When it comes to blood glucose levels, the closer to normal the better. Scientific studies have shown that controlling blood glucose helps prevent Diabetes complications.
Individual thresholds for developing complications vary from person to person. Having multiple medical risks factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol make people more prone to complications. So, it makes sense that everyone try to achieve blood glucose levels as close to normal as is safely possible – for as long as possible.
High blood glucose levels affect all parts of the body, but they are especially hard on:
Diabetes also increases the chance you will have problems with:
What underlies this damage?
Excess blood glucose is at the root of the problem. Normally, blood vessel cells form a tight tube to keep blood inside the blood vessel; they also regulate what chemicals pass between the tissues and the blood.
Chronic high blood glucose levels overwhelm the blood vessel cells’ ability to burn the sugar. Ultimately, the cells weaken and die faster than the body can repair or replace them.
Also, damage occurs when excess sugar sticks to proteins inside the cell or in connective tissue throughout the body. This is particularly true of blood vessel walls, the heart and tendons.
