Diabetics Beware Heat Wave
Image by Renato Laky from Pixabay
Experts warn people with diabetes of hot weather risks - Diabetes UK
In the UK we are experiencing high temperatures and this is a warning to all diabetics to take care.
In particular if your condition is not in remission and you rely upon medication to control your blood sugar levels, you need to be aware that the heat can affect your bodies normal operation and some symptoms can be missed or mis construed in the heat.
Of course, maintaining hydration is necessary but in the heat there can be a temptation to drink sweetened drinks or those that have artificial sweeteners in them. This is not a good idea as they can cause a spike in blood sugar, even artificial sweeteners can have an effect on the bodies insulin response.
Since I made life changes to cut out sugar, significantly reduce carbohydrates and eliminate processed foods, not only have I gone into remission from type 2 diabetes but I’ve also found that in the heat I am less affected than before. I am not yet certain why this is but I would guess that I had too high glucose and my metabolism was trying to cope and unable to keep my core temperature down.
Drinking liquids is not something I have to obsess over so long as I’m not sweating or working outside I just need to drink what I normally do - tea, coffee ( before 12 noon as do the Italians ) and water, chilled if I can get it.
My mind is clearer and concentration levels in this heat are higher than what would have been my former sweaty over heated self. My work levels have gone up if anything. I’m a programmer and cloud engineer by trade and am currently using the new wave of AI technology. Chat GPT, Github Copilot and Bing chat have become co-workers and tools that have become daily drivers. The heat has not affected my efficiency or productivity as it would have done only a couple of years ago. This is a game changer for me and I wish I had realized these changes to the way I live earlier in my life.
Just to be clear, as I’ve said before, I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice, I am just sharing my experience and what I have learned from it in the hopes that it may help others.