Can Smoking Affect Diabetes?

You don’t have to keep living with diabetes. Never heard of that before? Several clinical-based studies have proven this already.  

The first thing to keep in mind is that diabetes is a long-lasting health condition, but you can keep it controlled just by preventing a few things and walking daily.  

Smoking affect diabetes adversely. Webmd has also stated some effects we don’t usually notice; 

Insulin resistance: When you consume nicotine, your cells experience difficulty in reacting to insulin. The hormone helps your body use the sugar in your blood. This can raise your sugar levels even higher. 

Inflammation: Cigarettes even damage your cells. Your body then tries to recover itself; this can lead to inflammation. This damage creates difficulty in insulin consumption.  

Belly fat: If you smoke regularly, you may gain more weight around your abdomen. And if you are not even overweight, this central fat can increase your chances of insulin resistance. 

It can decrease insulin responsiveness, after which you will need more insulin to regulate sugar levels. This especially applies to people with high sugar levels. 

Smoking is something many of us are addicted to. And if we look closer, this is tobacco, which soothes us. Whether you smoke it or chew it, the effects of tobacco are going to be there.

Smoking affects diabetes and opens a gateway to even more complications. 

Heart disease: We need less bad cholesterol (LDL) & more good cholesterol (HDL). Smoking will do the opposite of it. More bad cholesterol and less good cholesterol, thus increased chances of heart attack.  

Kidney disease: Smokers tend to develop protein in their urine, which further creates kidney problems.

Vision Loss: Smoking can harm thin blood vessels in the eyes, leading to diabetic retinopathy and increasing the risk of vision loss in people who have diabetes.  

Blood Pressure: Smoking can result in increased blood pressure.

Amputation (removal): Blood vessels are damaged due to smoking, leading to poor blood circulation to the feet and legs. This can lead to amputations (where a part of your body is removed surgically). 

Now, we know that smoking affects diabetes. But what we still do not know is that if you do not have Diabetes, smoking can increase the chances of you catching this health condition by 30% – 40%.  

How to maintain diabetes naturally? 

This is a big question that may arise in one’s mind. Firstly, if your condition is worse and you are having a real hard time maintaining your glucose levels, then start of by going to a doctor. Check if they suggest you a Continuous Glucose Monitor, so that you can monitor your real-time glucose levels without needing to prick everytime.   

• Start by having a Low-Carb diet.  
• Try to cut grains, potatoes, and sugar.  
• Walk daily for at least 30 minutes.  
• Consume good fats. 

However, if you are experiencing some serious sugar level problems, then obviously, you need to monitor your sugar levels in the best way possible, and a continuous glucose monitoring device may help you with that. These devices do not require you to prick your finger each time to just know your sugar levels; rather, you just wear them at your preferred space (usually the back of your upper arm), and they provide you with real-time results. Not only that, you can also track your sugar level trends. Thus helping you make informed decisions. 

Do you know? 

Just after 8 weeks of quitting smoking, your insulin tends to become more effective, resulting in better control over diabetes.   

Conclusion

 Smoking affects diabetes, and it also brings you closer to some other serious diseases. Ceasing smoking is imperative for all individuals, but for those with diabetes, it becomes even more paramount to quit.  

Having incorporated cigarettes into my lifestyle for an extended period, I acknowledge the challenge of quitting smoking, yet it remains an achievable feat. The key is to never stop trying!