cardiologist and Director of the Center for Cardiometabolic Health in the section of Preventive Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic). Show notes were drafted by Dr. Christian Faaborg-Andersen. Audio editing was performed by CardioNerds Academy Intern, student Dr. Tina Reddy. This episode was produced in collaboration with the American Society of Preventive Cardiology (ASPC) with independent medical education grant support from Novo Nordisk. See below for continuing medical education credit. Claim CME for this episode HERE. CardioNerds Prevention PageCardioNerds Episode PageCardioNerds AcademyCardionerds Healy Honor Roll CardioNerds Journal ClubSubscribe to The Heartbeat Newsletter!Check normal blood sugar range for non diabetic out CardioNerds SWAG!Become a CardioNerds Patron! Pearls and Quotes - GLP-1 Agonists: Mechanisms to Applications The selection and dosing of GLP-1 and GIP agonists (GLP-1s and GIPs) depends on their intended use as an anti-glycemic or anti-obesity agent. The cardiovascular benefits of GLP-1s and GIPs may be independent of improvements in glycemic control, and in part be driven by reduction in inflammation, a key driver of arterial plaque formation. In patients with comorbid coronary artery disease, obesity, and diabetes, GLP-1 agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors should be used as first-line agents, over metformin. Tirzepatide is a dual agonist that activates GIP and GLP-1 receptors. GIP is highly expressed in the brain, which may mediate satiety, promote energy expenditure, and enhance peripheral glucose metabolism. Caution should be used with GLP-1 agonists in patients with long-standing diabetes complicated by gastroparesis, as well as incompletely treated diabetic retinopathy. GI upset is not uncommon with GLP-1/GIP agonists, and switching to a different agonist is unlikely to help. Show notes - GLP-1 Agonists: Mechanisms to Applications What are the mechanisms of action by which GLP-1 and GIP controls blood sugar and body weight? Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an endogenous hormone that is secreted in response to an oral glucose load. It promotes insulin release, inhibits glucagon secretion, and slows gastric emptying via the brain-intestine axis, leading to satiety. GLP-1 agonists are medications that mimic the effect of this hormone and, on average, lower hemoglobin A1C by 0.8% to 1.5%. These medications include semaglutide, liraglutide, and dulaglutide. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is also an endogenous hormone, similarly secreted by the body in response to an oral glucose load such as a meal. GIP is highly expressed in the arcuate nucleus and hypothalamus, which may mediate satiety, promote energy expenditure, and enhance peripheral glucose metabolism. Tirzepatide is a dual GLP-1/GIP agonist. What is the role of GLP-1/GIP agonists in patients with overweight/obesity and/or type 2 diabetes? How does the dosing of GLP-1/GIP medications change with their intended disease target?