Do I have to quit smoking and drinking if I have diabetes? Take a look at the conscience advice given in this article
Should I quit smoking and drinking if I have diabetes? Does it have to be quit or is it better to limit it? Questions like this are hard to answer—things in the world have never been absolute. With diabetes, whether or not to quit smoking and drinking mainly depends on how much an individual attaches to health and how much tobacco and alcohol affect health. The degree of awareness of the harm, if you ask, who does not have diabetes, but has a friend who does not avoid tobacco and alcohol?
Today, I don’t want to preach to friends with diabetes that they must quit smoking and drinking, because it is meaningless to say that. I will briefly introduce the health hazards associated with smoking and drinking to diabetes for everyone. As for how to choose, it depends on the individual.
The dangers of smoking to people with diabetes
Everyone knows that smoking is harmful to health, but for people with diabetes, the harm of smoking is multi-faceted.
Smoking also has a direct impact on blood sugar. The nicotine in tobacco will affect the normal metabolism of cells, increase the body's insulin resistance, and also easily lead to increased blood sugar fluctuations in diabetics. Therefore, generally speaking, smoking diabetics For patients, it is more difficult to control blood sugar to meet the standard, and it is more likely to fluctuate, which is difficult to control smoothly.
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that is basically incurable. Diabetes itself is not scary, but what is scary is that long-term hyperglycemia can affect the health of blood vessels throughout the body and cause various complications. The complications of large blood vessels are the risk of cardiovascular disease caused by coronary arteriosclerosis, while the complications of small blood vessels are various. Diabetic nephropathy, diabetic foot, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy are all closely related to the long-term effects of hyperglycemia on small blood vessels. .
In the same way, the greatest harm to the body from smoking is also its impact on the vascular system. After the harmful substances in cigarettes enter the human body, they will also endanger the health of blood vessels. The long-term accumulation of toxic substances such as nicotine and tar is also an important factor affecting the health of blood vessel walls. Risk factors, therefore, among the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, smoking is a risk factor that is tied with diabetes and deserves our special attention.
Therefore, smoking in diabetic patients is not conducive to the stable control of blood sugar in the body, and also increases the risk of complications in diabetic patients. For diabetic patients, if they have the habit of smoking, their risk of cardiovascular disease and The risk of other microvascular complications is increased, especially coronary atherosclerosis and diabetic foot problems, which are closely related to long-term smoking habits.
The dangers of drinking alcohol for people with diabetes
Drinking alcohol is also harmful to health, and people with diabetes should pay more attention to the risks when they drink alcohol. The health hazards of drinking alcohol for people with diabetes can be explained from two aspects: acute health risks and chronic health hazards.
Acute hazard - in the process of drinking alcohol, alcohol may affect the body's blood sugar metabolism. People with diabetes who drink alcohol, especially on an empty stomach, will stimulate islet cells to secrete insulin in large quantities, resulting in accelerated blood sugar metabolism in cells. It will hinder the further conversion of stored glycogen in the body. Therefore, if there is no timely sugar supplementation at this time, it is easy to have the risk of hypoglycemia. Diabetics are afraid of high blood sugar, but hypoglycemia is also very scary. Acute hypoglycemia may cause symptoms such as heart palpitations, fatigue, sweating, tremors in the limbs, and even shock. It may also cause acute cardiovascular disease, which deserves special attention. Therefore, in order to reduce the acute harm caused by drinking for diabetic patients, they must pay attention to moderate drinking, and at the same time pay attention to avoid drinking on an empty stomach.
Chronic Effects - The chronic health effects of alcohol consumption on diabetes are manifold. Regardless of whether smoking is harmful to cardiovascular health, long-term heavy drinking is also an important risk factor for vascular sclerosis and decreased cardiac function. Therefore, if a diabetic patient has a long-term heavy drinking habit, the risk of cardiovascular disease will also further increase; many Friends know that drinking alcohol damages the liver, and the liver is also an organ closely related to blood sugar metabolism. Therefore, if there is a problem with the liver function, especially when there are problems such as alcoholic fatty liver, the problem of insulin resistance is more likely to occur. Accelerate the progression of diabetes and increase the difficulty of hyperglycemia control.
The above is just an analysis of some health hazards that may be caused by smoking and drinking in diabetic patients. It may not be comprehensive, but it is enough to arouse vigilance. For diabetic patients, if you want me to advise, then of course it is recommended to quit smoking and limit alcohol. , If possible, try not to drink or drink less alcohol. But I have to admit that in real life, there are many diabetic patients, and it is difficult for them to quit smoking and limit alcohol. Risk of other complications, actively strengthen blood sugar control, try to reduce the health hazards caused by diabetes and the superposition of smoking and drinking.